The Image of Vaisravana
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The image of Vaisravana held a special place in the ancient kingdom of Khotan, and the god was depicted as having had a particular role in the founding of the Khotan kingdom and its dynasty. The rulers in fact claimed that they were descended from the god Vaisravana, or Kubera. Vaisravana had several important roles--he was the god of wealth and the god of armies. The god is depicted in religious symbolism and art in Khotan, China, and various Buddhist regions. He has been traced indeed to an even earlier Greek tradition as far back as the period of hesiod. The image of Vaisravana changed somewhat over time, eventually being depicted with three legs and as being otherwise deformed. The dominion of Vaisravana is the northern quarter of the world and autumn. He is also king and master of the gods who bring disease. His face is angry, and he always wears a helmet in his role as god of armies. He has two arms and holds aloft a victory banner. He is richly dressed in antique armor. In older depictions, he has two legs, and in more modern depictions he has three. Vaisravana, then, was originally a protective deity of Khotan in Chinese Central Asia, in the Xinjiang province. During the era when Buddhism was expanding, this local deity, along with many others, was integrated into the Buddhist pantheon as a protector. In China, the cult is found from the fifth century C.E. on. In the Tang period, Vaisravana and his celestial warrior-Yaksas were the objects
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ha and the spirit hsien. In Khotanese painting, Iranian elements such as costume, tributary processions, and the sun and moon symbols are absorbed into a Buddhist context. Buddhism in Khotan did include various schools, and art from the locale reflects certain differences in keeping with this fact (Williams, 1992, 112-113).
In the Khotanese works, Vaisravana appears in local dress, boots, and armor, and the Yaksas are first consistently represented as warriors. In India Kubera had appeared standing on a large-eared dwarf. Buddhist iconography begins in Khotan. Considering the importance of Vaisravana in Khotan, it is surprising that the does not appear more often in painting. Williams (1992) believes that not all the Khotanese images have been recognized as they refer to this deity or to figures closely related to him. For one thing, many of the Tantric sutras referring to Vaisravana have only been partially translated, and they may include clues to other iconography. Vaisravana is frequently shown with several companions. One is female and may be identified as Sri, the goddess of prosperity. Another companion appears consistently with a tiger-skin over his head, and his identity remains uncertain. He is probably to be
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Approximate Word count = 3340
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)
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