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Maijishan Grotto 127: Seven Buddhas
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Maijishan Grotto 127: Seven Buddhas
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Maijishan Grotto 127: Seven Buddhas
CHINA, Gansu, Tianshui; Western Wei dynasty (535–556)
This mural is located in the upper section of the front wall and depicts the Seven Buddhas: Vipasyin, Sikhin, Visvabhu, Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, Kasyapa, and Sakyamuni.
The Buddhas sit sequentially in full lotus posture on Sumeru thrones under canopies. Each Buddha has the same posture, costume, and flanking Bodhisattvas. Each Bodhisattva wears loose robes, characteristic of the Southern Dynasties (420–589). The robe worn by each Buddhas drapes over the edge of the throne and fans out in two sections. Their right hands form the abhaya (fearlessness) mudra and their left hands display the varada (wish-granting) mudra. A nimbus and an aureole radiates in effulgence behind each Buddha. The coloring of the mural is primarily black, azurite, and green. The background consists of trees sketched in ink. |
