Hunting and fishing, however much forbidden by the Buddhist creed and included in the crimes punishable by hell, as we see by the reliefs on the buried base, were naturally common enough in the not altogether Buddhist Java; we need not be surprised to find scenes of this kind often enough on Barabudur, where several of the jataka's are stories of the chase. In contrast to these there are a few instances where animals that have been caught are set free again, as on O 9 and IV 43.

Fishing is done in various ways. On O l, only tunnel‑traps are being used;
the traps are just being emptied, they are the same as what we use now-a‑days with a wide opening, then narrowing to the end. The same thing is in use on O 118, but at the same time two other ways of fishing are going on, the fishing‑rod at any rate is plainly to be seen. The second way seems to be with a scoop; the man stands ready with a round wooden scoop open at the end w hich he manages with his left hand, holding in his right a rope that runs through two holes in the sides of the scoop close to the open end; the way of fishing is evidently to steer the scoop with the left hand so that it comes under the fish and then pull the rope up suddenly so that it cannot get away. An apparently simple manner of fishing that requires considerable skill. On O 109 two men are at work with a large draw‑net they are pulling through the water.

Hunting of the simplest kind can be seen on the reliefs of the buried base; smoking out rats on O 87, bird‑killing, with club and blow‑pipe, of small birds on O 91; of larger birds with bow and arrow on O 1 18. On IBa 79 a swan is being caught levity a snare as we know from the text, but there is nothing to be seen of it on the relief. But on IIB 64 it is very distinct how the hunter is laying snares to catch a peacock.

Monkeys on IBa 102 and 199 are hunted with bow and arrow as well as with blow‑pipe, but bow and arrow is always the favorite weapon. The hunters on Ib 3 and IBb 4 have no other weapon, and kings who go hunting use nothing but bow and arrows. So the kings on Ib 89 and IBa 74, each with a small retinue, both have bow and arrows as well as the monarch on IBa 97 and the one who is on horseback on IBa 90—93; in the case of these two last we can see what they are hunting; a deer and a carabha respectively. There is often a whore huntingpartydepictedentering the forest; the men on IBb 71, who are chasing the deer end those on IIB 57, who are after deer and wild boars, have bow and arrows as their chief weapon, though in the last scene there are one or two with swords, who might belong to the guard and therefore probably are not meant for hunters. With a royal hunting‑party we may of course find an armed escort sometimes, but bow and arrows are never missing, they are evidently the weapons of the chase. The king himself is often seen on horse‑back, the animals he hunts are either deer and wild boar or only deer. The royal hunting parties alluded to are found on Ib 93, 99, 1 14 and IBb 111. Archery was undoubtedly held in high honor and we can easily understand that when the hero of some of the stories has to give proof of his accomplishments, shooting with the bow is one of the tests, for the great Siddhartha on Ia 49, and for others on Ib 17 and 119.