Kizil Cave 163: Offering a Banner to the Buddha
Kizil Cave 163: Offering a Banner to the Buddha
CHINA, Xinjiang, Aksu
This painting is located on the right side of the barrel-vaulted ceiling in the main chamber. According to the Avadanasataka, after the Buddha’s parinirvana, a ruler from the Kingdom of Varanasi made offerings to Vipasyin Buddha’s relic and built a stupa made of four jewels. At that time, a man hosted a banquet and placed a long banner on the stupa. After making his vows to the Buddha, he left. This man was reborn as a person named Pataka who came to follow the Buddha.
This painting shows the scene of Pataka offering a white banner to the Buddha. The image of the Buddha’s face and body are severely damaged, leaving only the right shoulder, nimbus, and aureole still visible. Pataka is seated on the right. He is dressed in white and waves the long banner in the air.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves R-L, page 562.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Johnson, Peter and Mankuang and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves R-L},
pages = 562,
title = {{Kizil Cave 163: Offering a Banner to the Buddha}},
volume = 6,
year = {2016}}