South Xiangtangshan Grotto 5: Life of the Buddha - Parinirvana

CHINA, Hebei, Handan; Northern Qi dynasty

This illustration is located on the front wall of the main chamber, above the grotto entrance. Sakyamuni Buddha is depicted lying on a platform within a niche with his head slightly turned to the right. Ten grieving disciples can be seen behind the Buddha. The disciple who kneels down at the feet of the Buddha is Mahakasyapa. Another figure dressed in a long garment with broad sleeves kneels on the right side of the Buddha, but the head of this figure is missing. Sala trees outside the niche stand on either side with their branches intertwining above the niche. A figure stands beside each tree.
Illustrations of the Buddha’s parinirvana in Yecheng (present day Linzhang, Hendan) was the result of the propagation of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra by eminent monks and the imperial family of the Northern Qi dynasty (550–577). Apart from this illustration in Grotto 5, engravings from the Mahaparinirvana Sutra have also been found in South Xiangtangshan Grotto 6, and on the mountain slope of the North Xiangtangshan Grottoes.