Wat Koh Kaeo Suttharam Ordination Hall: Life of the Buddha - Miracle at Sravasti

THAILAND, Phetchaburi; Ayutthaya Kingdom

This scene of the Miracle at Sravasti is painted in the lower register of one of the diamond-shaped segments on the north wall of the ordination hall. The Buddha is shown converting a group of non-Buddhists by performing miracles. In the center of the image, bewildered figures stand within a tower supported by a single column. On the right, the Buddha levitates in the air on a lotus pedestal, emanating flames from his nimbus and shoulders. A group of bystanders at the base of the column look up in awe.
The composition is sparse but carefully detailed. Many of the figures wear turbans and have Arabian features, a humorous acknowledgment of the presence of Arabs in Thailand during the Ayutthaya Kingdom.