国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

downwards across his body is a fur upavita; his torso is otherwise bare except for

the elaborate jewellery. Both hands are in front of his chest, but their occupation is

obscured by damage to the painting. The right hand may hold a flower, or perhaps

a censer, and from the lifted little finger of the left rises a thin, thread-like

vapoury emanation which, as it rises, gathers into the form of a little trefoil cloud.

Behind Virúdhaka is a small red-haired attendant with pointed ear, and higher,

slightly above the level of the head of the Lokapála, is a small figure wearing a

Chinese hat with stiff streamers, his cheeks puffed out in blowing a whistle held

at his lips.

To right of the sádhú and divided from him by a belt of cloud, an animated

incident is depicted in which a small warrior, in Lokapála dress, stands in a swing-

ing action of the body towards the right, his right hand upraised, holding two sprigs

of grass or twigs threatening chastisement to a group of little demons who are

scampering away towards cloud cover. His left hand outstretched, with spread

fingers, is an involuntary gesture reflecting concord with the vigorous pose of the

other hand. Associated with him is a female divinity, who, with a similar weapon

in her left hand, joins in the threat to the absconding storm imps. The two sides of

her face can be seen near the left shoulder of the Lokapála, and her long gown

below the outspread fingers of his left hand. One of the imps is emaciated but the

others are plump and star-spotted.

Below the drifting trail of cloud containing this little affair is a yellow-faced,

star-spotted, snarling demon with flame-like grey hair and tusks at the corners of

his open mouth, carrying a bow at his left shoulder. To the right of him is a

Chinese figure in a long coat of rich crimson and a black Chinese hat with two

stiff tabs projecting from the sides. Between these last two figures is a man carry-

ing two arrows against his right shoulder, and holding his left hand before his

mouth as though whispering confidences to the crimson-coated person.

In the centre foreground of the picture is a scene of considerable animation and

even violence. The bird-god, Garuda, struggling against a mob of assailants, seems

to be in a rather   predicament. e

hopl   redicament. While flying above, perhaps in his quest

of the divine nectar (amrta), he seems to have been winged by an arrow shot by the

archer whose arm and bow, charged with an arrow, can be seen below the crimson-

coated Chinese. The flying Garuda is missing, with so much of the upper part of

thep icture, but he is represented a second time here, after falling into the enemies'

hands, where he is violently resisting the painful assaults of his captors. He has

85

Mr-