Yungang Grotto 2: Life of the Buddha - Archery Competition

CHINA, Shanxi, Datong; Northern Wei dynasty

The lower portions of the east and west walls are carved with a series of connected reliefs depicting stories from the Life of the Buddha. Due to severe weathering, only the illustration of the Archery Competition, located on the left side of the east wall, can still be discerned.
According to the Sutra of Cause and Effect in the Past and Present, ten-year-old Prince Siddhartha participated in an archery competition. His primary rivals were Devadatta, his cousin, and Nanda, his half-brother. There were seven rows of seven drums laid out in the competition field, each in a different material including gold, silver, chalcopyrite, stone, bronze, and iron. Prince Siddhartha won the competition by shooting his arrow through all the drums and into the earth, causing spring water to flow out of the hole, and all the way through the Mahacakravada Mountain.
This image shows three relief figures, leaning slightly forward and holding bows in a shooting position. Their hair is tied and each figure has a faint nimbus behind the head.