Kizil Cave 186: Jatakas

CHINA, Xinjiang, Aksu

These murals were located in the lower section of the right wall in the main chamber. They originally contained scenes from eight Jataka tales, four within each section. However, one scene is now missing, leaving only seven.
The first story tells of King Murdhagata who craved ever greater power. At the suggestion of his brahmin minister, he prayed for the seven magic jewels from heaven, but instead, died from his greed. The second tells the story of Syama, who cared for his blind parents in the forest until he was killed by the king’s arrow when mistaken for game. The king vowed to look after the parents who grieved the loss of their son, however, Syama was subsequently magically revived. The third story tells of King Mahaprabhasa, who was so generous that he offered an enemy his own head on a platter. The fourth story is about the same king, who blamed a mahout for his escaped elephant. After three days the elephant returned and was killed by the mahout for the grief he brought him.
The fifth story tells of Prince Syami, who went to sea to obtain a precious pearl. The pearl was then stolen by the Naga King, whereupon Syami vowed to get it back. After Syami received the support of the gods in his efforts, the Naga King returned the pearl. The sixth story concerns Ksantivadi and his disciples who taught the Dharma to the king’s consorts. In anger, the king cut off each of Ksantivadi’s limbs, however, he had great fortitude and was unphased. The last image depicts a story from the Mahakapi Jataka, where the Monkey King saves his troupe of monkeys from starvation by stretching his body across the river like a bridge so they can reach the other side where there is food.