Published by Critical Collective, 2021
This essay explores and discusses the representations of Amitabha Buddha’s Pure Land and his spiritual association with the eight bodhisattvas, depicted in the Dunhuang paper and silk paintings. It also traces the roots of these representations to an identifiable cult expressed in Indian art.
Sukhavati, the Western Pure Land, is presided over by Amitabha Buddha, and is conceived as a land of bliss, free of all sin and suffering, within the Buddhist belief system. The Pure Land paintings of Dunhuang have been associated with three main Buddhist texts: the Longer/Larger Sukhavati-vyuha Sutra, the Shorter Sukhavati-vyuha Sutra and the Amitayur-dhyana Sutra. The Longer/Larger Sukhavati-vyuha Sutra was translated into Chinese between 167 and 186 CE. Originating from the Mahisaka community in Gandhara during the Kushana period, the text largely focuses on Amitayus or Amitabha, and the description of his Buddha Field, Sukhavati. According to the Amitayur-dhyana Sutra, many aeons ago, there lived a Buddha named Lokesvararaja. A king renounced his throne to become a monk named Dharmakara and sought enlightenment under the guidance of Lokesvararaja. After he examined a large number of Buddha Lands, he made 48 vows in which he pledged to create his own Buddha Land which would combine all the best features of the others. In the 18th vow, Dharmakara promised to bring all sentient beings who called out to him to this Pure Land which he named Sukhavati and where he would reign as Amitabha Buddha. Legend has it that those who invoke Amitabha’s name at the time of their death are reborn in Sukhavati.
This ideal state of Amitabha’s Pure Land and the urge to be reborn in that realm where the Lord Amitayus lives, surrounded by a host of bodhisattvas, led to a cult which gained immense popularity among Buddhist disciples and in the general socio-cultural milieu of India and Asia. Dorothy C. Wong states that Huiyuan (334-416 CE) was the actual founder of the Pure Land faith in China, probably based on the Pratyupannasamadhi Sutra (Banzhou sanwei jing), translated by Lokaksema in the 2nd century CE, rather than the three Pure Land texts which were later established as a standard. The text teaches that in meditation (at the level of dhyana and samadhi), one can see the Buddhas of the Ten Directions, and if one’s heart and mind are focused (buddhanusmriti) on Amitabha, that will lead to spiritual advancement and the chance of being reborn in Sukhavati. The Amitabha cult became very significant in the Far East; however, there is surprisingly little evidence of its widespread dominance in India. The pre-existence of the cult can be evinced by reinvestigating the sculptural forms, particularly from the Kushana phase in Gandhara and Mathura, datable to the 2nd to 4th centuries CE. When undertaking a comparative study of the visual forms, a deep symbiotic connection shared between the two cultural domains is discovered through research on historical and epigraphic references and stylistic and iconographic elements. This connection becomes clear when we recontextualize the iconographic orientation and symbolic implications of three forms of images: (a) the seated Buddha in meditation, (b) the Buddhist triad and (c) the seated Buddha in an assembly of bodhisattvas. These sculptural forms were popularly produced in the early Indian artistic centres of Gandhara, Mathura and Sarnath, under the patronage of the Kushanas and Guptas, while the same tradition that continued in the Western rock-cut caves of Ajanta and Ellora were byproducts of the Vakataka and Rashtrakuta dynasties, covering a period from the 2nd to 8th centuries CE, which coincided with the development of Dunhuang art in China. Scholars have classified the art of Dunhuang in three phases, expanding from the 4th to the 14th centuries CE, which include: (a) the first period of the caves (397-581 CE), marked by Gandharan influence and corresponding to the following dynasties-Northern Liang (397-439 CE), Northern Wei (439-534 CE), Western Wei (535-556 CE) and Northern Chou (557-581 CE); (b) the second period of the caves (581-907 CE) spanning the Sui (581-618 CE) and the Tang (618-907 CE) dynasties; (c) the third period of the caves (907-1368 CE) covering the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960 CE) and the Sung (960-1036 CE), His-Hsia (1036-1227 CE) and Yuan (1227-1368 CE) dynasties.
