The aim of this paper is to identify the Buddhist texts used in iconography depicting an event in the life story of the Buddha.
Amongst the corpus of Gandhāran sculpture there are several reliefs that depict the gift of a mango grove to the Buddha and his disciples by Āmrapālī (Ambapālī), a courtesan of Vaiśālī. In this paper I attempt to identify the Buddhist texts relevant to the iconography of these reliefs by focusing on the ewer held by Āmrapālī. After analyzing the contents of Pali, Sanskrit and Chinese texts, I found only two Chinese versions, the Si fen lü (四分律) and the You xing jing (遊行経), belonging to the Dharmaguptaka sect of Hīnayāna Buddhism in Gandhāra, that describe exactly and correctly the hand gesture of Āmrapālī's pouring water over the hands of the Buddha from a ewer.
What is more, the reason why the ewer was held by Āmrapālī in this story and in reliefs depicting it is clarified by quoting other Pali, Sanskrit and Chinese passages relevant to the use of the ewer. In ancient India a donor confirmed a contract and transfer of ownership by pouring water over the hands of the recipient from a ewer.
