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Gandharan Buddha : The Gāndhāra School of sculptures has attained a celebrity beyond its merits. There was a time when European scholars considered it as the only school in ancient India. Many still regard it as the source of all subsequent development of art in India & the Far East. The Gāndhāra sculptures have been found in the ruins of Takshashilā & in various sites in Afghanistan & West Pakistan. They consist mostly of images of Buddha & relief-sculptures representing scenes from Buddhist texts. Some technical characteristics easily distinguish them from all other specimens of Indian sculptures. In the first place, there is a tendency to mould the human body in a realistic manner with great attention to accuracy of physical details, especially the delineation of muscles & the addition of moustaches, etc. Secondly, the representation of the thick drapery with large & bold fold-lines forms a distinct characteristic. These distinguishing characteristics of Gāndhāra sculpture were undoubtedly derived from Greek art, or, to be more precise, the Hellenic art of Asia Minor & the Roman Empire. Gāndhāra art is accordingly known also as indo-Greek or Graeco-Roman. There is also, no doubt that this art owed its origin to the Greek rulers of Bactria & North-West India. But though the technique was borrowed from Greece, the art was essentially Indian in spirit, & it was solely employed to give expression to the beliefs & practices of Buddhists. With a few exceptions, no Greek story or legend, & no Greek art motif had been detected among the numerous specimens of Gāndhāra sculpture. The Gāndhāra artist had the hand of a Greek but the heart of an Indian. The most important contribution of Gāndhāra art was the evolution of an image of Buddha, perhaps an imitation of a Greek God like Apollo. Fine images of Buddha & Bodhisattva, & relief-sculptures illustrating various episodes of Buddha’s present & past lives, are remarkably executed in a kind of black stone. ― There is a striking difference between the Buddha images of Gāndhāra & those of the Indian interior. The former laid stress on accuracy of anatomical details & physical beauty, while the latter strove towards imparting a sublime & spiritual expression to the figure. The one was realistic & the other idealistic & this may be regarded as the vital difference between Western & Indian art. The Gāndhāra sculptures accordingly offer a striking contrast to what we meet elsewhere in India, viz., the smooth round features of idealised human figures, draped in transparent or semi-transparent cloth, closely fitting to the body & revealing its outline. It may be added that both the Mathurā & Gāndhāra schools of flourished under the lavish patronage of Scythian kings. [An Advanced History of India, R.C. Majumdar et al, pp.227-28]