ABSTRACT
The chapter examines the representation of urban culture in Gandhāran narrative sculptures dating from the first three centuries CE, a period that overlaps with Aśvaghoṣa’s life and literary career. Focusing on the well-known horizontal narrative friezes, on which multiple episodes from the Buddha Śākyamuni’s life have been depicted, the chapter elucidates how these friezes portray a seamless relationship between city, countryside, and forest. Following a general introduction to narrative structure, this chapter discusses the thematic clustering of biographical scenes on Gandhāran horizontal panels, identifying specific themes and figures that not only reflect an urban ethos but also contain a critique of that very milieu couched in the city’s language. The biography reflects the vantage point of urban nodes, pulling together various social strands that even blur the boundaries between urban centres and the wilderness.
