The stupa base is an elaborate construction, consisting of three tiers organised in a stair, and two sides. It has a breath of roughly 3 meters, for a height of about 1 meter. The base combines very contrasted scenes and sculptural motifs: Hellenistic scenes at the bottom tier, and Indian Buddhist scenes at the top two tiers.
First tier: Hellenistic revelling The first tier displays several purely Hellenistic scenes, of which the one on the far right is by far the best preserved. The left scene is a well-known Hellenistic scene often found in
Gandhara. On the left is represented a young couple, the woman holding a drinking cup in the right hand, and with her left hand opening the man's
chlamys (a Greek cloak) to show his naked body. On the right is an elderly couple in Greek dress, the man bearded, with a small child clinging to the man. It is thought that this scene may symbolize the cycle of life, from childhood, to adulthood and maturity. scene. The middle scene is less clear, but represents a naked man, possibly an
amorini dancing with a woman in Greek dress. On the left is another amorini holding a large wine flask. A man on the right is holding something to his mouth, probably a flute to which the couple is dancing. The scene is seemingly
Bacchanalian. The scene on the right is by far the clearest. It precisely shows: a woman in Greek dress, holding an
amphora and giving a grape to a small child, a man in
himation holding a
kantaros drinking vessel, a young man in
chiton playing a hand drum, and a woman in Greek dress playing a two-stringed
lute-family instrument.
Second tier: Indian palatial scene The second tier of the stupa base displays a Buddhist Indian scene. Depending on interpretations, it seems to show a princely couple whose son is convinced to shave his head and become a Buddhist monk. In the last scene on the right, he is seen in Buddhist garb, bidding farewell to his parents. , depicting a
Ketos sea monster. Stylistically, it is most interesting that these Indian scenes were realized by the same artist, or at least the same atelier and at the same time as the Hellenistic ones. Indeed it had been suggested previously (Marshall) that the Hellenistic scene belonged to a previous period, before the emergence of Gandharan Buddhist scenes. The second tier is sided by triangular
stair risers, which depict a Hellenistic winged
Ketos sea monster, a motif often seen with such a function in Greco-Buddhist art. It is thought that the Ketos symbolizes the transition to the other world after death. Some of the
Buner reliefs are much better preserved and give a better picture of the original Ketos design.
Third tier Only fragments of the third tier remain, but they also depict Indian palatial scene similar to those of the second tier. A beautiful decorative garland with flowers in included at the bottom of these scenes. ==Other decorative elements==