gaulier buddhism in afghanistan and central asia vol.2

8/12/2019 Gaulier Buddhism in Afghanistan and Central Asia Vol.2

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ARCHIEF EXEMFLAAil

E J RILL LEIDEN

BUDDHISM IN FG H NIST N

D CENTR L SI

P RT TWO

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•

ISBN 9 4 4744 r

9 4 4747

Copyrigh1 1976 by B f Brill, uiti•n N<lh 14ntil

All righiJ reurveti. No pari of Ibis book may be reprotiu<eti orlrat ia ed in an1 form b print pholoprinl micrqfilm miffojirhe

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CONTENTS

. MINOR DtVlNlTIES AND DlVTNITIES ASSIMILATED BY BUDDHISM 31

o k p . 31

a k ~ . . . . . . 32Dryads . 33Gandharvas and Apsaras 34Cosmic Divinities: Surya and Candra. Zenithal Strips 34Garuda . . . . .

Nagas . . . . . . . . . . . . · · · · · · · · ·Aquatic Themes and Mount Meru . . . . . . . . .

Diviruties Assimilated by Buddhism and Ferocious Deities

V. l\10NKS AND ASCETICS 41

VI. i\:LHI ;>A '..AS . . . . . 43

Legends to the Illustrat ions 45

Figures 77 1 4 at the end of the book

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CHAPTER FOUR

MINOR DIVINITIES AND DIVINITIES ASSIMILATED BY BUDDHISM

Lokapdlas

The Lokapalas, the Guardian kings of the four cardinal points, appear in the art of

Gandhara in the course of one of the episodes in the Jjfe of Buddha, the offering of the

four bowls in which the Blessed One has his firs t meal after his Enlightenment. To begin

with they do not seem to have had any clearly defined personality and were represented

with the neutral aspect of devas. The military character assumed subsequently by thesefigures seems to l1ave arisen in Central Asia and perhaps more precisely in the Khotanregion. The two booted statues discovered by Aurel Stein near the gate of the stiipa of

Rawak are Lokapdl.as. In Dandan-Uiliq the four statues placedat the corners of the cella

of a little shrine seem to have been distinguished by attributes. One of them can be iden

tified as Vaisravana (Fig. 77). Guardian king of the North, thanks to the purse he carries

at his hip; the figure, dressed in a long coat of armour made of blades, tramples a demon,

a common feature of the Guardian kings in East Central Asia.

In the Kuca region the representations of the Lokapalas appear to be rare in the early

period. In the Parinirva0a of the Hollentopfhohle in Kyzyl, however, there are four

princes in armour with pointed ears who might well be heralding the four Lokapdlasdespite the lack of distinctive attributes. Yet Griinwedel describes four Lokapiilas seated

on a throne in each of the corners of the dome of the temple mit dem Tierfries (6oo-6so

A.D.) in Kirish. According to him: This is the only place in the oasis of Kuea wh ere

the Lokapdlas are each represented with their characteristic attribute. 1 But in cave 285

in Tun-huang (Pelliot 1:20 N}, the four Lokapiilas already appear with their distinctive

attributes : the faces begin to assume a furious expression which was to be so characteristiclater on, and the costume is hybrid, the long floating robe being covered with a breast

plate. This cave is dated 538/g A.D. 2

By the time the Turfan region entered the Ch inese period the guardians of the cardinal

points had assumed their full personality. In Bezeklik (see Fig. 96}, therefore, in the largescenes representing the garu<;la hunt , they appear in military dress, with helmets,

protected by breast-plates and bearing their attributes, h r t a r a ~ t r a (East) an arrow,Vaisravana (North) a spear, Virii<;lhaka (South) and V i r i i p a k ~ a (West) a sword and a

club. This too is how they are portrayed in a m ~ u j l carved on a portable wooden altar

which undoubtedly comes from the same area. They are standing on a lotus, dressed in

long coats of mail, holding their attribute, the arcl1aic costume making them look more

like the warriors of Kyzyl than like the Chinese-type Lokapiilas of the Tang period.

1 Griinwcdel. lt BuddhistischeKult.stdtlen p. r85.• B. Gray, Buddhist cave pa.inlings al Tuen-hua.n . pi 20 2 I




32 MINOR DIVINITIES AND DIVINITIES ASSIMILATED BY BUDDHISM

Of the four Lokapalas Vaisravana alone, the ruler of the North enjoyed a privileged

position. He is the only one to have been tl1e object of a special cult and the origin of

this phenomenon must surely be sought in the Khotan region where numerous legendsconnected him wit the foundation of the city (Fig. 78). Moreover, in Central Asia Vais

ravana s personality was closely linked with that of Kuvera-Paiicika, the king of wealth,with whom he was sometimes confused. Very early on in the Khotan region there seems

to have developed an original iconographical type showing a front view of Vaisravana

standing with his feet apart and supported by the Earth appearing down to the waist,

his shoulders surmounted by hardened ftan1es , wearing a crown with three elements and

holding a spear and a stiipa. The crown is sometimes ornamented by a bird, as Hsuantsang attest in the account of his journey to Kapisa. Vaisravana appears thus on panels

offered as ex votos and the mutilated statue in Rawak can doubtlessly be connected with

this iconographical type which was to have an e x t e n ~ i v e influence both in China and in

Japan. Unfortunately, however, although we encounter it on several occasions in Tun

huang, we are unable to charter its course through Central Asia with any degree of precision. In the Turfan region two iconographical forms of Vaisravanaexisted simultaneously,

one front view and one three quarter view as we see on the banners painted on hemp

from the Uigur period (Fig. 79).

Y a k ~ a sThe ancient cults assimilated by Buddhism can be detected particularly clearly in a

whole group of secondary figures, semi-divine beings who sometimes assume a special

importance and who usually survived in popular legends recounted by Ch.inese pilgrims.

Derived like the Nagas from the ancient stock of Hindu mythology, the Y a k ~ a s . Gandhar-

vas and psaras are part of the eight categories of supernatural beings and were largelyintegrated by the Little Vellicle in the Buddhist legend. Later most of them were assim

ilated by l\fahayana, and then by Tantrism which developed ilieir esoteric characteristics

to excess and led to the iconographical extremes of Lamaism.

The Y k ~ a s those hybrid beings, demigods of nature and of vegetation, demons offertility who could be beneficial or malevolent by turn, had as their leader Kubera-Vais-

ravana, the Ruler of the North, himself the object of great piety in Khotan, and they

occasionally served as his vehicle. They unquestionably remained tutelary deities, vener

ated by the masses with a bllakti cult in all those regions where the monks bad preached

the Law and founded their numerous Hinayanist monasteries. Indeed, since only the

religious, the arhats, could benefit from the narrow and restrictive doctrines of the LittleVehicle, the laity continued to implore the more accessible aid of their local genii whose

benevolence had to be ensured on every occasion. Thus the submission of the Y ~ s to

the Master s doctrine gave the mass of the population whom they protected access to

Buddhism. But their tutelary intervention on earth and their immediate protection seem

to have been progressively replaced amongst the laity by those of the numerous Mabayana

Bodhisattvas, amongst whom many of the Yak aS had taken their place-just as Vaj

rapal)i, Kubera-Vaisravana himself, the prince of the Y a ~ a s and certain local divinities

of Khotan had all done. Their cults were so renowned that it has been possible to chart

their respective localities from North-Western India as far as the borders of China (follow

ing the Mahamayt4ri of the third-fourth century A.D. and the Cattdragarbha section ofthe M h s mipata stUra of the fourth century).

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JlliNOR DIVINITIES AND DIVIN ITIES ASSIMILATED BY BUDDIHSM 33

In Central Asia they were the successors of the barbarous and hirsute type of Gandhara

and were distinguished by their faunlike ears and protruding fangs. They often aroused

the imagination of artist who proved only too delighted to concentrate on their moreterrifying aspects and thereby to satisfy popular beliefs and an old store of more or less

zoomorphic primitive religions. But it seems rather remarkable that the monstrous em

bellishment of these demoniac types and the fanciful development of this semi-animaland hideous pantheon should have taken place in the vicinity of the frontiers of Iran,

in contact with the Avestan religions which were also peopled by daevas ar1d gandarevas.

