Mogao Cave 254: Prince Mahasattva Jataka

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Northern Wei dynasty

This illustration is located in the center of the south wall. The story is from the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish. The scenes begin in the center and move toward the upper right corner, progressing in a clockwise direction to the lower left corner, then ends again in the upper right corner. The story tells of how Prince Mahasattva came across a starving tigress and her cubs in the forest and offered his body to them by throwing himself off a cliff.
There are ten scenes in total. In the first, Prince Mahasattva and his two brothers are walking together in a forest when they come across a hungry tigress and her cubs. In the second, Prince Mahasattva throws himself off a cliff to feed the starving tiger family. In the third, the tigers have no energy to devour the prince, whose body lies before them. In the fourth, the prince uses a sharp piece of wood to draw blood from his body. In the fifth, he jumps off the cliff again. In the sixth, the tigers eat the flesh of the young prince. In the seventh, the prince’s parents search for him in the forest. In the eighth, the parents embrace his lifeless body, crying bitterly. In the ninth, elders and the rest of the community grieve for the prince. In the tenth and final scene, a stupa is raised and offerings are made in honor of the prince.
Certain scenes are reiterated in the mural: for example, Mahasattva jumps off the cliff twice, and only the second time do the tigers devour him. Though the scenes portray a violent death, they are not bloody. Perhaps the most prominent is the scene of Prince Mahasattva filled with compassion as he sacrifices himself without anger or regret.