Niche of the Nether World (No.20, A.D.1174-1252)
The niche, 1268 cm high, 1995 cm wide and 244 cm deep, houses 133 statues. Sitting in the middle of the upper part is Ksitigarbha, flanked by 10 Boddhisattvas, the God of Present-life Reward and the God of Quick Reward. Sitting above Ksitigarbha are 10 Buddhas in a row. At two tiers of the lower part are 18 stories of hells including the Knife mountain and the Knee-chopping hells. This niche of the nether world is the biggest in size and the richest in depicting subject matters of Buddhist art.
|