In a preaching scene in a shrine in Kyzyl, probably of about the end of the sixth century

A.D. (Fig. 8o) (Mayahohle , third group of caves) there seems to be an entire audience of

Y ak aS with fangs and pointed ears, markedly individualised features, and clad in princely

clothes or armour. One of them, in ailjati, has inherited a lionskin head-dress from the

Vajrapii :U-Heracles of Afghanistan. Their ferocious traits are visibly modified by the

words of the Blessed One. In the cave mit den ringtragenden Tauben on the same site,

the Yaft as have become submissive and faithful supporters of Buddhism, bearing, two

by two, the pedestals of the four Bodhisattvas in the dome, as the aga princes do for

the four Buddhas. n the Khotan region a fragment of a wall painting from Tarislak

(Fig. 81), the remains of a large composition perhaps of the same period, evokes the cult

statue of some local Y k ~ a in a scene from a legend. We see a small figuxe with a halo,

a lionlike face ( ?) and protruding fangs, standing in a helmet and armour, a cup in his

left band and a drawn dagger ( ?) in his right. A stag is striding up to him.

Between the eighth and the tenth centuries in Turfan (see Fig. 96) the "garu<;la hunts

performed by ferocious Y k ~ s on shaggy horses tearing after their prey under the

command of the Guardian kings were to develop a particularly violent aspect of the themeof the a k ~ a as a liberator of souls, a genius of fertility and a factor of reincarnation.

Towards the same period a more exceptional type, probably derived from the Dionysian

influences of the Hellenized Near East, died out- the putto-yak a. Already adopted by

the school of Gandhara, it bad spread during the Kushart phase, while, in a similar spirit ,

those little demons of fertility covered the sides of the Roman sarcophagi of the imperial

period. Towards the fourth century these putt were bearing garlands on the stiipas of

Miran and on the so-called Kanishka reliquary, or appeared as musicians on the pottery

from Yotkan artd, a little later, on the reliquary boxes from Subashi. We find them, again

as musicians attending a prince of demons, in San.ghim-aghyz (Fig. 82) (temple 7 .

eighth century), but this time their head is surmounted by a caprid protome, an emblemof their powers of fertility. This type of ptttto was thenceforth to be reserved primarily

for the little souls being reborn on the lotus-flowers in the Pure Lands of Mahayana,

but also continued in the representations of the swarm of Y k ~ s surrounding Hii.riti,the mother of demons .

Dryads

The theme of the tree deity, inherited from the numerous genii of nature to be found

in Vedism which was sti ll so renowned in India, appears here in its original form, destined

to die out with Hinayana Buddhism. t had already been widely adopted to represent

Mayan

the scenes of Buddha's birth, and the school of Gandhii.ra had integrated it inthe various depictions of Buddhist legends. In Afghanistan too (e.g. in Shotorak) these

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34 MINOR DIVINITIES AND DIVINITI ES ASSIMILATED BY BUDDHISM

supple figures surround the reliefs of Maitreya or Siddhartha enthroned (see Part. I,

Fig. r6). They were discreetly presented in one of the Parimrviina scenes on the same

site, appearing down to the waist in the sala trees. The same dryad can be found towards

the end of the sixth century in Kyzyl (Fig. 83) attending the death of Buddha, her bust

emerging from a tree in flower (the siila tree), and casting a shower of petals on the bodyof the Blessed One ("Ajatasatruhohle").

Gandharvas and psaras

The Gandharvas, music-playing gemi under the command of Dhrtar1l)tra, the Guardian

of the East, and the flying Apsaras, those celestial figures forming one of the eight cate

gories of supernatural beings, were also a constant theme throughout the development

of Buddhist iconography. Of all these personages one emerges with a particular individ

uality in Kuca- fndra's famous companion, Paficasikha the harp player. Variations

of these graceful figures filled the transcendent scenes of the Buddhist legends with in

creasing frequency, but they already seem to have served in the Hinayanist sects toexpress the superhuman destiny of the Enlightened One and in Ba.miyan, for eNample,

they contributed to an atmosphere of celestial glory (see Part. I. Fig. 35). Richly adorned

and wearing sophlsticated princely garments, the Gandharvas have generally been given

masculine features, whlle the Apsaras assumed a feminine appearance despite the indeter

minate sex of such supernatural creatures {Fig. 85). "Angelic" figures in Miran, garland

bearers in Yotkan (terracotta), crown bearers (in Fondukistan and in the "Pretal ohle"

in Kyzyl), the bearers of baskets filled with flowers (in the " Apsaras Hohle" and the

"Kinnari Hi:ihle in Kumtura), revolving in the air (on a ceiling in the surrounding passageof the "Schwerttrager Hi:ihle" in Kyzyl) (Fig. 86) or appearing on the balcony of celestial

palaces (in a relief in Shotorak (Fig. 84) and in the "Musikercl10r Hohle" in Kyzyl),tills subtle and elegant throng was to provide Mahayana with the heavenly orchestras

of its Pure Lands (Fig. 87).

Just as the balustrades around the cult statues marked off a sacred area in the Kuca

region, so the balconies bearing these divine figures (see Part. I , Fig. 8) above the "his

torical" scenes from the life of Buddha seem to have been intended to express the frontier

between the superior spheres and the terrestrial world of men. In a sense they adumbrate

the balustraded terraces where the transcendent gatherings of the Pure Lands were to

assemble.

Cosm·ic Div·i Jities: St irya and Candra. Zen·thal StripsThe shrines of the Little Vehlcle in Afghanistan and the Tarim Basin retain traces

of the importance accorded to cosmic figures by the Buddhism of the first centuries A.D.

This may be partly a heritage from the oldest religions of the Near and Middle East

something which need hardly surprise us if we keep in mind A. Foucher's statement

(A.G.B.G. II, 644) that the trade of translator of sacred texts and of pedlar or maker

of images was practised in the second and thlrd centuries mainly by Bactrians and Sogdians". Nurrnsmatic sources before, during and after the Kushan period testify to the

important position reserved for solar and lunar cults in countries where the Buddhist

religion itself was virtually impregnated by them.

We find these themes nearly everywhere io the large compositions, but above all in

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MINOR DIVINITIES AND DIVINITIES ASSIMiLATED BY BUDDHISM 35

the zenith of the cradle vaults of the rock shrines the on y place where they are well

preserved. In addition to the ancient solar symbolism the spinning rosette which we

still see on pottery or on various other elements, wound in a spiral in the lock of hair over

the Buddha's forehead in Haqqa, Rawak, Tumsuq, etc th e chariot of Siirya, an ancient

image reminiscent of the quadriga of Helios, had long been known in India and persistedfor the local cults in Middle Asia, for example in Afghanistan at Khair Kaneh (sixth

century) and in Tajikistan at Pianjikent c. si)'. th-seventh century). More or less successful

imitations can also be found in the Tarirn Basin towards the middle of the first millennium

A.D., and on the ceiling of the niche of the great thirty-five metre Buddha in Bam.iyi:in

(Fig. 88 a b), we see assembled in a remarkable composition a number of cosmic figures

which the Hinayanist monasteries liked to repeat, especially in the Kuca region. We are

unable, however, to give them an exact chronology or to establish which one was made

before the others. In Bamiyan the divinity in armour standing in his quadriga cf . the

figure at Bodh Gaya n India, first century B.C.) is dressed in the Northern Indian

fashion , according to the customary specification in Sanskrit texts. He emerges on alarge light disk ringed with red, in every way comparable to the lunar disks decoratingthe ceilings of the rock shrines in Central Asia and surrounded by revolving planets.

The feminine figures in the chariot occupy the position of the two wives of Siirya, but

also of the warrior paredri of Mithra at whose sides their two torches, raised or lowered,

conveyed dawn or dusk. Blown by the winds, the h a m ~ a souls fiy from the moon to the

sun to obtain their reincarnation. And so this representation contains an entire cosmic

symbolism which seems to have combined all the various aspects of the Persian and Vedic

astral, solar and lunar deities, l\fithra, Siirya and Candra, in accordance with the great

cult image of Buddha Lord of the Universe .

At a later date in Fondukistan (sixth-seventh century) we find the somewhat exceptional image of the divine couple Siirya-Candra standing and repre.sented as Scytho

Parthian warriors, but the themes of the niche n Biimiyan already abounded in a more

or less abridged form in the zenitl1al strips on the vaults of the shrines of Kuca (Fig. 8g).

They were doubtlessly intended to evoke the path that the souls of the elect bad taken

in the cosmos as they were conducted to the u ~ i t a heaven (represented over the door)

and looked for a superior rebirth from the moon, the haven of the dead, to the sun, a

place of fortunate reincarnation. Admittedly, the sun and the moon can also be repre

sented by a plain radiant solar disk, by a whitish lunar disk ringed with red, or by <l

crescent surrounded by the planets, emblems which recall those brandished by certain

Shivaite or Mahi:iya.na divinities (see Fig. So). These disks are sometimes inhabited bySiirya and Candra (e.g. in Kyzyl, in the ' 'MayahOhle , 3rd group), each teached by a monk,

while a hare is sketched in the lunar disk brandished by a Shivaite deity with four arms.

