Dr. Priyatosh Banerjee (Indian and Central Asian Scholar)

Dr. Priyatosh Banerjee (An Exponent on Indian and Central Asian Art)

Some observations on an unidentified mural fragment from Bezeklik

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Dipankara Buddha, Bezeklik, Eastern Turkestan, 9th century, A.D. National Museum, New Delhi

This mural fragment from the left jamb of the entrance to the cella of the Buddhist shrine V of Bezeklik in the Turfan district (in the Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region of China) was gathered along with other pieces by Sir Aurel Stein during his third expedition to Central Asia in 1913-1916 and is now housed in the National Museum, New Delhi. F.H. Andrews has described the fragment in his catalogue of Wall-paintings from Central Asia and Sistan, New Delhi, 1933, p.44 and also in his Album called 'Wall-paintings from Ancient shrines in Central Asia, recovered by sir Aurel Stein, London, 1948, p.79. though the treatment of Andrews is quite a detailed one, he was not able to correctly identify it. Therefore, it was thought necessary to restudy the subject for its identification. And it may be interesting to note that the Mahavastu Avadana helps us a lot in this respect.

As andrews ha sdescribed, the fragment in question is the lower part of an ornate Buddha or Bodhisattva figure, standing on a lotus and like the other Buddha figures from Bezeklik, it is clothed in there robes. Two of the robes are trimmed with borders of contrasting colour. An unusual feature is the "the stiff, white pleats of the waist girdle… hanging from the edge of the upper robes."

The figure wears garlands of elaborate design and according to Andrews, it carries a rosary in its right hand. To its left side is shown a youthful kneeling figure with his hands in supplicating pose.

The figure wears sandals with red-brown soles and green straps. The feet of the subsidiary figure are provided with boots and it is dressed in a soft of Janghiya and has a kamarband or girdle 'tied' in bow in front'.

Andrews feels inclined to identify the main figure as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara-the compassionate Bodhisattva who is ever ready to listen to the prayers of his devotees and remove their afflictions.

The suggestions of Andrews are good so far as they go but on a closer scrutiny they do not seem to be entirely convincing. From my study of the Dipankara story in the Mahavastu Avadana, it appears that the main figure is one of the Dipankara Buddha, the first of the twenty-four Buddhas and the subsidiary figure is that of Megha (called Sumedha in Pali version) who met the Buddha on his way to Dipavati.

The Mahavastu states that Dipankara after gaining enlightenment set forth to visit Dipavati, the royal city of his father, King Archimat. Knowing this, the king and his people made elaborate arrangements for the reception of the Exalted One. King Archimat held a sweet secented garland to honour the Buddha. People from various other quarters also brought garlands to worship him. The young women also collected heaps of flowers from the park and threw them over him.

At that time, it happened that a young Brahmana, called Megha in the Mahavastu, as mentioned above, was proceeding towards the city of Dipavati after fininshing his vedic studies with his preceptor who lived in the Himalaya. Megha carried with him his simple belongings, like the water-pot, sunshade, stick and bathing mantle. Having ome to know the reasons for the celebrations and joy and gaitey of the people on the way, Megha also decided to meet Dipankara and to do him honour. He met on the way a Brahamin girl called Prakriti who had seven lotuses in her hand. He purchased five lotuses from her and then both proceeded to worship Dipankara. When they threw their lotuses on Dipankara, they remained suspended over his halo. Further, Megha knelt down and spread his locks to hair as a carpet so that the Buddha can walk over it without soiling his feet. At that moment there arose in the mind of Megha the idea that he too would become a Buddha in some future time, Finding Megha's devotion and knowing his resolve, Dipankara prophesied that Megha after innumerable Kalpas would be born in Kapilvastu and become a Buddha and he would be known as Sakyamuni Buddha, the last of the 24 Buddhas to alleviate the suffering of humanity.