By reassessing the scope and possibilities of the underlying meanings of Indian images through the perspective of the Chinese Pure Land compositions, it becomes evident that the early convention emerged in India in rather a rudimentary form before its inception and efflorescence in China. In this discussion, the Dunhuang paper and silk paintings from the Sir Aurel Stein Collection of the National Museum, Delhi, belonging to the 7th to 8th centuries CE, are highlighted, while select sculptural forms from the Indian context belonging to the developmental stages are taken into consideration to substantiate the arguments. Sir Aurel Stein (1862-1943 CE) collected these paintings from Cave 17 (The Library Cave) of the Mogao Caves (or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas), Dunhuang, during his second expedition in 1907. The objects that Stein acquired from the Library Cave are now preserved in not just the National Museum, Delhi, but also in the British Museum, the British Library and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Individual Images of Amitabha Buddha
In the Stein Collection, there are two fragmentary paper paintings from Dunhuang, showing individual forms of Amitabha seated cross-legged on a double-lotus pedestal. The soles of both feet are turned up and exposed in an interlocked position (vajraparyanka asana). In the first painting (Acc. No. Ch 00402, Stein 374, NM 2003-17-340), Buddha Amitabha displays the preaching gesture (vitarka mudra) on the right while his left hand lies on his lap in a meditative gesture (dhyana mudra). The second painting (Acc. No. Ch 0057, Stein 300, NM 2003-17-250) shows Amitabha seated in meditation with both hands held in samadhi mudra. Lokesh Chandra identifies the mudra as a symbol of the triangle, called dharmodaya, that is the source of all things and represents the triratna (the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) and the immanence of Dharma (dharma-udaya). The Advaya Sangraha specifies that the samadhi mudra is an attribute of Amitabha. In both paintings, Amitabha is presented clad in a russet monastic garment and endowed with the physical characteristics of the Sakyamuni Buddha. The iconographic identification of the deity could be validated by a woodblock print of ink on paper, measuring 13.7 x 16.7 cm, from the Stein Collection, presently in the British Museum (Acc. No. Ch.00152). It has a central image of a two-armed Amitabha in dhyanasana seated on a lotus within a square, circumscribed by a dedicatory magical formula (dharani) in Sanskrit text written in Siddham characters, consisting of four lines with Chinese characters on the left side of the xylograph. Gergely Hidas discusses the translation of the text and roughly dates it to the period from 929-975 CE which saw the reign of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. He bases this on the accounts of Binyon (1916), Stein (1921) and Whitfield (1983).
Parallel sculptural representations of the Buddha, showing iconographic and stylistic resemblances, are found in early Indian art; however, these images are simply documented and labelled as Sakyamuni Buddha in the museum records. In Indian artistic vocabulary, Sakyamuni is prefigured by the presence of the common attributes but lacks any satisfactory explanation. The conventional identification of almost all Buddha images as the Buddha Sakyamuni underestimates the significance of the coexistence of many Buddhas in the innumerable Buddha Fields (Buddha-kshetras) which include the Buddhas of the Past (Manushi Buddhas) and the Buddhas of the Present. The concept of Buddha Fields emerged in the Mahayana sutras: They are the abodes of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, are devoid of all suffering (dukkha) and are adorned with the seven jewels (saptarnalamkrta). All inhabitants of these abodes follow the profound marvellous path of Buddhahood by means of their aspirations (pranidhana), can travel in the ten directions, and can convert and bring other beings within these folds. Each Buddha in the Mahayana pantheon has his own Buddha Field, a cosmos in which he exerts spiritual influence.
Considering the deep-rooted cosmological symbolism of the Pure Land cult in the Mahayana phase of Buddhism, one must admit the thematic influences and their amalgamation with the mainstream subjects of Indian art which concentrated mostly on the life events of Sakyamuni Buddha. The temporal and spatial progression of the events focusing on the spiritual transcendence of Prince Gautama to Sakyamuni, and the representation of Samyak Sambodi Buddhas or Tathagatas and bodhisattvas residing in the Pure Lands insinuate multilayered concepts of the Buddhist cosmology. It corresponds to the division between the temporal world and the spiritual realm, distinguishing the aspects of the Impure and Pure Lands.
