Maijishan Grotto 127: Sakra
Maijishan Grotto 127: Sakra (detail)
Maijishan Grotto 127: Sakra
CHINA, Gansu, Tianshui; Western Wei dynasty
This rectangular mural is located on the ceiling. In the center, Sakra rides in a chariot that has a canopy and is pulled by four dragons. A banner trails from the rear of the chariot and heavenly beings escorting Sakra surround the vehicle. Accompanied by apsaras, a heavenly being stands on a lotus petal in front the chariot. All around, heavenly beings ride on dragons. Many scholars believe that the mural is a metaphor for the Chinese legend of Dongwanggong traversing the vast expanse of space. Others believe that the mural is not a metaphor but an actual depiction of the legend.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves M-Mo, page 773.
Cite this article:
Hsingyun, et al. "Maijishan Grotto 127: Sakra." Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves M-Mo, vol. 7, 2016, pp. 773.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Peter Johnson, Mankuang, Susan Huntington, Gary Edson, and Robert Neather. 2016. "Maijishan Grotto 127: Sakra" In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves M-Mo, 7:773.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Johnson, P., Mankuang, Huntington, S., Edson, G., & Neather, R.. (2016). Maijishan Grotto 127: Sakra. In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves M-Mo (Vol. 7, pp. 773).
@misc{Hsingyun2016,
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Johnson, Peter and Mankuang and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves M-Mo},
pages = 773,
title = {{Maijishan Grotto 127: Sakra}},
volume = 7,
year = {2016}}
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Johnson, Peter and Mankuang and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves M-Mo},
pages = 773,
title = {{Maijishan Grotto 127: Sakra}},
volume = 7,
year = {2016}}