Ruru Jataka

Bharhut, c. 100 BC
Indian Museum, Calcutta

Ruru jataka is the story of how the future Buddha, incarnated as a deer, rescues a merchant from drowning in the river (bottom of medallion). In return, the merchant later saves the deer from being shot by a hunter (upper part of medallion). It's not certain why the horizon is "tipped" in this scene; perhaps the artist was just mistakenly following the outline of the river.