This symbiotic relationship is encountered in visual arts showcased integrally, often posing challenges that remain unaddressed due to their symbolic nature. These concepts are codified in a corpus of literature that yields a variety of iconographic details, demanding close evaluation of visual forms. For instance, conventional hand gestures and allied attributes associated with the eight great events of Sakyamuni Buddha’s life are prescribed; these are distinguishable and easily identifiable in representational forms such as the earth-touching pose (bhumisparsa mudra) and the turning-of-the-wheel pose (dharmachakra pravartana mudra/bodhyangi mudra) which pertain to the two crucial events of the Enlightenment and the First Sermon. However, the boon-granting pose (abhaya mudra), the bestowal pose (varada mudra), the universal prediction pose (vitarka mudra/vyakarana mudra) and the resting pose (samadhi) are entrenched with philosophical meanings but are mostly treated in a generalized manner. However, the meditative figures in Buddhist images such as those of the Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara, Maitreya, Samantabhadra and Akasagarbha, and the Buddhas Amitabha and Bhaisajyagura began to appear from the 2nd century CE, based on the book-worship cult of the Mahayana sutras. These sutras gained preeminence with the expansion of the pantheon and rituals under Vajrayana Buddhism during its early medieval phase (7th to 12th centuries CE). For instance, the earliest epigraphic record mentioning Amitabha is found inscribed on the pedestal of a statue found in Govindnagar, Pakistan, currently at the Government Museum in Mathura. It is a dedicatory inscription by a merchant family, ascribable to the ‘26th year of the reign of Huviska’ i.e. sometime in the second half of the 2nd century CE during the period of the Kushana Empire. Of this image, only the base with the feet of the standing Buddha and an attendant to his left is preserved. Paul Harrison and Christian Luczanits state that this is enough evidence to conclude that Sakyamuni was certainly not the only Buddha represented in Gandharan art.
Based on the above discussion, the identification of individual Buddha images in samadhi mudra should be reinvestigated. One such image is a painted stucco sculpture of the Buddha in meditation, 3rd century CE, Kushana period, Taxila, Pakistan (Acc. No. 49.20/8) at the National Museum, Delhi. It represents the seated figure of Buddha in the lotus posture (padmasana). His hands are in the dhyana mudra, covered under his ochre drapery (sanghati). The thick folds of the drapery schematically fall over the body, covering his shoulders (ubhayansikha sanghati). He sits on a black stucco base, which compliments the plain black halo covering his head and half of his shoulders. The facial features are pronounced with a rounded face, an aquiline nose, arching eyebrows, half-meditative eyes in black pigment, and full lips painted in red. The hair is in striated waves which rise to a cranial protuberance (ushnisha), rendered in blue pigment, adding an aesthetic value to the Buddha’s iconic form. Besides being frontal and static, the body posture represents an emotive and contemplative stance of the Buddha. The same theme is also depicted in the Mathura school and may belong to the transitional phase between the Kushana and Gupta periods. A dated sculpture of a seated Buddha in dhyanasana, rendered in rose-hued sandstone and dappled with cream colour, is housed in the National Museum, Delhi (Acc. No. 58.12). It was found between Agra and Mathura. It represents the Buddha seated in meditation and wearing an ubhayansikha sanghati. The nimbus is tastefully decorated with a full-blown lotus in the centre, successively encircled by a floral wreath interspersed with rosettes, a beaded line and a scalloped edge. The pedestal supported on two sturdy lions looking frontally with protruding tongues bears a kusha grass cushion. In the space between the lions, below the throne, is a dharmachakra mounted on a pillar at the centre, flanked by worshipping devotees, both men and women. The lower rim of the pedestal bears a one-line inscription that records the Year 36 without mentioning the name of the reigning king. R.C. Sharma states that the Year 36 is misleading; this image represents a more developed style than the Buddhas of the Vasudeva period. The object bears no similarity with works produced in the early Huviska period. Based on the stylistic analysis, it is now presumed that the sculpture belongs to the 4th century CE, the Kushana-Gupta transitional phase. A close analysis shows that the rendition of garments and physiognomic characteristics of the Dunhuang paintings and their Indian counterparts display resemblance and continuity of tradition.
