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This is the finest existing example of a painting showing the Buddhist god Kujaku Myo-0 (Peacock King) devouring of serpents and conqueror of evil. The Mahamayuri came to Japan from India, the Sanskrit word "maha" meaning great and "mayuri" meaning peacock - i.e. the great peacock. Belief in Kujaku Myo-o existed in Japan as early as the Nara period (7th-8lh centuries), the original influences coming from India. In the Heian period (9th -12lh centuries) he was frequently worshipped at the Kujaku-Myo-o rituals, which involved supplications for the termination of various natural calamities, famines, and pestilences. His image was painted in numbers for use at these rituals.
The painting shows the four armed god facing the front, seated on the back of the peacock. He holds in his first right hand an open lotus flower,...