Kizil Cave 80

CHINA, Xinjiang, Aksu

Located in the west valley, this central pillar cave, dates to the 6th and 7th centuries and measures 3.75 m wide, 4.4 m high, and 4.15 m deep. The main chamber has a barrel-vaulted ceiling with the central pillar formed from corridors on the left and right of the back wall and the rear corridor. This layout enables circumambulation as a form of worship.
Statues which once stood within the large niche on the back wall of the main chamber are now missing. Images of Sakra and his consort, as well as Gandharva and his consort, are located to the left and right of the niche, respectively. A mural depicting the Triumph over Six Non-Buddhist Teachers is situated above the niche.
Although the front wall has suffered extensive damage, four illustrations of the Buddha Teaching the Dharma remain. On the central ridge of the ceiling are astrological signs and Buddhist cosmological figures, and on the slopes are diamond-shaped illustrations taken from karma stories and the Jatakas. The left and right walls of the main chamber each have two rows of six stories which surround a seated Buddha.
In the side corridors are two rows of six stupa images, with Buddha images in the upper row and relics in the lower row. A depiction of the Buddha’s Parinirvana as described in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra is located on the outer wall of the rear corridor. A mural of the Distribution of Relics Among the Eight Kings is depicted on the inner wall.