Buddhist Triad
Another important theme related to the concept of the Pure Land that is seen in the Dunhuang paintings is the Amitabha Trinity. Amitabha is shown accompanied by the two bodhisattvas, Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta, on his right and left respectively. This theme is depicted in one of the paintings from the Stein Collection (Acc. No. Ch. 0067, Stein 304, NM 2003-17-350). Here, Amitabha is standing in a strictly frontal pose, wearing the conventional ubhayansikha sanghati; his right hand is in abhaya mudra, which scholars have also identified as vitarka mudra, and the left in varada mudra. Next to him, Avalokitesvara holds a flask in the right hand and his left hand is in abhaya mudra. Mahasthamaprapta has both hands in vitarka mudra. Both the bodhisattvas are adorned and dressed in princely garments and stand gracefully in a dvibhanga pose. The deities are marked with individual haloes and stand under decorative parasols. The idea of this trinity is derived from the Longer/Larger Sukhavati-vyuha Sutra that gives a brief mention of the two above-mentioned bodhisattvas as the chief companions of Amitabha. This pair of acolytes occurs in the Amitayur-dhyana Sutra as well, in which the former represents compassion while the latter is considered as the personification of wisdom. However, this concept is not found in the Eastern Pure Land or Abhirati described in the Akshobhayatathagatasyavyuha Sutra.
The Buddhist triad developed from the early theories of sila (virtuous conduct), samadhi (concentration) and prajna (wisdom), in which these constituents together came to be identified with the three skandhas (groups constituting the markers of spiritual progress) and the three ciksas (branches of instruction, the three-fold training, and discipline). They acted as foundational to the six-fold formula of paramitas for bodhisattvas. Nancy H. Dowling states that the transformation of the Buddhist triratna from the symbolic motifs to the visual forms was conceived under the Yogacara sect of Mahayana Buddhism, as expounded in the philosophical expositions of texts like the Ratnagotravibhaga, Tattvasamgraha and Madhyavibhaga. Besides this, the concept of bodhisattvas got firmly established under the Prajnaparamita discourse, which was transmitted from India and became a major school of Chinese Buddhist philosophy, flourishing between the 3rd and 5th centuries CE. This spread was studied by well-known Buddhist adepts such as Daoan (312-385 CE) and his disciple Huiyuan. With the arrival of the Kuchean monk Kumarjiva (c. 343-413 CE) at Chang’an in 401 CE, the study of the Prajnaparamita discourse reached a new peak in the 5th century CE.
This type of triadic composition of a Buddha flanked by two attendant figures can be traced back to the early phase of Indian art and remains relevant to Tantric Buddhism. Scholars have discussed the early depictions of the Buddha accompanied by two attendants brandishing fly-whisks. The oldest of these are found in Gandharan art where Brahma and Indra are the attendants; they were later replaced by a pair of bodhisattvas. Another pertinent examples is the Kanishka Casket found at the Shah-Ji-ki-Dheri, whose lid has a central seated Buddha in abhaya mudra flanked by Brahma and Indra. There are meditating Buddhas represented on the base plate and the body of the casket. Sakyamuni Buddha’s association with the Hindu gods and their repeated encounters at various important stages of his life is splendidly described in the biographical accounts of the Pali and Mahayana sutras and may be considered as a proto-Mahayana theme. However, the triadic composition of a Buddha figure with the bodhisattvas confirms the influence of the Prajnaparamita discourse, explicating the Mahayana concept of the Six Perfections (paramitas), and demands reinterpretation from both iconographic and textual viewpoints. So far, scholars have alluded that the Mathura school only produced Sakyamuni images related to two events-the Enlightenment and the First Sermon-and categorized all the sculptural specimens under these two themes. But there are no satisfactory accounts to substantiate the direct connection shared between the Sakyamuni and the bodhisattvas, who emerged from the Mahayana philosophy and represented the multivariate nature of the Buddha Fields and coexistence of Buddhas of different aeons and Pure Lands. This can be corroborated from several inscribed steles from the Kushana period of the Mathura school, presenting the epithets of Bodhisattva, Buddha, Tathagata or Samyaksambuddha, which give a scope to understand the role and identification of the central figure as a manifestation of the Buddha in a form which is not that of the Sakyamuni. During the Kushana period, the art centres at Mathura and Gandhara produced Buddha images reflecting a blend of cultural and stylistic features.
