Praṇidhi Paintings and Inscriptions of Cave 20 at Bezeklik and the Mūlasarvāstivāda-Vinaya Bhaiṣajyavastu

The praṇidhi paintings of Cave 20 at Bezeklik in Turfan are murals representing the cultural sophistication of the Gaochang Uyghur kingdom (866–1283). Building on Grünwedel’s rearrangement of the murals in his 1924 book, this paper examines praṇidhi paintings of Cave 20, with a particular focus on analyzing the accompanying inscriptions in relation to Mūlasarvāstivāda-vinaya Bhaiṣajyavastu. Le Coq’s numbering system, used in existing literature, has made it difficult to comprehend not only the sequential arrangement among 15 themes but also the order in which inscriptions were derived from the text. Using an alternative arrangement of the paintings, this paper provides a systematic pattern in the derivation of inscriptions from the text, with the following results: The inscriptions of Subject 9 (Ratnaśikin Buddha), Subject 7 (Dīpaṃkara Buddha), and Subject 10 (Kāśyapa Buddha) correspond respectively to three asaṅkhya kalpas of the verses, each conveying a pivotal moment in its period. Seen from left toward the right corridors, the inscriptions follow a sequence tracing from the second to the third, and then the first asaṅkhya kalpa. Following the pictorial narrative, the cycle begins with inviting the Buddha, the donor’s offering and worship, continues with making vows and receiving prophecies from the three Buddhas, and concludes with Buddha being seen off and renewal of devotional engagement by the viewer. These findings help clarify an issue in previous scholarship concerning how the inscriptions correspond to the Mūlasarvāstivāda-vinaya Bhaiṣajyavastu. This also supports Grünwedel’s early insight that the praṇidhi paintings of Cave 20 were interconnected with circumambulatory religious practice.