Queen Maya and Heavenly Beings

This unusual work depicts the moment Maya gave birth to the child who would become the Buddha. As queen of the Shakya clan, she visited a garden called Lumbini Grove when she was still pregnant. There she grasped a branch of a flowering Ashoka tree, and in that moment, her child was born, emerging from Maya’s right side. He is said to have immediately taken seven steps, and then declared that he had been born to save all the people of the world. One tradition tells that the gods Brahma and Sakra then poured aromatic water over Siddhartha and washed his body. Take a look at the sculptures on display. Maya holds her right arm upwards, her hand closed as if holding on to a branch. Her feet are placed firmly, and her left hand clenches the sleeve of her clothing, perhaps expressing the strength she is exerting as she gives birth.

Looking at her right side, we can see the future Buddha being born, hands clasped in prayer. Around her are sculptures of celestial beings holding ewers and other items. These sculptures would have been used during the annual celebration of the birth of the Buddha on the eighth day of the fourth month. On this day, they would have been purified in a ceremony by having water and other liquids poured over them. Buddhist priests used these figures in an annual ceremony commemorating the Buddha's birth. The main figure is Queen Maya, the Buddha's mother. She raises an arm as her son miraculously emerges from her side, hands clasped in prayer. The surrounding figures are heavenly beings, dancing across the sky in celebration.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.