By reconsidering existing research and iconographic details from a fresh perspective, we can arrive at significant comparisons and conjectures related to the representations of the Amitabha Trinity and the triadic sculptural compositions from the Mathura and Gandhara schools of the Kushana period. Visually, the compositions look similar besides the identities of the two acolytes. In some depictions of Amitabha, Mahasthamaprapta is replaced by Vajrapani. Interestingly, the iconographic details of Mahasthamaprapta are recognizable by the jewel-pitcher on his crown, his hands in abhaya and varada mudra and the open lotus. This form of the bodhisattva is not well-known in the Indian artistic tradition. But his manifestation shares an affinity with Vajrapani in the esoteric tradition where he is given the epithets ‘wheel-holding vajra’, ‘light-holding vajra’, ‘wheel-turning vajra’ and ‘born of void vajra’. Lokesh Chandra identifies vajra as a usual attribute of Mahasthamaprapta which is depicted in one of the silk banners representing the Pure Land scenes (Ch lvi.0018, Stein 537, NM 2003-17-335) discussed in a later part of the essay. This corroborates the interchangeable role of the bodhisattva in the Indian context, where Vajrapani, the personification of indestructible wisdom, gained more popularity. Similarly, the references to Maitreya concerning Amitabha are found in the Sukhavati Sutra, the Saddharmapundarika Sutra and the Amitayur-dhyana Sutra. Considering the underlying symbolism and conceptual affinity recounted in the textual accounts, the indigenous understanding and cross-cultural influences, it could be inferred that the Amitabha Trinity was visualized with a changed identity in the Indian sphere.
There are two well-preserved steles-the Katra stele at the Mathura Museum (Acc. No. A.1) and the Ramnagar stele dated to Year 32 (presumably of the Kanishka era) at the National Museum, Delhi (Acc. No. L.55.75). In both their images, the central figure of the Buddha is referred to as a bodhisattva in the inscriptions. The Ramnagar stele, excavated from Ahichchhatra, belongs to the Huviska phase and is iconographically and stylistically more developed than the Katra image from the Kanishka phase. The latter shows iconographic details of the attendant deities in a nascent form: They hold fly-whisks but are devoid of individual identity which is more systematized in the Ramnagar image. In the Ramnagar stele, the central Tathagata figure is depicted as a part of a triad, flanked by Bodhisattvas Vajrapani and Padmapani who wear Greek and Indian dresses and headgears. Padmapani is recognizable by the cluster of lotuses in his hand, while Vajrapani wears a short animal skin mantle of Scythian style (udicyavesa) and a flat turban and holds a thunderbolt (He is said to have accompanied Buddha on his journey to Gandhara). The cult of bodhisattvas in early Indian art was limited to similar triads. Seated cross-legged on a lion throne (simhasana) in the lotus posture (padmasana), the soles of the Buddha’s feet display a spoked-wheel (dharmachakra) motif. His right hand is raised to the shoulder, making the inward-turning abhaya mudra, while the left hand with a clenched fist rests on his left knee and covers half the leg. He wears a diaphanous robe (sanghati), marked with thin schematic folds covering one shoulder (ekanksikha), and a lower garment. The face is round with bulging eyes where the upper and lower eyelids are equal. A clean-shaven head with the cranial protuberance (ushnisha) shaped like snail-curls is visible. This style of Buddha images is also known as Kapardin Buddha in Kushana-Mathura aesthetics. The halo is large and undecorated with only a scalloped motif around the edge unlike the fairly decorated Katra back slab which shows foliage symbolizing the Bodhi tree whose peepal leaves are quite conspicuous. The lion pedestal has a Bodhi tree as its central motif, flanked by lay female and male followers.
Some scholars have identified these images as Sakyamuni Buddha, based on the 32 Great Marks (Mahalakshanas) of a Great Being (Mahapurusa) and a Universal Ruler (Chakravartin). But the same characteristics are shared by the Buddhas residing in different Buddha Fields and in the Pure Lands. There are more visually comparable dated images. These include a stele donated by Dharmanandin in Year 4 of the Kanishka period, stored at the Kimbel Art Museum in Texas; a stele showing a bodhisattva seated on a lion throne with triratna and devotees, dated to Year 39 of Huviska, discovered in Palikhera and now at the Indian Museum, Kolkata; a fragmentary stele from Palikhera, dated to Year 8, at the Mathura Museum; and a non-inscribed stele of Sakyamuni from Ahichhatra, at the Indian Museum.
