Balawaste: Vairocana Buddha

CHINA, Xinjiang, Hotan

This fragment found at Balawaste shows Vairocana Buddha with a nimbus and aureole painted with multiple layers of color. The Buddha has narrowed eyes, a long, thin nose, and small lips within a large, round face. The shoulders are wide and the waist is slender. The partially visible hands appear to form a mudra in front of the chest. Images and stylized designs cover the body of the Buddha. An inverted arch is painted below the neck. There are a moon and sun on the left and right shoulders respectively, with an octagon and an oval on lotus thrones below. A pillar decorated with patterns and images of snakes is painted in the center of the chest, and beneath it there is a depiction of a horse. A scroll on top of a lotus covers each upper arm, and vajras are painted the forearms. Various geometric shapes decorate the rest of the body. This depiction of Vairocana is simply painted but highly symbolic.