Kizil Cave 114: Ratnajaya Jataka
Kizil Cave 114: Ratnajaya Jataka
CHINA, Xinjiang, Aksu
This mural is on the left side of the barrel-vaulted ceiling in the main chamber. The story is from the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish. According to the Jataka, the merchant leader Ratnajnaya went to sea with 500 merchants. A storm broke out while at sea and Ratnajnaya’s ship was destroyed. Some merchants fell into the water but could not swim. Hearing their cries, Ratnajnaya jumped into the sea and floated on the surface so that the others could hang on to his body to cross ashore.
The mural shows people clinging to the body of Ratnajnaya, adrift at sea. His upper body is bare, and he has a nimbus. Four people cling to his body and above them, a fifth holds onto a wooden plank.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves R-L, page 551.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Johnson, Peter and Mankuang and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves R-L},
pages = 551,
title = {{Kizil Cave 114: Ratnajaya Jataka}},
volume = 6,
year = {2016}}