Kizil Cave 38: Jataka of the Beast

CHINA, Xinjiang, Aksu

Located on the left side of the barrel-vaulted ceiling in the main chamber, this painting is based on the story described in the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish. In the story, the king of Benares dreamt of a beast with golden fur one night. The next day he ordered the hunters of his country to find the beast or he would forfeit their families. One of the hunters went into the mountains to search, but became trapped, and the beast with golden fur saved his life. When the beast learned about the king’s order, he told the hunter that he was willing to sacrifice himself to save the people of the country.
In the painting, a barefoot man is seated beneath a tree. He wears only a blue dhoti with a stole draped across his body. His left hand holds the beast while the right skins it. The beast lies on its back with the head and right front leg to the side. A kneeling animal watches the scene on the side of the painting.