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

Seated on the farther bank of the stream are two Buddhist monks who seem

to have no connexion with the legend and to be serenely unconscious of the

Nágini's presence and of the momentous proceedings in progress. One, with

high forehead, downcast eyes, and benign expression, raises his right hand, two

fingers erect, as though teaching and holds in his left hand a pothi. The other,

whose face is obliterated, holds some indistinguishable object in his upraised

right hand and rests his left on his thigh. Behind him are traces of a halo. In

front, from below the monks, emerges the head of a fish holding a curious tab

in his mouth and wearing a chaplet of pearls round his head.'

Near the left shoulder of the Nágini is painted a seated Buddha in contempla-

tion, against a lotus-petal vesica; probably one of a number of such figures now

obliterated, and seeming to have no relation to the rest of the picture.

The quality of the drawing is, in general, good, especially that of the seated

monks (or Bodhisattvas) and the horse. Hands are delicately and gracefully

posed and the recurved finger-tips are a slightly emphasized rendering of a form

often found on the hands of Indians of gentle occupation.

The colouring is briefly described by Stein as follows: Head-dress of the

Nágini, red; the body `true flesh colour'. Lotus flowers range from dark blue

to purple. The robe of the right hand monk, dark blue; that of the other monk,

shades of brown. General background, bright red-brown. The scales of armour

on the Lokapála are in successive rows of plates, alternately red—blue and red—

green.

I An example of a fish with a chaplet of pearls occurs in the painted decoration on the side of a small round wooden box recovered from a grave at Astána. See Ast. vi. 4.025, Stein: Innermost Asia, vol. II, p. 702 and vol. III, pl. xciv.

II2