<경주 낭산 마애보살삼존좌상>의 재조명

Reinterpretation of the Rock-carved Seated Bodhisattva Triad at Nangsan Mountain, Gyeongju

Statue of the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva made in the style of the Buddhist monk(聲聞形) are largely divided into two types, one featuring a shaven head and the other wearing a hood. The image of a hooded Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva dates back to Return of the Spirit of the Monk Daoming(『道明和尙還魂記』), a document found in the seventeenth grotto of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang. This image of Kṣitigarbha wearing a hood(被巾地藏) first appeared sometime between the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and became widespread in the tenth century. In Korea, the image gained great popularity during the Goryeo period and remained popular in the subsequent Joseon period. It is not certain how the image came to be formed, but once introduced it coexisted with the image of a monk with a shaven head, while showing great diversity depending on the time and the region. The results of this study have led to the conclusion that the rock-carved Buddhist image of Nangsan Mountain in Gyeongju is an image of Kṣitigarbha wearing a hood and a kasaya rather than one of a Goddess. Furthermore, judging by the style of the representations of the guardian deities flanking Kṣitigarbha, it has been concluded that the image was created after the ninth century. The image of a hooded Kṣitigarbha as depicted in Return of the Spirit of the Monk Daoming indicates that the image had already been established before 778. The oldest image of a hood-wearing Kṣitigarbha discovered so far among the Buddhist paintings in Dunhuang shows that its creator clearly understood the image of the hooded Kṣitigarbha depicted in Return of the Spirit of the Monk Daoming, which suggests that it had been established before the late ninth century. In Korea, the image of Kṣitigarbha wearing a hood was introduced to Unified Silla in about the ninth century while that of the bodhisattva wearing a shaven head had already been fully established in the mid-eighth century. Considering that the shaven-headed Kṣitigarbha existed together with the hood-wearing Kṣitigarbha during this period, the principal figure of the rock-carved Buddhist triad at Nangsan Mountain might be the oldest hood-wearing Kṣitigarbha remaining in Korea today. Together with this study, the rock-carved Buddhist image of Nangsan Mountain is expected to serve as tangible evidence of the diversity of Buddhist sculpture in Unified Silla.