More often we find a divinity seated with his feet crossed, wearing the stylised robe of ahorseman, leaning against his circular nimbus flanked at the base by his two chariot wheels,

and occasionally also by the horses of his quadriga (Fig. go). Flights of h a m ~ a s surround

them, or stretch from the moon to the sun, blown by the beneficial breath of the wind

deities (Fig. 91) . The latter are represented down to the waist, women with naked breasts,

sometimes an old one and a young one, encircled by their swollen scarves or by the large

sack containing the winds (Fig. gz). Clouds populated with zligas or shedding snowflakes

often flank the psychopomp figures of Buddha or of levitating monks carrying the kh k




MINOR DIVINITIES AND DIVINITIES ASSI MILATED BY BUDDHISM

khara and the bowl or making a gesture of reassurance. These clivinities of the atmosphere

-female busts beneath the surface of floating draperies of a Helleo.ized type which seems

to have been inherited from the AJexandrian Near Ea.st- were to be completely trans

formed under the Tantric influence of Mahiiyana and were to be replaced by a troop of

cliabolical genii carrying bags, sometimes (e.g. in Bezeklik (Fig. 93)) under the commandof a couple of deities.

Gaml}a

At the centre of these zenithal strips the Garu<;la bird, the mount of i ~ ~ u nHinduism,

still assumes the a.spect of a parrot in the fashion of the Hippokampenhohle in Kyzyl,

as he once clid n Tnclia on the eastern gate of Saiici. More generally, how ever, he is represented in a hieratic stylised form a little reminiscent of the great eagles with outspread

wings decorating the squiuches of the arches round the stiipas in Afghanistan (Fig. 94).

With an eagle's or a falcon's beak, sometimes with two heads or a human face and a

hooked beak, he fights his hereditary enemi es, his hail-brothers the ntigas, who hem himin and from whom he has to wrest the Elixjr of Life. This struggle seems to have been

connected with the liberation of souls in the iconography of the Little Vehicle. The cosmic

bird, known of old to Veclism, remains a somewhat mysterious figure n Central Asia,

or less related to the solar eagle, a bird common to the various ancient religions of the

Near East, Greece and Rome in which we find legends about the eagle as a psychopomp

or carrying off a human figure. In Kyzyl too, we see the gart'(la ravishing a niigini ( Kas

setteu Hohle ). We even find him in Ha<;l<:la (Fig. 95) wearing a royal turban and over

coming the serpent entwining him witl1 his eagle's beak, in a relief which must date back

to the second or third century A.D. He appears in his human form, winged and recognis

able from the curved beak designed by his upper lip at the head of a gathering of yak asin the Mayahohle in Kyzyl (see Fig. So). But the theme was completely transformed

by .Mahayana and we find fantastic Garu<;la hunts in the Turfao region in which the

Garuc la bird, with a sem i-human diabolical appearance, has become the robber of souls

(Fig. 96) . The infant-souls must be seized from him so that they can be reincarnated,

and epic battle is fought by the army of yak as under the command of the Guardian

kings to whom couples in need of children sometimes prayed.

Suchlike friezes with cosmic or eschatological subjects of before the Chinese period

have only hitherto come to light at the zenith of the cradle vaults in the caves of Kuca(see Fig. 8g ). They always went together with the same type of mountainous ornamen

tation which we find in the early period in Turfan. The increasingly stylised losangeshaped mow1tains which served as a background for the jtitaka, avadtina and preaching

scenes repeated on the ceilings seem to have blended with the motif of the celestial vault

representing the cosmos perhaps J)artly in imitation of the rocky crypts of the 1\iithraic

cults). And indeed, we always see there the essential cosmic elements- the rock, the tree

and the water. At a later date the mountainous decor on the vaults was succeeded by

tbe decor of great lotuses, more abstract images of the Universe embellished by various

symbols or Buddhic figures, and which culminated in the concept of the m a ~ u j a l aNtigas

The cult of the ntigas and the ntigartijas, the snake kings, was common in India and was

assimilated by Buddhism at a very early stage, which is why ntigas appeai in various

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1<11NOR DIVINITIES AND DIVINITIES ASSUliLATED BY BUDDHISM 37

episodes in the life of Buddha. The ntigas are the spirits of the waters, the rivers and the

fountains: they preside when it rains, and they were to be regarded by Buddhism as

one of the eight categories of supernatural beings.As early as in the art of Gandhiira, in a relief representing the Buddha enthroned and

preaching at a transcendent assembly, we see the ntigas depicted down to the waist,

bearing the lotus on which the Blessed One is seated. The flower emerges ·from turbulent

waters filled with fish. 3 So, from this period onwards, the ntigas were always to have the

same function. They were represented as human beings in princely dress, the snake's

head rising from their turban being the only indication of their quality. This is how we

find them in Afghanistan. The niche with an aquatic decor of Tepe-Shotor in Ha<;lc;la

(Fig. 97 has been interpreted as a scene of submission and conversion of a naga-k:ing

to Buddhism. The fact that the scene takes place under the water of the pool and not on

the edge, as most of the texts recounting episodes of this kind described it, can be con

nected with a local tradition. Even the kinga n i ~ k a

was obliged to overcome a snakeking, an enemy of Buddhism who was ravaging the monasteries, and a number of similar

legends existed in East Central Asia, particularly in the Kuca region.

In Kyzyl ntigartijas appear on the corners of the ceiling supporting a dome (Fig. 98).

They are young princes with rich clothes in the Indian fashion. Behind their haloes arise

numerous snakes' heads which stand out against a cloudy mass identical to the clouds

depicted in the zenithal strips of the vaults. t is they too who support the lotuses placed

beneath the Buddhas on the dome of the cave mit den ringtragenden Tauben , where

they seem to be playing the same role. Their appearance at the base of the dome could be

explained by their function as guardians of the heaven. In the entire Kuca region the

ntigas assume the unusual aspect of warriors in armour, the halo of snakes' heads alwaysstanding out against the clouds (e.g. at Kirish (Fig. 99)). This type in armour, which is

peculiar to this area and has no antecedent or later influence, must surely be connected

with some local cult.

According to the Buddhist legends, the rajfitipdramitd was placed under the protection

of the nagas by Buddha himself. t is also said that N igarj una, one of the first patriarchs

of Maba.yiina, received the revelation of the sacred books in the palace of the Naga king,under the sea. So it is hardly surprising to see the agas depicted down to their waists

supporting the Buddha's lotus throne in the transcendent preaching scenes-a theme

we even find in the art of Gandhara. Later in Afghanistan, in the seventh and eighth cen

turies, in Tepe-Sardar in Gbazn.i and in Fondukistan, the same theme is developed in thechapels around the stiipas (Fig. 100). In the Turfan region the ntigas lose their human

aspect and are represented as great dragons with winged bodies, long tails, clawed feet

and a homed head with a gaping mouth and sharp fangs. They are very close to the traditional Chinese models and they appear thus, their bodies knotted round •ount Meru,

in cave 7 in Bezeklik (see Part. I, Fig. 66 . Again in Bezeklik, in cave 9. two dragons

arise from the dark waters of a pool. Their sinuous bodies flank a lotus and the stems of

a lotus-shaped throne which they support with their clawed feet. Although it is treated

differently this is indeed the theme familiar to us from Gandhiira.

• Relief of Mohammed Mari. Museum of Lahore. no. 1135. reproduced in Hosenfield, The Dynasticrt of the Kusha.ns fig. 90.

Autori4 teises saugomos



MINOR DIVINITIES AND DIVINITIES ASSIMILATED BY BUDDHISM

Aquatic Themes t ~ d M ~ m t M

We have already emphasised that the uigas often appear down to the waist emerging

from an aquatic surface. The turbulent waters of this surface are full of fish and birds

and are adorned with flowers and lotus leaves. The theme of water, which existed as earlyas the art of GandM.ra, appears to have developed enormously in Afghanistan and above

all in Central Asia. No doubt the object was to represent space conceived as an ocean,

according to the views of Indian cosmology. Thus, in the u ~ a region, at the base of the

vault and the corners of the ceiling supporting the dome, the aquatic theme is frequently

used, perhaps to express the fact that the shrine itself is a microcosm (see Fig. Sg). In the

Hohle mit dem Musikerchor we find a strip decorated with shells and sea animals.

