This fragment is a part of the coping upright that forms part of the railing around the stupa. The interesting motifs rendered on this pillar are the lotus cushioned base, a composite mythic animal, a half lotus and the face of a yaksha (nature spirits) wearing elaborate earring. This sculpture also forms part of the same group of early figures from the Shunga (4th-2nd centuries BCE), Kushana (1-3rd centuries CE) and Ikshvaku (1st-4th centuries) periods, most of which come from Buddhist sites but illustrate non Buddhist motifs that were assimilated by Buddhism in the course of its development.
