再論于闐八大守護神圖像源流 - 以摩訶迦羅神、莎耶摩利神的樣式為中心=A Reexamination of the Iconographical Origin of the Eight Buddhist Guardians Protecting Khotan - Focusing on the Styles of Mahakala and Samjnayamala
The Buddhist guardians protecting Khotan depicted in Dunhuang cave murals are a manifestation of the exchanges of Buddhist culture and art between Khotan and the Guiyijun Regime ruled by the Cao and Zhang clans. The text near the images has been identified as the Tibetan document P.t. 960, Li yul chos kyi lo rgyus （“Religious History of Khotan”）, which dates to the late period of the Tibetan occupation of Dunhuang. Images of Mahakala and deva Samjnayamala in the murals are depicted according to the iconographical traditions of places that were dominated by Han Chinese at the time. The Heavenly King-like Mahakala painting was likely derived from depictions of the same deity as a god of the kitchen, examples of which can be seen in A Record of the Buddhist Religions as Practiced in India and the Malaya Archipelago （671—695 AD）. The image of deva Samjnayamala could have been borrowed from a similar image of the Heavenly King Virūdhaka that took shape in a Han Chinese region, as it clearly differs greatly from images of Pancika seen in Khotan in Xinjiang. Therefore, the guardians, which were labeled as “Buddhist guardians protecting Khotan” in the inscriptions attached to them, were probably created by Dunhuang artisans who renovated the murals based on the Chinese style of art with which they were familiar.
