15. Sudhana consults the risyi who once helped the hunter on his catch, and who now hands him a ring and a travelling-plan Manohara had given him to this purpose.
16. Sudhana outside the capital of king Druma, where he comes across some kinnarîs who are drawing some water out of a well to cleanse Manoharâ’s body from all human-smell. Sudhana flings the ring into a vase of one of the fairies, and requests her to be the first to empty this vase on her mistress’s head. According to the text Foucher consulted, the fairy should have remained quite ignorant of all this, consequently the sculptor must have swerved from this text, or, perhaps, meant another one.
17. Manoharâ found the ring, and tells her father about Sudhana’s coming. The king agrees to put him to the test; to the left of this relievo we see him bend his bow to drive an arrow through 7 cocoa-trees. Druma himself is watching this, and to be recognised by his prabha.
18. He then gives the prince his daughter.
19. The newly-married couple is now enjoying their happiness in the woman’s quarter. In honour of them, and to the accompaniment of music, a court-dancer is showing her art of dancing. This fair dancer is one of the best proofs of the sculptor’s art.
20. Returned at Hastinâpura the newly-married distribute presents among their people.
In this same series follow 6 other sculptures referring to the Maitrakanyaka-jâtaka; a note-worthy karma-legend.
We shall find them after having turned the fifth corner of the northern staircase, and on our having reached the east side of the ruin where we are going to view the 2nd, 3d and 4th sculpture (W. L., 214, 216 and 218), and 1 after the sixth corner (W. L., 220), and 1 and 2 after the seventh corner (W. L., 222 and 224) all of which Mr. Winter photographed for me.
On the first of these imageries we first see a woman handling a balance, and probably serving the customers of the young merchant Maitrakanyaka. This woman is likely to be his mother, and if he himself has been hewn near her, he can’t possibly be the shabbily dressed and bearded man who stands next to her. This man rather reminds of a brahmin or a mendicant friar instead of a rich merchant. The man by her other side is not visible on the photograph.
Clearer however, is the following group in which professor Speyer made us known Maitrakanyaka’s mother throwing herself at her son’s feet, and beseeching him to give up his plan to undertake a sea-voyage.