Five Hundred Arhats No.62 · The Venerable Mahā-kṣatriya (Great Noble) | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.62 The Venerable Mahā-kṣatriya (Great Noble)

'Mahā' means great and 'kṣatriya' denotes the noble warrior lineage of ancient India; together the name means 'the greatly noble one,' signifying one who appears in an exalted station yet turns the heart toward the supreme way. The venerable bears a dignified, composed bearing, within his noble air showing a detachment that seeks the way untethered by rank.

Painted by Li Zongyi in the freehand Chinese ink (xieyi) tradition, the brushwork is fluent and the ink tones layered from dense to pale, capturing the arhat’s spirit in a few assured strokes. The blank paper itself breathes Zen; figure and spirit are one, blending monastic solemnity with the literati’s ease. Each of the Five Hundred Arhats bears its own name and practice, uniting faith, art and collectibility — an original, non-reproducible hand-painted work.

Size: approx. 100×50cm (4.5 square chi) | Traditional hand-painted Chinese ink Zen Buddhist figure painting | On paper