Western Thousand Buddha Cave 12: Syama Jataka

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Northern Zhou dynasty

This narrative painting is located on the right side of the south wall in Cave 12 and depicts a story from the Syama Jataka. The tale relates the story of Syama, who is devoted to the practice of the ten wholesome deeds, filial piety, and compassion. The king accidentally shoots Syama during a hunting trip and is moved by Syama’s acts of filial piety. The king decides to practice both compassion and the Dharma. These paintings depict six episodes, presented in horizontal format with trees separating each scene. The mural can be divided into upper and lower registers, with each image accompanied by an inscription describing its content.
The left side of the upper register depicts a tent, the temporary dwelling for the King of Kapilavastu. In the nearby forest, Syama is picking fruit for his parents. The scene in which the king unintentionally shoots Syama is depicted below the tent. The upper right half of the image depicts the following events: the king takes care of Syama’s blind parents on behalf of Syama, the king leads the blind parents to Syama’s corpse, and heavenly beings descend from heaven to resurrect Syama. The lower right register shows scenes of Syama’s revival and his blind parents regaining their sight.