The animals in the wood have been hewn on 2; on 3 the drowned person is rescued; the king meets the stag on 4, and the preaching stag has been hewn on the 5th sculpture.
Southern staircase, 6, 7, 8 and 9 [W. L. 99, 101, 102 and 103].
The Buddha of after life once ruled as king over a troop of monkeys in the Himâlaya. They lived in a fig-tree, abundant with fruit, situated on the bank of a brook. In order not to make the tree known by its delicious fruit the king ordered his people not to have a single fruit ripened on the branches which hung over the water.
Once upon a day such a fruit unperceivedly ripened fell into the stream, and drove away to an open spot in the wood, where the king and his wives were fishing.
Never before had the prince seen or tasted such a fine and nice fruit, and so he went up-stream to look for the tree.
Seeing the many monkeys he told his hunters to drive them away. But in order to take to flight the animals had to risk a leap no one but their ruler only ventured to undertake. He jumps, reaches the mountain-slope situated on the other side, and seeks there for a long bambu which enables him to return to the tree. Armed with this he forms with his own body a bridge over which all the monkeys know to escape at the cost of the Lord who sees his skin torn to bloody pieces by the monkeys’ toes.
This happens to the astonishment of the hunters who now catch up the swooning king of monkeys, and lay him upon a bed of leaves. He soon came to, and when the king interrogates him the Lord answers that he did his duty, because a prince should serve his subjects, and not let himself served by them.
On the 6th and 7th sculpture the king accepts the fig, on 8 he and his hunters go in search of the tree, and on 9 has been hewn the wonderful escape of the monkeys.
Southern staircase, 10 and the corner-sculpture [of the first angle] [W. L. 103 and 104].
The Lord once lived in a wood as an ascetic and taught patience to all who visited him.