But the theme attains its fmest expression in the Hippokampenhi:ihle (Fig. ror). To

the shells, the snakes, the lotuses and the aquatic birds are added sea-l10rses derived

directly from the traditon of western classical antiquity. t is in a similar way, by means

of an aquatic surface filled with ·1uigas lotuses and birds, that the cosmic ocean is represented behind the Vairocana of Karasha.r (see Fig. 38) . Indeed, the migas too, seem to

be closely connected with cosmic representations.

In the Hippokampenhohle two Nti{Janijas the guardians of tbe treasures, flank a

Mount ~ f e r u which looms up in the centre (Fig. ro2). The cosmic mountain, marked by

the solar disk and the lunar crescent according to the classical Central Asian design, is

girdled by a knot of multiheaded serpents. The image of Mount Meru in the shape of an

hourglass girdled by serpents w a ~ common in East Central ·Asia on the northern route

and persisted for a long time, for we also find it in the Turfan region. Here the aquatic

surface assume.s the aspect of a pool slcirted by a tiled rim. From the water of the pool

emerges the lotus serving as a seat for the main figure in the picture as we see on thewalls of the shrines of Bezeklik (e.g. in cave 9 (see Fig. us)) - and it is sometimes painted

straight onto the floor of the shrine before the cult statue so that the throne really doesseem to be rising from the water. A pavement from the temple of Qoco is a good illustra

tion of this theme.

D :tn:nities Ass milated by Bzddllism and Ferociorls Deities

We saw in connection with the eight categories of supernatural beings that Buddhism

assimilated figures from the iconographical repertory of the environment in which it

established itself ever since it started to develop. This tendency becomes very obvious

in the case of the great gods of Hinduism, as we shall see later. Earlier on Buddhism l1adborrowed elements from Hellenism- in Hac;lc;la, for instance, we have the type of the

Tyche of the City crowned with towers, then there are the infant genii bearing a laurel

crown over the Buddha's head (Fig. ro3), or the Vajrapal)i-Heracles with a lionskin.

And it has also been observed that the figures of i\laitreya and Amitabha have more than

one feature which is reminiscent of Iran.Of course the Hindu pantheon remains the richest source of all Indra and Brahma

appear in the major episodes of the life of Buddha paying homage to him (see Part. I,

Fig. 22). This theme, so frequently illustrated in the art of Gandhii.ra, appears in several

caves in I<yzyl where Indra is often even accompanied by his faithful attendant Paiika

Si.kha playing the harp. But in East Central Asia Indra is represented on a number o.foccasions in the guise of the figure with eyes all over his body (e.g. in the Teufels-




MINOR DIVINTTJES AND DIVINITIES ASSIMILATED BY BUDDHISM 39

· hohle in Kyzyl) (Fig. 104). This type seems also to have existed on the southern route,

as is proved by a magnificent fragment of wall painting from Balawaste (Fig. 105). Thecouple of Siva accompanied by Parvati, generally seated on a bull, appears several times

in Kyzyl (Fig. ro6). They are depicted with peaceful features on the walls of the Teufels

hohle c . 6ooA.D.). A little later, in the Mayahohle , third group (before 650), a threeheaded Siva clasps Pa.rvati in her arms. And to this famous couple we can add munerons

haloed couples, also lovingly embracing, known as the mithunas who are to be found

in almost every representation of a divine sphere of kamadatlm that World of Desire

where the differentiation between the sexes has not yet disappeared.

t was above all in the Khotan region that the cult of Siva Mahe5vara assumed a partic

ular importance, but it always remained closely connected with Buddhism and perfectly

integrated in its iconography (Fig. 107). Both in the wall paintings and in the portable

paintings the representations of :Mahe5vara retain a striking homogeneity. The ityphallic

figure with three heads, six arms and a blue skin sits holding the sun and the crescent

moon. These representations, which must date from the sixth-seventh century A.D.,are evidence of a first wave of images contaminated by the Hindu pantheon. They herald

the iconography of Vajrayana, although it is not possible to determine the extent of its

influence at this stage. Thus the representations in the Khotan rt>.gion of G a t : ~ e 5 a the

elephant-beaded god, son of Siva, might well be precursors of the figure of Mahavimlyaka,

the demon creator of obstacles of Tantric Buddhism (Fig. 108). The recent discovery

of a statue of Durga in a Buddhist complex in Afghanistan testifies to this phenomenon

of integration of the Shivaite pantheon (Fig. 109).

In the Buddhist shrines of Dandan-Uiliq some wooden panels offered as ex votos have

come to light (Fig. IIo). The painted figures on some of them, like the male divinity

with four arms presiding over the silk weavers, have been identified with deities peculiarto the Khotan area-but these cults remained purely local and do not seem to have had

any effect on Buddhism in the rest of Central Asia.

Other figures were integrated at an extremely early stage and had been perfectly assim

ilated by Buddhism by the time i t reached Afghanistan and Central Asia. This is the case

of the tutelary couple Hariti-Paficika in their role as prot«ectors of the monasteries, aswe find them portrayed at the gates of the refectories. In the Kushan period in Afgha

nistan they were strongly influenced by the Iranian couple Pharro-Ardoxsho from whom

they derived the warlike aspect of the male figure and the horn of plenty of the female

one (Fig. XII). Hariti seems to become the goddess both of Fertility and of Fortune,

having borrowed from her husband the character as keeper of riches which be had inherited from Kubera, the prince of demons, whose general he was. But Hariti, the former

ogress, is also a giver of children and it is above all in this guise that she appears in East

Central Asia-giving her breast and surrounded by naked babies. In Kyzyl she is accom

panied by Piiiicika (Fig. II2 , but in the Khotau region (Fig. n3 ), and later in Turfan

(Fig. II4 , she is alone.

The Buddhism of Vajr.tylina (or Tantrism) becomes evident in the Turfan region in the

course of the eighth century A.D., although it is not possible to distinguish clearly the

direct contribution of Central Asia from the elements imported from China. The icono

graphy peculiar to tl1is type of Buddhism impregnated with magic does indeed seem to

have established itself in Chang-an and Lo-yang in the eighth century A.D. with the

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MINOR DIVINITIES AND DlVlNITIES ASSnUt.ATED BY BUDDHISM

arrival of Indian monks bringing the Mahavairocana-sUtra. Many of the representations

in the shrines of Bezeklik, for example, can be fitted into a system familiar to us from

Tun-huang, or even from Shittgon Buddhism n Japan. The two bearers of vajras one

red and the other blue, who appear at the foot of various paintings, can be identified as

vidyiirajas thanks to the paintings in Tun-huang, especially the large banners on silkrepresenting Kuan-yin IAvalokitesvara} with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes

in the midst of a gathering (Fig. IIS).

Mahakala, one of the forms of Siva, is anotbet case in point for in this system be

turns into a reincarnation of 1\fahavairocana, the transcendent Buddha (Fig. u6 . He is re

presented with a furious expression, raising behind him the spoils of an elephant with

which he hides the sun. All these personages appear against a background of flames with

a furious aspect, their several arms holding attributes (a vaj-ra a sword, a wheel, a knife,

a bell), and making menacing gestures, and their hair adorned with skulls. They are

ferocious manifestations intended to frighten the enemies of Buddhism and to repel evil

influences. They may have had some connection with the elaboration of the iconographyof Lamaism, but we do not encountet any sexual aspect n the Turfan region.

t appears that certain shrines in Bezeklik may have been dedicated to the cult of

these divinities : thus sixteen ferocious feminine deities (Fig. II7) sixteen is the perfect

figure of esoteric Buddhism) adorn the walls of a room whose cult image was a divinity

seated on a bull before a background of flames (Yamantaka or Malle{;vara . These

figures with three or four heads and four arms, standing on a green fish , seem to be

peculiar to the Buddhist pantheon of East Central Asia and nothing quite similar to

them has been found before it.




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CHAPTER FIVE

MONKS AND ASCETICS

onks

In the representations of episodes from his earthly life, as well as in the evocations of

his sermons, Buddha is often surrounded by his disciples or by arhats. The origin of this

iconographical type must undoubtedly be sought in the groups of monks representing

the disciples who SltrrOlmd Sakyamuni in the art of Gandhara. To start with nothing dif-

ferentiates the first disciples from one another hey all appear as monks with a shaven

bear, a draped robe and no halo. In Shotorak and in Bamiyan, for example, only theposition of the personagesallows us to identify the main protagonists of the par·inirvtitJa.

