Mogao Cave 285: Life of the Buddha - Conversion of Bhadrika’s Sister

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Western Wei dynasty

Located on the left end of the south wall, this illustration is based on the “Chapter on the Conversion of Bhadrika and His Sister by Aniruddha and Others” in the Extraordinary Stories from Sutras and Vinayas. The elder Bhadrika had a sister who did not have faith in the teaching of the Buddha, so the Buddha instructed the Arhat Pindola to guide her. In the mural, Bhadrika’s sister is seen making biscuits. Pindola holds up a begging bowl for alms, but she rejects him. Only after Pindola displays supernatural powers, such as smoke rising from his body, his body being engulfed by fire, levitating upside-down in midair, moving boulders, and flying through the sky, does Bhadrika’s sister offer biscuits to the Buddha and the Sangha, and finally takes refuge in the Buddha.