The recurrence of female devotees and lay worshippers is another important concept to be noted in the context of depictions of the Pure Land. There is an inscribed fragmentary sculpture, discovered at Galteswar near the Katra site in Mathura city, which is now in the Mathura Museum. All that survives of the figures are the left leg, right foot and left hand of a bodhisattva along with the left foot of an attendant on the proper right. The central part of the pedestal shows a winged lion and a female worshipper who was probably paying homage to the dharmachakra. The four-line inscription informs us that a female worshipper named Nanda set up this bodhisattva image and that it was dedicated to the Sarvastivadin monks for their well-being. In particular, the presence of the female worshipper implies the act of merit-making, in the form of donation and rituals, to ensure the possibility of her rebirth in the blissful Pure Land. In the Longer and the Shorter Sukhavati-vyuha Sutra, it is mentioned that the inhabitants of the Pure Land are all male and entitled to enlightenment. The Saddharmapundarika Sutra mentions that women who acquire merit and worship the sutra may be reborn in Sukhavati. In early Buddhism, the concept of gender transformation was chiefly associated with enlightenment: Since a woman’s body was regarded as defiled and filled with desires, it made her unsuitable to achieve the path of Buddhahood. Considering this philosophical notion, the identity of this particular seated bodhisattva may be presumed to be Amitabha Buddha. Though rendered in the same style, this image predates the Katra figure, evident from the term ‘Ksatrapa’ mentioned in the inscription and the rudimentary nature of the carving. Scholars have fixed the dating between the middle of the 1st century BCE and the middle of the 1st century CE, which is earlier than the Kushana period.
This aspect of female donors is also emphasized in the colossal red sandstone bodhisattva dedicated by Bala at Sarnath in the 3rd regnal year of Kanishka. Stored today at the Sarnath Museum, the statue was protected by a large stone parasol with the help of a shaft pierced in the hole of the umbrella, which is now in a fragmentary state. The shaft has auspicious motifs, each intervened by a grooved design, such as the triratna, srivastsa, svastika, a pair of fish, a full vase, winged conches, etc. From the inscription, it is known that a distinguished member of Bala’s circle was the nun Buddhamitra and her name is mentioned as the sole donor of the standing bodhisattva which was created in Mathura.
Interestingly, the triad theme is also seen carved on the pedestal of a Buddha image from Anyor, dated to Year 51 (CE 129), presently at the Mathura Museum (Acc. No. A.65). It represents the Buddha seated in padmasana with his right hand raised to the shoulder. The other hand is also raised and holds the hem of the sanghati. The Kapardin coiffure is now replaced by rows of notches. The pedestal has two frontally facing lions at the corners and shows a meditating Buddha, placed as an object of devotion between two male figures dressed in princely garments. The overall rendition is rudimentary and the details are inconspicuous. This image is the earliest one that shows a dhyana mudra Buddha from the Mathura school.
The artist workshops at Mathura and Gandhara produced Buddha images simultaneously, resulting in a rich amalgam of cultural and stylistic features. Notably, the Mathura school sculptures show the Tathagata in abhaya mudra; other postures like the dhyana and dharmachakra mudras emerge as an influence of Gandharan art. Similar triads are also found in Gandharan sites such as Jamalgarhi Monastery, Sahri Bahlol and Loriyan Tangai. The central Buddha is shown in the dharmachakra pose, accompanied by Maitreya on the left and Padmapani on the right. A similar iconography of Amitabha in dharmachakra mudra is also seen in the Pure Land depictions from Dunhuang, discussed in the following section. In this context, scholars have been curious to know if such images denote Mahavairocana, since this trinity with the Bodhisattvas Vajrapani and Padmapani is cited in the Mahavairocana Sutra, manifesting the compassion and wisdom of the Buddha.
One such well-preserved example of stone sculpture, carved in schist, possibly belonging to the 2nd century CE (Kushana period) from the site of Loriyan Tangai is now at the Indian Museum, Kolkata (Acc. No. 4837). The central image is of Tathagata in bodhyangi mudra, indicating his acquisition of the Six Pearls of Wisdom. He sits on a broad lotus in padmasana, flanked by two kneeling devotees. Seated under an acanthus tree, the central figure is depicted with two standing bodhisattvas-Maitreya on the left, identified with a stupa in his coiffure, and Padmapani on the right. The flanking figures are Hellenic in their musculature; there is also an emphasis on their Indian dhoti, patta and stylized coiffure. Tathagata wears a thick robe in Gandharan style which covers only the left shoulder (ekanksikha sanghati). In another triad stele from Sahri Bahlol, now at the Peshawar Archaeological Museum, the same composition is repeated but in the lower section of the pedestal. Here, beneath the lotus throne, there is a pond, which is one of the 16 Contemplations. Inside the pond, a pair of kneeling male and female devotees are shown worshipping a stepped shrine in the centre, consecrated amidst swirling waves, a common motif found in the Dunhuang paintings representing the ocean of samsara. This motif could be conjectured as the pond of Amitabha where he welcomes newly reborn souls who emerge from lotus blossoms. Hence, the worshippers are shown praying for their resurrection in the Pure Land. Besides, the lotus throne on which Tathagata is seated is supported by three elephants with raised trunks, two on each of the corners and one in the centre. The elephant motif denotes the meditation aspect (dhyana-paramita) of the Six Perfections.
