In the period between the High Tang dynasty to the Five Dynasties, the image of a male Yak a carrying a boy appears a couple of times in the mural paintings in the Mogao and Yulin Grottoes, as well as in a silk painting, woodcut prints, and one paper painting from the Dunhuang Library Cave. Based on a comparative study of the relevant narrative images in Gandharan reliefs and Kucha mural paintings, this article identifies this very Yak a as Atavika. As narrated in Buddhist literature, Atavika was an evil child-eater before his conversion to Buddhism. The Atavika images in Dunhuang confirm, however, that Atavika became a benevolent Yak a who protected children. The Atavika images of Dunhuang took shape under strong influence from the Buddhist cultures of Kucha and Khotan, though later developments display increasingly strong local features.
