Ajanta Cave 6: Life of the Buddha - Defeat of Mara
Ajanta Cave 6: Life of the Buddha - Defeat of Mara
INDIA, Maharashtra, Aurangabad
This mural is located within the antechamber on the lower level of Cave 6. It measures 1.27 m high and 1.54 m wide. It illustrates Prince Siddhartha becoming the Buddha by defeating Mara. Much of the image is damaged or has fallen away, though the Buddha and Mara are still visible.
The Buddha is seated in full lotus position in the center of the mural. His right hand forms the bhumisparsa (earth-touching) mudra. Mara appears in front of the Buddha in a dynamic pose, with the right leg bent forward and the left extended back. The army of Mara attack from all directions.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves A-E, page 32.
Cite this article:
Hsingyun, et al. "Ajanta Cave 6: Life of the Buddha - Defeat of Mara." Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves A-E, vol. 5, 2016, pp. 32.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Peter Johnson, Mankuang, Susan Huntington, Gary Edson, and Robert Neather. 2016. "Ajanta Cave 6: Life of the Buddha - Defeat of Mara" In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves A-E, 5:32.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Johnson, P., Mankuang, Huntington, S., Edson, G., & Neather, R.. (2016). Ajanta Cave 6: Life of the Buddha - Defeat of Mara. In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves A-E (Vol. 5, pp. 32).
@misc{Hsingyun2016,
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Johnson, Peter and Mankuang and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves A-E},
pages = 32,
title = {{Ajanta Cave 6: Life of the Buddha - Defeat of Mara}},
volume = 5,
year = {2016}}
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Johnson, Peter and Mankuang and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves A-E},
pages = 32,
title = {{Ajanta Cave 6: Life of the Buddha - Defeat of Mara}},
volume = 5,
year = {2016}}