GANDHARA, 2ND/3RD CENTURY

The scene on the right illustrates the serpent king, Apalala, in submission. Apalala, who inhabited the sources of the Swat river, threatened annual floods until Buddha terrified him into submission with the aid of Vajrapani. However, for his own subsistence, Buddha allowed him to innundate the land every twelve years henceforth. Apalala is kneeling before Buddha in the guise of a Brahman, surrounded by serpents and flanked by his wife. Vajrapani is seen above striking the mountains with his thunderbolt to terrify the serpent king; cf. H. Ingholt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, 1957, p. 100f; and W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, 1996, cat. no. 215.