Amitabha Buddha and the Assembly of Bodhisattvas in the Western Paradise
In the Sukhavati depictions, the Amitabha Triad remains the central motif but the composition expands with the inclusion of additional elements which symbolize the 16 Contemplations which help achieve birth in the Pure Land. These are: (1) sun, (2) water, (3) earth, (4) trees of paradise, (5) lakes of paradise, (6) vimanas of pavilions of paradise, (7) lotus throne of Amitabha, (8) Amitabha trio, (9) Amitabha in the celestial form (sambhogakaya), (10) Avalokitesvara in sambhogakaya, (11) Mahasthamaprapta in sambhogakaya, (12) oneself on a lotus in Sukhavati, (13) Amitabha in a lesser body, (14) birth as a human, (15) birth as an Arhant (wise person), (16) birth as a bodhisattva. These elements later developed into iconographic features in depictions of the Pure Land.
The iconographic formation of the triad follows textual records and depicts Amitabha accompanied by his two chief bodhisattvas, Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta. He sits under an ornamented canopy and presides over a pond to welcomes newly reborn souls coming out of lotus blossoms. The larger assembly around Amitabha contains the remaining six bodhisattvas-Sarvanivaranaviskambhin, Kritigarbha, Samantabhadra, Vajrapani, Maitreya and Manjusri. All are adorned with a mandorla and positioned on individual lotus pedestals, signifying their sanctified rank. Surrounding this main composition, the other background motifs include multi-storey palatial setups and pavilions, gardens filled with trees laden with flowers and fruits, birds, ponds and fountains, splendid skies, dancers and musicians playing a variety of instruments, flying celestial figures, and an assembly of monks, donors and laypeople paying obeisance with joined hands (anjali mudra). Except for Amitabha Buddha, all figures are lavishly dressed in royal garments and ornaments and wear distinctively styled headdresses. The spatial arrangement of the narrative is well-composed and schematically modelled around the cosmological and hierarchical order while maintaining a sense of artistic balance and aesthetic quality. One of the earliest representations of the Amitabha’s Pure Land scene was found in the Southern Xiangtangshan Buddhist cave temple site, Cave 2, datable to the Northern Qi dynasty (550-577 CE). This is a monumental 11-feet-long reconstructed limestone mural, housed in the Freer Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian, Washington DC.
The Stein Collection comprises four elaborate silk paintings on the Pure Land theme, seemingly influenced by the mural paintings of the Dunhuang caves created during the same time. There are two such elaborate representations, one at Cave 320, north wall, from the first half of 8th century CE, and the other at Cave 148, south side of the east wall, dated to 776 CE. Notably, the silk banners share artistic and iconographic commonalities. Here, two types of iconographic forms of Amitabha are found: firstly, Amitabha with his right hand in abhaya mudra and the other on his lap, and secondly, Amitabha in dharmachakra pravaratna mudra. The Stein Collection also contains more fragments of silk banners related to scenes from the Pure Land, which have been identified by Lokesh Chandra.
From the first group of silk paintings, there are two images worth noting (Ch.xlvii.001, Stein 499, NM 99-17-9) and (Ch.0051, Stein 295, NM 2003-17-346). The basic features discussed above remain the same in both the paintings, but certain new elements have been added. In the first painting, there is a depiction of the four transformational Buddhas who are seen floating on the right and left on clouds, each accompanied by two acolytes. The same idea is seen in the Sukhavati mandala created by monk Chiko of the Gangoji Monastery who lived in the 7th or 8th century CE. Derived from the same mandala, there is also a depiction of the bhavasagara with images of ducks. In the second set of paintings, scenes have been added that relate to the legend of Ajatasatru’s imprisonment and the meditations of Queen Vaidehi who prays to get him married. Both scenes are schematically arranged in vertical borders on the sides of the painting.
