Five Hundred Arhats No.389 · The Venerable Nārada | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.389 The Venerable Nārada

Nārada (Sanskrit) is the name of an ancient Indian ṛṣi and a celestial musician; listed among the five hundred arhats, the name signifies mastery of celestial music, praising and making offerings through sound, unhindered eloquence. The venerable appears as an Indian monk with a transcendent air; the title is kept objectively without invented deeds, conveying only his understanding of sound and praising the three jewels through pure chant.

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