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. Chamunda also killed the ferocious demon Raktabija. By drinking every drop of his blood as it fell to the ground, she prevented him from regenerating and multiplying himself.