In the second group of paintings, two examples (Ch.v.001, Stein 427, NM 99-17-2) and (Ch. lvi.0018, Stein 537, NM 2003-17-335) depict the paradise of Amitabha based on the Amitayur-dhyana Sutra, translated into Chinese by Kalayasas between the years 424-442 CE. In both the paintings, the legend of Ajatasatru is depicted on the borders. There are also representations of ten monks, who are counterparts of the ten great disciples of Sakyamuni, and eight princes seated below the pedestal of Amitabha.
From the Indian context, scholars have also closely looked at the Muhammad Nari Stele at the Lahore Museum, examining its many details and comparing them to textual descriptions. It is one of the most remarkable pieces of Gandharan art, known for its intricate carving and complex iconographic orientation. The scene is dominated by a teaching Buddha seated on a large lotus at the centre, under the branches of a fanciful tree. Various beings, two of whom hover in mid-air above his head, are in the act of crowning him with a wreath. The lotus has a large number of fleshy petals and a bejeweled stem. The stem is flanked by a standing couple and the upper bodies of four more figures rising out of two lotuses which float upon the waters of the pond that forms the base of the composition. The central Buddha is surrounded by numerous bodhisattvas engaged in different activities, several of them grouped. In the upper area, there are also solitary bodhisattvas seated within their pavilions, and in the top corners two meditating Buddhas emanate further standing ones. Earlier, the scene was identified as an elaborate representation of the Great Miracle of Sravasti.
In the Western rock-cut caves of Ajanta, Ellora and Aurangabad, a generic prototype of central Buddha images displaying dharmachakra pravartana or dhyana mudra, accompanied by an assembly of bodhisattvas, is found in the core shrines and small sub-shrines. Considering the dominance of Tantric texts and rituals, John Huntington hypothesized these Buddha figures as belonging to the Garbhadhatumandala and the Vajradhatumandala, further discussed by Geri Malandra in his deliberations on the representation of the mandalas of Buddha and bodhisattvas in Ellora’s Buddhist temples. Several mandalas carved in relief on the walls and the free-standing sculptural programme represent this key motif in the core shrines of the three-storey Cave 12 at Ellora. These are remarkable and demand art-historical analysis. The central Buddha, posed in either dhyana or dharmachakra mudra, is flanked by Avalokitesvara and Vajrapani, and surrounded by other bodhisattvas such as Maitreya, Sarvanivaranaviskambhin, Samantabhadra, Akasagarbha, Kstigarbha and Manjusri. Unlike Amitabha’s assembly, the position of Mahasthamaprapta is replaced by Vajrapani in the triad, and Akasagarbha becomes the eighth bodhisattva who is absent in the previously discussed Dunhuang paintings. This kind of composition appears multiple times in the relief mandalas on the thick screen walls in Cave 12. The kernel of this concept may well be related to the idea of Amitabha’s Pure Land, given the shared artistic and iconographic similarities. The precision of Ellora’s composition also strongly suggests that the worship of the Pancha-Tathagatas was in vogue. Such complex iconographic formulations dominate the architectural configuration, evincing unique idioms grounded on early Tantric Buddhist metaphysics, rituals and texts. The 12 Buddhist caves at Ellora, built during 600-730 CE, mark the culmination of a long-standing tradition of rock-cut Buddhist architecture in India. Malandra opines that the relief mandalas might suggest a connection to the teachings of the Mahavairocana Sutra and the central shrine images may be better read as Sakyamuni connecting to the teachings of the Sarvadurgatiparisodhanatantra, centred on Mahavairocana/Sakyasimha.
Moreover, given the religious and pedagogic linkages shared between Central India and the Far East, it would not be correct to say that the representation of the Pure Land cult was absent in the Western Caves. According to the legend, the Japanese monk Kukai received training in the Tang capital of Cha’ang under his key teacher Hui-Kuo, who was a part of a direct line of masters responsible for transmitting Vajrayana teachings from India. Hui-Kuo’s Indian teachers, Subhakarasimha (637-735 CE) and Vajrabodhi (671-741 CE), belonged to Central India and Amoghavajra had travelled extensively in India and Southeast Asia. Disseminating knowledge through the travel of monks and transmission of texts, these religious centres played a key role in the trans-regional diffusion of ideas, teachings and practices that resulted in new forms of cultural synthesis emerging across various dynastic and geographical boundaries.