Mogao Cave 17: Tejaprabha Buddha

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Five Dynasties to Northern Song dynasty

Tejaprabha Buddha is associated with the stars, planets, and constellations, and is said to protect devotees from the calamities induced by them. Emitting radiant lines of colored light, Tejaprabha sits on a cart pulled by an ox. The left hand is held in front of the stomach and the right hand is raised, forming a mudra. An altar is placed before the Buddha, and a canopy hangs above the cart.
Mars, standing on the lower right, has red skin, a bare chest, and four hands that hold an arrow, a bow, a sword, and a trident. Moving to the left, Venus is shown facing away from the viewer, wearing a headdress decorated with feathers and holding a pipa. Saturn, portrayed as a brahmin with a small ox’s head on his topknot, is on the left below the cart. Jupiter faces the viewer, wearing the robes of an official and holding a tray of flowers. Mercury, portrayed as a female figure wearing a headdress topped with a monkey, is on the left beside Tejaprabha. She wears a robe with long sleeves and holds a scroll and a brush in her hands.