Kizil Cave 38: Jataka of the Bodhisattva Burning His Arms to Guide the Merchants

CHINA, Xinjiang, Aksu

This painting is located on the right side of the barrel-vaulted ceiling of the main chamber. According to the “Chapter on the Five Hundred Blind Men” in the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish, the lead merchant, Sabo, guided others out of a dark valley using his hands as torches, made by wrapping white clothes around his arms and burning them.
In this painting, Sabo wears a stole that hangs to his thighs to form a U shape, the ends fluttering outward. He is barefoot with a bare upper torso, and wears a blue dhoti knotted at the sides. He tilts his body slightly with the arms high in the air; his hands form two torches of burning flames. He looks at another merchant who returns his gaze. Next to this merchant, a white ox is carrying goods.