Little by little, however. under the influence of the doctrines of the Great Vehicle, the

personality o the arhat the ideal saint, is superimposed on that of the disciples, for in

the :Mahayana hierarchy the arhat comes after the Bodhisatt vas because he only wants

enlightenment for himself.

Buddha's first disciples stand out from this group and in Kyzyl (see Part I , Fig. 19

we already see l\1aha.kasyapa in the guise of an aged monk with a ravaged face, clad in the

patched robe that was to characterise him, while Ananda appears with the features of a

young monk. Moreover, in the Kuca region we also see. apparently for the first time, the

type of the tbaumaturgic monk. Let us take the "Mayahohle" third group of caves inKyzyl, where the First Council is represented (Fig. n8 . We recognise Maha.kasyapa and

Ananda, as well as some flying monks evoking the five hundred arhats on their way to the

gathering summoned after Buddha's death. This theme of thaumaturgic monks is quite

common in the Kuca region. The monks are represented flying, surrounded by flames,

and sometimes with several heads, maybe to suggest their magical powers. In the two

~ i a y a b O h l e o . (second and third group of caves) in Kyzyl the monks on the zenithal strip

travelling ill the air seated on magic vehicles have been identified with the ones described

in the Stwuigadlui-avadana (see Part I, Fig. 46). They accompany Buddha during one of

his rniraculoes sermons, and it is no doubt with a similar legend that we can co lllect the

zellithal st rip in Kumtura showing multiheaded monks flying, accompanied by a Buddha,also flying (Fig. n9 . From this period on we see the arltats endowed with the miraculouspowers which were to be their attributes in China, when they had become the protectors

and guardians of tl11:: religion.

111e arhats always figure in the transcendent preaching scenes and they appear in avery similar guise in the Turfan region (e.g. in Bezeklik) . Their halo often allows us to

distinguish them from the worshipping monks whose costumes are so similar (see Part. I,

Figs.4, so. 69 .

Ascetics

The type af the r i the hermit or Brahmin who is often depicted in East Central Asia,

is derived directly from the Indian tradition via Gandbara (Fig. 120 . This figure, who

2




MONKS AND ASCETICS

appears in numerous low reliefs in Tumsuq, 1 underwent a considerable developmentin the Kuca region. He is a semi-naked personage with a beard, a moustache and ha.ir

combed into wide plaits part of which are swept into a tall chignon, and he sometimes

wears a tigerskin round his loins. Drol)a, the sage who distributes the relics of Buddha,

is represented thus, as are the numerous Brahmins who appear in the jtil.aka scenes (seePart. I, Fig. zo). This iconographical type was to persist for a long time. We find it at

Sangim-aghyz where we see an ascetic seated n a grass hut in one of the medallions

of a iling illustrating the a5ajtitaka, and, at a later date, it may have served as a model

to a s u r who is part of the entourage of Avalokitesvara with a thousand

harids and a thousand eyes (e.g. in Bezeklik and on the banners of Tun -huang).

1 ou chmcq Mission Pelliot I fig 171.




CHAPTER SIX

MANDALAS

The concept of the matufal4 which "assembles in hierarchical order, according to the

instructions of the sacred texts, a crowd of divinities grouped round the principal deity"

seems to appear io West and East Central Asia ever sioce the spread of the J\. ahayanist

schools. In the valley of Bamiyan the decoration of certain domes with juxtaposed con

centric circles may already be a hint of what was later to become a ttmttttala (see Part I,

Fig. 55) . In the dome "with the beautiful Bodhisattva", the main figure is placed in thecentre, surrounded by smaller circles containing small Buddhas. As for the dome of the

shrine of Kakrak (Fig. 121), its design appears as a prefiguration of the concept of theuniverse as a lotus with a thousand petals, although the central figure is not yet Vairo

cana, but a Bodhisattva. According to this concept every petal is regarded as a universe

in itself over which reigns Sakyamuni, the emanation of the central figure and the origin

of innumerable Buddhas. Although it intends to express a Buddhist idea we are also

entitled to see io this arrangement of circles an influence from Sasanid Iran, as Pet rucci

has already suggested- take the design on the cup of Kosroes in the Bibliotheque Natio

nale in Paris, for example.

In the Kuca region, in Kirish, but abovell

in Kyzyl, the domes are divided into (eight)quarters in which Buddhas and Bodhisattvas alternate, the centre being occupied by

a lotus (Fig. 122). The dome of the cave mit den ringtragenden Tauben" (c. 650) is most

interesting in this respect. Despite the absence of the figure of Vairocana in the centrethe alternation of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas bearing vases suggests the central field

of a t M ~ t a l a (the garbluulhiitumatufala in particular). To the extent in which the cultfigure of the cave replaces the central figure, the entire dome could be regarded as a sort

of tttatt4ala Of course, this system cannot yet be connected with Vairocana himself,

but the juxtapositioning of the cult figure with the decorations on the side walls of the

cave, adorned with great Buddhas whose character as universal king has already been

emphasised, suggests the layout of them a ~ u j a l a s

in which Vairocana, the deification ofthe historical Buddha, plays to the full his part as "Great Enlightener" (see Part. I,

Figs. 31, 32).Furthermore, as early as the seventh century, both in the Sorcuq region and in the

Turfan region further east, an attempt was made to group the divinities in such a way

as to e l>ress their relationship to one another visually. t is thus that we encounter thetheme of the a k ~ a t r a s (personified constellations) on several domes. In Toyuk, for

example, they are placed on foliated scrolls of lotuses arranged around a radiant central

Buddha (Fig. 123). Later, in Bezeklik io the eight century A.D., on the dome of the little

temple 3, there appears a pattern io which the figures are arranged in concentric circles

around a central figure (who may be connected with Maftjusri assimilated by the supremeBuddha) (Fig. 124). Although the images cannot be identified precisely, this dome con-

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M A ~ J A L A S

tains the characteristics of a m ~ u j l as they were going to be es tablished later with its

concentric circles and its use of symbols.

Despite the fragmentary nature of our documentation we must surely take Central

Asia into account i we wish to find the origin of an iconographical theme which was to

undergo such a great developmentin the Heian period in apan and still later in Tibet.




LEGENDS TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig 77· Lokapala and female divinity. Dandan-Uilik. Modelled clay and wall painting. Sixth century A.D.

The personage in armour trampling a demon has been identified as VaisravaQa becauseof the purse he holds in his right hand. Indeed, this lokapii.la the guardian of the North,is frequently associated with Kubera, the god of Fortune, one of whose attributes thisis. The identification of the graceful female figure standing in a pool, accompanied by achild, is not certain. She has been regarded as a ntigini associated with a local legend, or

as a yak ni. Others have seen her as the goddess of Fortune and of Beauty, Maha SriL a ~ m i ) .Photo from Ancient Klwtan pL II.

Fig 78 VaisravaQa. Khotan region. Painted panel. Sixth-seventh century A.D.Vaisraval)a occupies a privileged position among the four lokaptilas which may be

due to the cult accorded hlm in the Khotan region. The guardian king is representedfrontally, standing with a spear in his right hand and a stiipa in his left.

He is dressed in armour and has a three-pronged crown on his head. This manner ofrepresenting him seems to have established itself in the Khotan region and to have spread

eastwards from there.Photo from J. Williams, East 0- West New series, 23- 1/2, 1973. The iconography

of Khotanese Painting , fig. 37.

Fig. 79· VaisravaQa. Yar. Banner painted on hemp. Tenth century A.D.Two aspects of VaisravaQa appear on the banners found in the ancient city of Yar.

Here, the King of the North, identified by a scroll in Chinese, is in military dress and holdsthe stiipa and spear, his habitual attributes. On other banners he is represented frontally,with flames at hls shoulders, as in the Khotan region.

Photo from Chotscho pi. 42.

Fig. 8o. Yak$a. Kyzyl, Mayahohle I l l . Wall painting. c. 6so A.D.Around a large preaching Buddha seated on a lotus throne with flames rising from his

shoulders we see a quantity of figures amongst whom we can apparently distinguishsome of the eight categories of supernatural beings. We can also recognise a gaN«f a witha bird's beak, y a ~ a s with pointed ears and protruding fangs, and an as14ra with six armsholding the sun and the moon (only the upper part of the figure is visible in the photograph) . Above the Buddha the disk of the Moon containing Candra and that of the Sun

containing Siirya are represented, and both divinities are accompanied by a monk.Photo Pelliot, Musee Guimet, Paris.

