Yulin Cave 25: Illustration of the Amitayurdhyana Sutra - Ajatasatru and Avalokitesvara

CHINA, Gansu, Guazhou; Tang dynasty

This series of images is located on the right panel of the illustration of the Amitayurdhyana Sutra on the south wall of the main chamber. A depiction of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is found on the right. The figure wears a headdress with two high topknots fronted by a Buddha. Avalokitesvara holds a vase in one hand and a willow branch in the other, and gazes ahead with a faint smile on the lips. Though the color of the paint has deteriorated over time, the soft strokes of the brush are still visible.
The left half of the painting is made up of a series of illustrations depicting the story of Prince Ajatasatru as told within the Amitayurdhyana Sutra. The karmic conception of “Ajatasatru,” meaning “enmity before birth,” is illustrated by this story. The sutra tells that King Bimbisara was desperate to have a son and, believing that a certain sage would be reborn as his son, murdered the sage. This action resulted in an enmity with his unborn son, Ajatasatru, which subsequently plays out after he is born. The illustrations depict scenes from the story, but are not arranged in chronological order. They depict, from the top down: the king and an armed soldier visiting the sage; King Bimbisara and Queen Vaidehi praying to the Buddha, who manifests seated upon a cloud and teaches them the Dharma; Queen Vaidehi smuggling food in for her starving husband, the imprisoned king; the prince drawing a sword on his mother, Queen Vaidehi, who is then also imprisoned; and King Bimbisara being captured by his son, Prince Ajatasatru, who subsequently imprisons him.