The Visit of the Sixteen Brahmin Ascetics in the Buddhist Art of Kucha: Visual Representations and Literary Sources
Kuchean Buddhist paintingsBrahmin AsceticsSixteen PārāyaṇasBāvariMaitreya
Ines Konczak-Nagel | Acta Asiatica Varsoviensia (AAV) 38 (2025) | Pages: 85–105DOI: https://doi.org/10.60018/AcAsVa.shxr9079
Abstract
This study analyses the iconographic motif of the “Visit of the Sixteen Brahmin Ascetics” in Kuchean cave paintings, depicting the Buddha surrounded by Brahmin ascetics. While Alfred Foucher identified analogous representations from the Gandhāra region as visual translations of the Pārāyaṇavagga, the Kuchean murals reflect distinctive Central Asian narrative traditions preserved in the Xianyu jing, Maitreyasamitināṭaka and Maitrisimit. Characteristic iconographic elements include a pairing of elderly and youthful Brahmins (possibly Bāvari and Maitreya) alongside prostrating ascetics. Examining seven examples, the study demonstrates how the narrative was adapted to emphasise Maitreya’s significance within local Buddhist traditions, particularly in the decorative programme of Kizil Cave 114, which reconfigures conventional iconographic hierarchies.