Fig 8r Yak ?' . Tarishlak. Wall painting. Seventh century A.D.?

A figure with a demoniac aspect dressed in armour stands holding a cup in his left

hand. What with the bulging eyes and prominent fangs, the face has a diabolical expres-

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LEGENDS TO TH E ILLUSTRATIONS

sion. (This figure has been identified as Sailjaya, one of the attendants in VaiSravana's

train.)

Photo from Seri11dia pi. XII.

Fig 82.k ~

Sanghym-aghyz, temple 7· Wall painting. Seventh century A.D.The child is naked, his neck and wrists adorned with a torsade. The scalp is surmountedby an ibex head, and the hair has been shaved, except for some thin locks over the fore-

head and above the ears. He is playing a flu te. Another identical child was facing him

and playing a p'i p'a. Bo th flanked a princely personage with a halo and pointed ears,

probably a prince of demons or of y ~ Some yak as with goats' or antilopes' headsprotected childbirth and, in North-West India, wer invoked as genii ot fertility.

Photo from Chotscho pi. 13.

Fig 83. Tree divinity. Kyzyl, Ajata.SatruhoWe . Wall painting. c. 600 A.D.This female figure emerging from the waist upwards from a tree was on a side wall

flanking a p r i n i r v d ~ t normally occupying the end wall of the passage. The presence ofthis tree fairy lamenting the death of the Blessed One seems to have been part of a

tradition, traces of which can be found in Shotorak.

Photo Pelliot, Musee Guimet, Paris.

Fig . 84. Personages on a balcony. Shotorak. Sc hist. Third century A.D.

Above the Bodhisattva Maitreya seated beneath an arca ture and surrounded by a

gathering, stretches a gallery where we can see figures holding garlands, flowers or mirrors.

t is in teresting to observe the development of the architecture here associated with what

could be a so rt of Pure Land of Maitreya.

National Museum of Kabul, photo F. Tissot .Fig . 85. Gandharvi. Subashi. Wood carving. Fifth-sixth century A.D.

This little statuette represents a gattdharvi or a celestial musician playing the lute and

sketching a dance step. The figure was probably part of the portable decoration of a cave.

Musee Guimet, Paris; photo F. Tissot.

Fig. 86. Flying figures . Kyzyl, r6 Schwerttragerhiihle . Wall painting. 6oo-6so A.D.

On the cE iling of the surrounding passage at the end of the cave a flight of celestialfigures pay homage to Buddha who has entered Nirval)a. Floating in a divine atmosphere

dotted with flowers, SOII)e ga11dharvas n rich princely dress and flow ing d r p offer

flowers or jewels, necklaces, incense lamps and music.Photo Pelliot, Musee Guimet, Par.is.

Fig. 87 . Apsaras. Kumtura, Kinnarihohle . Wall painting. c. 7 A.D.

Above the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas, the apsaras take part in the preaching

scenes. They appear in the form of flying figures, usually with feminine features, throwing

flowers in a swirl of scarves and ribbons.

Museum fiir indische Kunst, Berlin; photo by the authors.

Fig . a b Astral divinity. Ba.miyan, niche of the 35 metre Buddha. Wall painting.

Fifth-si..xtlt century A.D.The haloed god is standing on his quadriga with rearing horses to the right and the

left of the chariot, and we can sense the presence of the driver. The god is clad in ''the




LEGENDS TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS 47

fashion of Northern India , in a long embroidered coat. In his right band he holds·a spe.ar,

and a sword hangs from his belt. He stand5 out against a large whitish disk surrounded

by a jagged red border over which his long horseman's cape is spread. He is flanked by

two winged female figures dressed in the same belted robe, armed with a spear, the one

to the right raised, the one to the left lowered. The right-hand figure, with a helmet and

the traces of a shield with a l\1edusa head, seems to have been greatly influenced by the

warrior type of Athena Promachos. Above them two kinnara birds must .have been car

rying torches, raised or lowered according to the spears only the righthand one remains).

In the top corners hover two wind deities, their torso supported by swollen draperies

and turned towards a flight of h m as (souls). A border of red flames along the sides

partly conceals some light-coloured disks (six or eight), the planets. The god has bee.n

identified alternately as Surya. Candra or Mithra. As a celestial symbol of the cosmos,

he could be a combination of all these figures since be unites all their attributes.

a. Photo F. Tissot, it situ.

b. Photo from Godard Hackin, n t i q i t e s bouddhiq1tes tle Bamiyan fig. 6.

Fig. 89. ZenHbal strip. Ky.r.yl, Hoble mit dem l\1usikerchor . Wall painting. 6oo-

6so A.D.

On the zenithal strip of the vault of various rock sbrine.s in Ky.tyl we find the san1e

elements described in the decoration of the vault of the niche of the thirty-five metre

Buddha in Bamiyan. But here t11e Sun or the Moon are no longer in a predominant po

sition and are merely included in the composition. In the zenithal strip in this photograph

we recognise the Sun surrounded by flying haffl. aS (geese). the wind deities and some

standing Buddhas flanking a two-headed garU j,a. On either side of the strip pFeaching

Buddha's are represented together with jtitaka scenes in a stylised mountain decor. Onthe top of the wall, just beneath the vault, we see couples of gandltarvas, the celestial

musicians. The couples appear from tl1e waist upwards above the balustrade of a trompe

l'oeil balcony against some golden nets. On the right, in the lunette, we see the custorna•,y

representation of l\Iaitreya in the Tusita heaven.


Fig. 90· Solar divinity. KiriS-Simsim. Wall painting. Seventh century A.D.

This solar divinity comes from the zenithal strip of a vault. The divinity, who is not

booted in this painting, is seated cross-legged on ·his chariot leaning on a large radiant

nimbus, against which we see the stylised folds of his robe standing out.Museum iir indische Kunst, Berlin; photo by the authors.

F1:g 9I. Zenithal strip. Kiri§-Sirnsim, Main temple of the s o u complex. \ \1all

painting. Seventh century A.D.

In the Kuca region the Sw1 is represented by a radiant disk sometimes containing theimage of Siirya (as in this case) in the form of a figure seated in a chariot, often with o r s e ~harnassed to it. Here, beneath the chariot of the sun, we see two wind deities, two Buddhas

surrounded by a flight of h a m ~ a s and agar11(la. Lower down \vas .to be found the divinity

of the moon, who has now all but disappeared. This representation of heaven seen between

the mountain peaks is dotted with stars and constellations.

·Photo from Von l:.and ' ' · Leute i ~ f Ost Turkesta1f pi. 26.

Marepian. 3 a X I 1 U I C H I 1 ~ asropcbKI 1M npasoM



LEGENDS TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 92 Wind deity. Kiris-Simsim, Temple near the spring. Wall painting. Seventh

century A.D.

As usual the figure with drooping breats whose torso is depicted appears against a

background of clouds encircling it and is holding up a drapery fo lded forward. Its dishev

elled head is turned towards a dark cloud filled with tkigas.Photo from Spiitantike, VI, pi. XIX.

Fig. 93. Wind deities. Bezeklik, cave 26. Wall painting. Tenth century A.D.

In the Turfan region at a later date the wind deities assumed a different appearanceunder the influence of Chinese traditions. They are now half-naked demons with shaggy

hair holding water-skins containing the winds. Behind them, standing on the clouds,

the rain deities seem to be chasing them along in order to unleash a storm.

Photo from A.B.K., fig. 584.

Fig. 94· Garu<;la. Kyzyl, Teufelshi:ihle . Wall painting. c. 6so A.D.

The theme of the gan1tja with serpents appears frequently in the zenithal strips ofthe Kuca region. The mythical bird is sometimes represented with a human head, and

on his chest are knotted some snakes whose many heads writhe all around l1im.

Museum fiir indische Kunst, Berlin; photo by the authors.

Fig. 95· Garu<;la. Ha<;l<;la. Stucco. Third century A.D.

The garu4as form one of the eight categories of supernatural beings. The bird spreads

his wings majestically, a princely turban on his head. In his hooked beak he holds a ser

pent, for the gamtjas were traditionally supposed to be the enemies of snakes.

Photo from Barthoux, Les Fo11illes de Hatjija, pi. 102e.

Fig. 96 The Garu<;la hunt . Bezeklik, temple 26. Wall painting. Ninth-tenth centuryA.D.

