80.Dome panel with scene of transporting Prince

  • Late 3rd century
  • Nagarjunakonda, attributed to Stūpa Site 3, Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh
  • National Museum, New Delhi

The celebration of the hair-turban relic, marking the moment Prince Siddhārtha renounced worldly possessions, was a favored subject in Andhra Buddhist art. The scene mirrors the description in Aśhvaghoṣa's second-century CE Sanskrit biography, Buddhacarita (Life of the Buddha, translated by Patrick Olivelle): "Unsheathing his sword, dark as a lotus petal, he cut his ornate headdress along with his hair, and threw it in the air, the cloth trailing behind―it seemed he was throwing a swan into a lake. As it was thrown up, heavenly beings caught it out of reverence so they may worship it; throngs of gods in heaven paid it homage."