Nāga, or long 龍 in Chinese, is often depicted as cobras in the ancient Indian and Southeastern Asian art, or as dragon in the Chinese art. In the Kizil Grottos in Xinjiang, the nāga is depicted in a range of themes, including the jataka story of Dashi emptying the ocean or the nāga saving merchants; or the story of the nāga king protecting Buddha Śākyamuni from the rain, or Buddha Śākyamuni subduing a fiery nāga, or the story of the nāga king turning himself to a bridge for Buddha Śākyamuni, or making inquiry to Buddha Śākyamuni in verses. In the Kizil Grottoes, the Kucha painters depict the nāga as having the form of a serpent, while still distinguishing it from a real serpent; thus, the origin for the depiction of the nāga is complex. In the Kizil murals, there are two imageries whose themes are still unclear: the imagery of a group of serpents winding around themselves and the imagery of humans torturing serpents. German scholars have hypothesized about these imageries, but their opinions are not shared by Chinese scholars. In this article, after comparing the murals with Buddhist sūtras, I put forth my own opinions.