In the Turfan region the theme of the gar11tja developed in a particular manner. On

the walls of several caves Garu<;lahunts were represented whichare to be connected with

the legend of the garu<;la as a child stealer . Amidst warriors and men at arms the monster is lassoed while a dog bites his haunches. Here the gar11tja has a human torso with

hands and feet with long claws and large wings. His face with a hooked beak has a dia

bolical expression. On the edges of the scene we see all sorts of divinities, y k ~ s andgreat lokapdlas in military dress, with their characteristic attributes.

Photo from Ch.otscho pi. 33·

Fig. 97· Aquatic scene. Ha<;l<;la, Tepe-Shotor. Stucco. Third-fourth century A.D.

In a niche in one of the courts of the monastic complex discovered in Ha<;l<;la in 1966,

there is an aquatic scene which has been identified as the submission of a ndga to Buddha.

The niche is covered with a decor of sinuous waves symbolising water inhabited by fishand sea monsters. A kneeling ttdgardja and his suite are in front of the Buddha accom

panied by Vajrapiit:1i. The body of the snake, whose hood must have covered his head,

can still be seen on the tuigardja s back.

Photo F. Tissot, in situ.

Fig. 98. Niiganija. Kyzyl. Rotkuppelhohle . Wall painting. c. 6so.

In one of the corners of the ceiling supporting the dome of the cave were painted four

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LEGENDS TO THE IL ULSTRATIONS 49

nagas surrounding a princely personage with a ferocious aspect. The tuigas heads are

haloed by a cloudy mass against which stand out several snake heads. The clouds may

be an allusion to the benevolent role of the t ~ t i g a s who bring rain.


Fig. 99· Nagaraja. K i r i ~ S m s i m Hiihle mit den kranztragenden Tauben . Wall

painting. Seventh century A.D.These two snake kings were painted on the vault of the corridors surrounding the

pillar stiipa of a rock shrine. One of them is brandishing a lasso and surmounting a

small demon, holding a bow and a quiver. The second one, armed with a sword and a

bow and quiver, holds in his right hand the staff of a dragon-shaped banner. Griinwedel

saw the two figures as g o d ~ of local rivers and this would account for both the camel

and the dragon-shaped banner.

Photo from A.B.K., fig 431 432

Fig. IOO Nagan'ija. Fondukistan. Painted clay. Seventh-eighth century A.D.

The nagas, spirits of the waters, are sometimes included in the cycle of the Buddha's

transcendent sermons. The two snake kings appear down to the waist with the aspect

of two young princes adorned with j e w e l ~ . They flank the stem of the lotus whose flower

served as Buddha's throne. The stem rises over the waters of a pool. The nagas hair is

raised in a curled chignon, the base surrounded by a serpent with its head appearing in

front.

Musee Guimet, Paris; photo F. Tissot.

Fig. IOI Aquatic scene. Kyzyl, Hippokampenhiihle . Wall painting. c 500 A.D.An aquatic frieze runs along the base of the vault, decorated with mountains. We can

see a seahorse, a camel with a crest, a three-headed fish, an archer and another seahorse.

Further on we see an elephant and a gam4a attacking a ntiga. According to Griinwedel

the painter wanted to represent the cycle of metamorphoses following the death of a

naga killed by a garurJ,a.

The setting of stylised mountains with frolicking animals is peopled with musicians,

meditating ascetics and archers. The landscape is dotted with jewelled trees, flowers,

ponds and schematised rivers. t might be an evocation of p rt of the World of Desire

kamadluitu). In the upper part of the photograph we see a fragment of the zenithal strip :

the crescent moon surrounded by planets and a thaumaturgic monk, beneath whose feettwo h a m ~ a s fl y above a cloud from which five snake's heads emerge.


Fig. I . Mount Meru . Kyzyl, HippokampenhOhle . Wall painting. c s A.D.

Mount Meru, girdled with serpents and stamped with the sun and the moon, emerges

from the ocean where aquatic birds are swimming. t is flanked by two nagarcijas (Nanda

and Upananda) offering baskets of jewels. On the cosmic mountain stands a gathering

in a palace around a prince. The prince and his attendants all seem to have pointed ears

which would a1low us to identify the scene as a representation of the Terrace of the a ~ a sone of the upper zones of Mount Meru according to Buddhist cosmology.





so LEGENDS TO TH.E ILLUSTRATION S

Fig. lOJ . Genii bearing crowns. Ha<;l<;la. WaU painting. Tbird-fourtlJ century A. D.

· These two little winged genii supporting a crown were painted on the vault of a ni.cbecontaining a statue of Buddha and were placed just ovt:r his head. Derived from the

iconography of classical Antiquity, they emphasise Buddha's royal nature. According

to Rowland we must co nnect them with the coronation or enlightenment of Sakyamuru.

Mu see Gu imet, Paris; photo F. Tissot.

Fig . . o4 . lndra. Kyzyl, T e t ~ f e l s h o h l e 'vVall painting. c. 6so A.D.

In the upper part of a scene representing an Assault by Mara is placed a .personageholding a sheU, his body covered with eyes. He could be identified with Indra who iscaUecl the one with a thousand eyes .

Photo from A .B./ ., fig. 315.

Fig . ro ;. Indra. Balawaste. Wall painting. Fifth-sixth century A.D.

This knee ling figurew a ~

placed on the right hand side of an image of Buddha, the edgeof whose large halo can still be seen. Richly adorned, a Brahmin's cord around his naked

torso, the figure's bands are joined in a ge>-ture of adoration. On the upper part of hishand is painted an eye which enables us to identify him as Indra. We can suppose that

tbe entire scene represented the homage paid to Buddha by Indra and Braluna, two godsdescended from Hinduism.

Museum of Central Asian Antiquities, New-Delhi; photo by the authors.

Ft:g. 106 . Siva and Parvati. Kyzyl, TeufelshOhle . WaU painting. c. 6oo A.D.The gods of Hinduism were already introduced into the Buddha's parivara in Kyzyl.

Here $iva is represented as accompanied by his wife Parvati, and seated on the white

bull Nandi. The god, white coloured, with three humanbeads and one animal one, haS fourarms. He has an ocellated sk.Jn round his loins, while Parvati is sitting next to him witlljoined hands.

Photo from A.B.K. fig. 297.

Fig. 107. 1Vfahe vara. Balawaste. Wall painting. Sixth-seventh century A.D.Mahesvara, one of t he forms of Siva, appears on various occasions in the Buddhist

shrines of tlte Khotan region. The god with three heads and four arms has the third eye onhis forehead and wears a diadem adorned with a skull on his head. His upper hands areholding the solar disk and the crescent moon, the third hand is holding a pomegranate ( ?) ·,

and the last, resting on his thigh, a vajra. Above him can be seen the feet of a personagestanding on a lotus (the rest of the body has disappeared) as weUas a Buddha seated iiimeditation. This image of Mahe$vara, with an aspect that we could already describe as

Tantric, undoubtedly testifies to ~ x n c e of Vajrayana in the Khotan e g o n asearly as this period.

· i\fuseuru of Ce ntral Asian Antiquities, New D ~ h i ; photo by the authors.

Fig. Io8. G a n e ~ a (or Mahavi.miyaka ?) . Endere. Painted wooden tablet. Seventhcentury A.D.

Among the various divinities of Hindu origin represented in the iconography of Khotanthere also appears the elephant.headed god, Ganesa. He is represented ·with four arms

and a tigerskin rotmd his loins.Photo from Ancient Khotan pi. LXXVIIf




LEGENDS TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS SI

Fig. IO< . Durgii : M a h i ~ m a r d i t : ~ i Ghazni. Tapa Sardar. Polychrome clay. Eighth

century A.D.The recent discovery of the remains of a statue of Dm·ga killing the buffalo demon in

Afghanistan, in a chapel in the court surrounding a stiipa, illustrates the progressive

integration of the Hindu gods by Buddhism. This statue stood opposite a large standing

Buddha, the cult image of the chapel being a Buddha seated on a lotus supported by

two flligas.

·Photo·from Taddei, .South Asian Archeology pi. rs.s.

Fig. rro. Local divinities integrated by Buddhism. Dandan-Uilik. Painted panel.

Sixth-seventh century A.D.

Four. personages are depicted on the first panel. Aurel Stein identified the scene as the

illustnition. of a legend recounting the introduction of silk into Khotan. The male figure

willi four anris has been interpreted as the proof of the existence of a local divinity pre

siding over the weavers. The second panel sh·ows the King of tlie rats. According to theaccount of Hsiian-tsang the rats were the object of a special cult, out of gratitude for

the a s s i ~ i : a n c e they bad provided in the com se of a siege.

