Kizil Cave 38: Jataka of Sacrifice for a Gatha by Offering up Wife and Children

CHINA, Xinjiang, Aksu

Located on the right side of the barrel-vaulted ceiling in the main chamber, this painting is based on a story described in of the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish. In the story, a king was very eager to learn about the Dharma. He announced to the world that he would enrich anyone who could teach him. When Vaisravana learned of this, he transformed himself into a yaksa and went to the royal palace. The yaksa told the king that he could teach him the Dharma, but in exchange he would have to surrender his wife and children. The king agreed, and the yaksa ate his wife and children before the crowd. The yaksa then taught the happy king a gatha, which he shared with the world. When Vaisravana saw that the king was sincere and without resentment, he transformed himself back into his original form and returned his wife and children to him.
The painting depicts the scene in which the ferocious yaksa eats one of the king’s children. In the painting, a stocky blue yaksa holds a child to its open mouth with both hands. It has pointed ears and a circular nimbus colored in white and green. A white stole is draped around its arms and extends downward.