 

 

The above account throws a considerable light on the subject the muran fragment, intends to convey. We have seen that the buddha in question is profusely garlanded which can be satisfactorily explained by the fact that the people of Dipavati offered him heaps of flowers and garlands to honour him. Again, the figure of Dipankara represented in our fragment has sandalled feet. There is a verse in the Mahavastu which as translated by Jones reads as follows:

"As soon as the Exalted One puts his golden sandalled right foot down by Indra's coloumn (dhvaja), there arises a marvellous noise". Thus the Mahavastu associates sandals as the footwear of Dipankara.

Now regarding the supplicating figure, it will be appropriate in the light of the preset context, (see the Mahavastu translated into English by Jones, Vol. I, p.191) to describe him as Megha. In Bezeklik, Sumedha or Megha is often shown as kneeling and not spreading his locks to hair before dipankara. This is the case with our present kneeling figure by the side of Dipankara.

Thus form these points of view, the present fragment portrays Dipankara and Megha, or or in other words the Dipankara Jataka, and not Avalokitesvara as presumed by Andrews.

Before we conclude, the only point we have to explain is the presence of a rosary in the right hand of the main figure of our mural fragment.

We have seen that it is the presence of rosary on the person of the main figure that has led Andrews to identify it as Avalokatesvara, but we may mention here that there cannot be any objection for a Buddha figure to having a rosary, even though it is normally an attribute of a Bodhisattiva, like Simhanada Lokesvara, Shadakshari Lokesvara or Sugatisandarsana Lokesvara. We know that the Lamas, the sages and saints use rosary for their prayer. But there will be no anomaly even if it is held also by Buddha who is considered as a saint.

The origin of a rosary can be traced to the story of Akshayamati offering a pearl neckless to Avalokitesvara. The latter after initial objection accepted the gift for the good of Akshaymati, and other beings, including Devas and Nagas, etc. But Avalokitesvara divided the neclace into two parts; one part he gave to Sakyamuni Buddha (this is very significant) and the other to the jewelled stupa of Prabhutaratna Buddha who became completely extinct (see the 24th chapter of the Saddharma-pundarika where the exploits of Avalokitesvara are described). Thus we see that the rosary can be associated also with a Buddha.

Regarding the use of rosary E.D. Saumders observes: "since Kwanon is the Bodhisattva emanating from the Dhyani Buddha Amitabha it is natural that the rosary should constitute also a distinguishing symbol for this Buddha. Gonda raiful establishes an identification between the Buddha Amida and the Oyadama (mother bead) because Amida, by a sort of play on words in the reading of the ideographs, is the mother Kwanon. Thus the Oyadama is Amida and the power of the State of Compassion (taihi sammai) characteristic of Kwanon is precisely that virtue which permits incorporation with the Buddha Amida. Hence the red cord signifying the compassion of Kwanon which runs through the Oyadama (Amida) signifies this return or embodiment into the Buddha. It is the meditating power of the Bodhisattva which facilitates the access of sentient beings to Buddhahood.' (See E.D. Saunders, Mudra, Princetan University, 1985, pp 176-177).

Regarding the popularity of the Dipankara Jataka in Afghanistan and Central Asia, the scholars are of the opinion that the place of the origin of this Jataka is the north Western frontier. "Xuanzang's pilgrimage record localizes the cult of Dipankara at Nagarahara (i.e. the neighbourhood of Hadda in Afghanistan). The provincial gandharan manner found at Shotorak in Afghanistan includes stelae which reflect the importance of Dipankara in that area by making him an over-sized icon, against whose colossal scale the other figures, even future Sakyamuni, are dwarfed. The connection with light and fire made explicit by the meaning of his name is underlined in these Shotorak Buddhas by flames bursting rom the shoulders." And it is from Afghanistan that the story of Dipankara Buddha has travelled to Chineses Turkestan (Alexander sopez, Literary Evidence for Early Buddhist Art in China pp. 178 and 179) and further east.

   

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