Sudhana and a buffalo, folio 115 (recto) from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array)

The scene depicts Sudhana, a youthful pilgrim from the Gandavyuha narrative, encountering a buffalo, a symbolic encounter that illustrates themes of humility and perseverance on the spiritual path. The minimal facial features and the animal’s stylized horn convey a focus on the allegorical interaction rather than detailed realism.

Paint is applied in thin, faded washes that have weathered with time, leaving a worn appearance. The buffalo’s horn is rendered with a single, confident line, suggesting a sketch‑like approach. The figure’s attire is indicated by a simple red hue, and the overall execution reflects a modest, utilitarian aesthetic typical of manuscript illustration rather than courtly art.

Manuscript painting in early Indian Buddhism often integrated narrative scenes with accompanying text, serving both instructional and devotional purposes. This fragment exemplifies that practice, pairing a concise visual episode with the surrounding script that would have guided the viewer’s meditation on Sudhana’s journey.

Although modest in scale, the folio contributes to the understanding of Buddhist visual culture and the transmission of the Gandavyuha story across the Indian subcontinent. Its preservation offers insight into the material conditions of manuscript production and the interplay of text and image in religious practice.