Mogao Cave 296: Conversion of Five Hundred Bandits

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Northern Zhou dynasty

Located on the south wall below images of the Thousand Buddhas, this illustration is based on the “Chapter on Pure Practices” in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra. The story is also referred to as the Story of Aptanetravana (Forest of Sight Regained). The narrative progresses from the right to left as follows: a minister reports of the trouble caused by a gang of 500 bandits to King Prasenajit; the king gives the order to arrest them; the army mounts a punitive expedition against the bandits; a battle between the army and the bandits ensues; the bandits are taken into custody; they are sentenced to have their eyes gouged out; blinded, they are banished to a deep forest; the 500 men listen to the Buddha’s teaching after he restores their sight using medicine from Mount Gandhamadana; the reformed men take refuge in the Buddha and continue their cultivation in the forest.
The mural is centered on the battle scene, with palace halls depicted on both ends. It is a balanced and concise composition; the narrative is skillfully integrated within a unifying forest landscape. The illustration is quite different in both style and content from the mural of the same story on the south wall of Cave 285 from the Western Wei dynasty (535–556).