Drum panel depicting a stupa with the Buddha’s descent from Trayastrimsa Heaven

Art Historical Context

This striking limestone drum panel, carved the second half of the 3rd century during the Ikshvaku, hails from the ancient Buddhist site of Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh India. Measuring nearly 4 feet tall and weighing over 700 pounds, it formed part of a stupa's cylindrical base, a sacred mound enshrining Buddhist relics. The relief vividly depicts the Buddha's miraculous descent from Trayastrim Heaven—a pivotal event where he returns to earth after preaching to his mother, Maya, accompanied by deities and flanked by guardian lions. In Early Andhra art, such narrative panels were masterful...