Mogao Cave 296: Tragic Past of Nun Suksma

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Northern Zhou dynasty

This mural is painted on the north and west slopes of the ceiling. It portrays a story from the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish about a nun who suffers terrible misfortune as a consequence of a murder committed in a previous life. The narrative, arranged in two rows of scenes, progresses in a wave-like pattern, moving back and forth between the two rows. It begins on the right side of the upper row on the west slope. In the first scene, the nun Suksma recounts a misdeed committed in her past life; she once killed another woman’s young son with a nail. The narrative goes on to illustrate Suksma’s dark history in her present life. As a young woman, she married a brahmin and gave birth to two sons. Soon after the birth of her second son, her husband was killed by a poisonous snake. Later, her younger son was attacked and killed by a wolf; this was followed by the death of her eldest son, who drowned in a river. Devastated, Suksma returned to her parent’s home, only to find that their house had burned down and all her family members were dead.
The story continues on the north wall with scenes of Suksma living with another brahmin whom she remarried. One day her drunken husband came home as she was giving birth to their son, and she was unable to open the door for him. He became angry, beat her terribly, murdered their son, cooking him in a pot, and forcing her to eat his flesh. Suksma fled and eventually remarried a wealthy man, who soon became ill and died. She followed the tradition of burying alive with the remains of her husband, but was exhumed by bandits. The leader of the bandits forced her to marry him, but he was soon captured and executed for his crimes. Again Suksma was buried alive with her deceased husband, but this time she was rescued from death by a wolf and a fox. After this appalling series of events, Suksma met the Buddha, took refuge, and became a nun.