Photo from Ancient Klwtan pi. LXIII

Fig. III. Hariti between two assistants. Haq<;la. Stone. Second-third century A.D.

The divinity represented with a hieratic aspect, viewed from the nont and seated

between two standing attendants dressed in armour. At her feet crouch two epbebi in

a ttmic holding bags. In her left hand she carries the horn of plenty, the symbol of fertility.

In this triad Hiiriti appears as a sort of Great Goddess between ber two paredri if warrior

dress (in the aspect of Pancika-Pharro). ·

Photo F. Tissot, i situ.

Fig. rr2. Pancika and Hariti. Kyzyl. Teufelshohle . Wall painting. c. 6oo A.D.

Th:e tutelary couple Paii.cika-Hiiriti, whom we encounter repeatedly in the art of Gan

dbara, also Eixi.st in Kyzyl. They appear next to other divinities of Hindu origin in the

pariviira of a Buddha decorating the wall of a shrine: Hariti, seated, gives her breast

to a child.

Photo from A.B.JC fig. 296.

g. IIJ : Hariti. Farhad-Beg-yailaki. Wall painting. Seventh century A.D.

· This representation of Hiiriti, the goddess giver of children , was found close to the

entrance of a shrine where she must have been facing an image of Paficika-Vaisraval)a.Here she is accompanied by children clambering over her shoulclers and her arms, and

one of them js touching her breast. The identification of this figure is co nfirmed by the

account of a Chinese pilgrim, I-ching, who described the monasteries of the Western

Countries an.d noticed images of Hariti and her paredri at some of the entrances.

·. Museum of Central Asian Antiquities, New Delhi; photo by tlte authors.

] ig. II4. Hariti. Yar. Painting on ramie. Ninth-tenth century A.D.

The spread of the cult of Hariti in Central Asia is attested by this banner discovered

in the Turfan region. The goddess is seated, suckling a new-born baby, while children

play and ·miJ.ke music all around her.

. Photo from Cltotscho pi. 40b.




52 LJ; GEND TO THE ILLUSTRATION S

Fig. rrs. Vidyaraja. Bezeklik, cave 9· Wall painting. Tenth century A.D.

In Vajraya.na Buddhism the Vidytirajas appear with a furious aspect and become the

protectors of the sacred area which they guard from evil influences. In this painting the

two Vidytirajas a blue one and a red one, stand out against a background of flames.

They brandish weapons in their six arms. The personage with a blue skin, raising the wheeland the vajra his hands crossed over his chest in a m u d ~ of extermination, his first three

fingers extended, the others folded (pouo che louo yin) could be identified as Kul)Qali.

The two vidydrajas flank a pond from which two dragons emerge supporting the lotus

throne of a figure that has disappeared. We could explain this composition by comparing

it with the paintings from Tun-huang representing Avalokitesvara with a thousand

hands and a thousand eyes , surrounded by a gathering. Here only the lower part of

such a composition has survived. The male and the female personages can thereby be

identified as the ascetic Vasu and as Sri Devi. At the feet of the two vidylirtijas kneel

some smaller figures, one with an elephant's head, the other with a pig's head. They may

be two forms of Viniiyaka. Above, we can still see the remains of two divinities, one ona bull, the other on a buffalo.

Photo from Chctscho pl. 32.

Fig. II6. Mahiikala. Bezeklik, cave 26. Wall painting. Ni nth-tenth century A.D.

Here the great black deva is represented sitting on a bull, holding the spoils oi an

elephant behind him. His furious face is surmounted by shaggy hair held in place by a

diadem of skulls. In one of his hands which is still visible he is holding a trident. In esoteric

Buddhism i\Iahakala is the male aspect of Kili-Durga, Siva's wife. He is also said to be

an incarnation of Vairocana whose purpose is to subjugate the demons.

Photo from A.B.K. fig. 582.Fig. I I7 Diilcini ?). Bezeklik, shrine g. Wall painting. Ninth cent ury A.D.

Sixteen female divinities, traditionally identified as dtikinis adorn the walls of a shrine

in Bezeklik. They are all standing on large green fish, some with four beads and others,

like the one we see here, with three. They have four arms, holding a skuU , a lasso, a knife

and a vajra.

Photo from Chotscho pl. 34 ·

Fig. rr8. The First Council. Kyzyl, MayahOble lll . Wall painting. 6oo-6so A.D.

The scene has been identified by Griinwedel and Professor E. Waldschrnidt as the first

Council which was heldn

Rajagrha after the death of Buddha according to the textsof the sect of the MtUasarvtistivadin. The painting illustrates the two main episodes. To

the left Mahiikasyapa, seated on a throne, sends away Ananda who has not yet reached

the rank of arhat and is consequently not entitled to attend the assembly. Above we

see the arrival of Mahiikasyapa and the arhats flying through the air, flames over their

shoulders. On the right Ananda, seated on a throne and making the gesture of teaching,

presides over the surrounding gathering: after becoming an arhat Ananda has returned

to the council and Mahakasyapa has asked him to transmit the ~ t e r s doctrine.

Photo from Spiitantike VI , pl. 14.

Fig. rr9. Thaumaturgic monks. Kumtura. Wall painting. Seventh century A.D.

On the zenith of the vault of a cave in Kumtura we see monks with several heads floating

utoriLJ teises saugomos



LEGEND TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS 53

n the air and seated n meditation. These figures allude to the miraculous powers of the

disciples of Buddha Sakyamuni. ·

Photo from Oldenburg, Rus. E:xp. to T t ~ r k e s t a n , fig 63.

Figrzo

.Ascetic. Kumtura. Wall painting. Sixth century A.D.

The ascetic, dressed in a short loin-cloth, a scarf across his chest, is seated next to a

Buddha whose doctrine he is listening to. n one hand he holds the water vase and with

the other he makes the gesture of discussion, ready to be converted. The ascetics are

sometimes portrayed as old men, as is the case here, or as young men.


Fig rzr. M a ~ ; u J a l a . Kakrak. Painting on the dome. Sixth-seventh century A.D.

On the dome of a shrine in Kakrak the figures of Buddha are arranged in seven radiate

circles around a central Bodhisattva, himself surrounded by sixteen other smaller Buddha's.

The fragment reproduced shows one of the outer circles which has repeated the same

pattern as the central circle, but here it is a Buddha who forms the centre, surroundedby eleven figures.

Photo from Hackin Carl, NotweUes 1'echerclles a r c M o l o g i p ~ e s a Btimiyan, pi. LV.

i r22 Dome with Buddha and Bodh.isattva. Kyzyl. Hohle mit den ringtragenden

Tauben . Painting. c 650 A.D.

This dome is split into eight quarters containing four Buddhas and four Bodhisattvas.

The former, all clad in a monastic robe and making a different gesture, are standing on

lotuses carried by ntigarajas. The latter, richly adorned, all carry a vase. The clouds(?) on

which they are riding are supported by a ~ a s with pointed ears. One of the Bodhisattva,s

has a Brahmanic chignon on his head and has been identified as Maitreya by Grftnwedel.

The centre is decorated by a lotus.Photo Pelliot, Musee Guimet, Paris

Fig I2,1. N a k ~ a t r a Toyuk, shrine 6. Painting on the dome. Seventh century A.D.

The n a ~ a t r a or twenty-eight constellations are here painted on the dome of a shrine.

They are placed on lotus flowers whose coiled branches form interlaced foliated seroUs.The centre of the composition is a Buddha seated on a lotus carried by an animal (an

elephant or a horse?) . The whole stands out against a radiant disk, probably symbolisingthe sun.

Museum of Central Asian Antiquities, New Delhi; photo by the authors.

i r24 . M a ~ ; u ; l a l a Bezeklik. Shrine 3· Painting on the dome. Eighth century A.D.n this little chapel dedicated to Avalokitesvara the centre of the dome is occupied

by a large Buddha(?) surrounded by figures placed on two concentric circles.The Buddhais shown preaching, seated on a lion holding a vajra in its mouth. The first circle contains

eight divinities seated on lotuses, the second circle four large Buddhas each surrounded

by four Bodhisattvas. These four groups are separated by four divinities in armour,

obviously lokapalas. At the base of the dome twelve divinities alternate with twelve

symbols (vajras on a lotus and flow er vases). Certain scrolls written in Chinese have still

survived. They simply bear the formula na11 won ta P'u-sa , a homage to the greatBodhisattva.

Photo from Hackin, Recherches Arcbeologiques en Asie Centrale, Rev. des ArtsA s i a q t ~ e s X , 3, pi. XLI.

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