"Gandharan" Kushan sculpture
The Buddha was sometimes depicted "aniconically," merely by means of his footsteps or other symbols
As time passed, and Buddhist theology developed, there were more and more "Bodhisattvas," or Buddhas-in-the-making, in addition to the original Gautama himself
This 3rd-c. Bodhisattva, probably representing the future Buddha himself, wears what may be a particular, recognizable form of tribal turban, and even has a moustache
Buddhism remained popular all over North India during the early centuries CE, and competed with the evolving post-vedic religious traditions embodied in the two great epics
Especially during this early period, Jainism too was a powerful religious competitor; its imagery was part of a common vocabulary of artistic forms and shapes that it shared with Buddhism and Hinduism
Pingala, an attendant of Surya, was also identified with Agni, and had Zoroastrian overtones as well
A figure in Sassanian robes, 6th/7th c., from the Salt Hills, could be either Shiva, or a provincial governor

 
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