Comic strips in Buddhist temples? Narratives of Śākyamuni Buddha in Kinnauri temples (western Indian Himalayas)

Kinnaur, a historical passageway between India and Tibet, forms the eastern part of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In this Himalayan region, Hinduism and Buddhism have been inextricably intertwined since at least the 10th century. Many people follow both religions, and it is common to find a Hindu temple and a Buddhist temple in the same compound, facing each other and built according to the same architectural rules. The arrival of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala has led to a significant influx of Tibetan refugees into Himachal Pradesh, contributing to a revival of Tibetan Buddhism in the region. In Kinnaur, many stupas have been built and Buddhist temples renovated or completely rebuilt in the last few decades. This paper will examine recent paintings depicting the life of the Buddha that adorn the walls of some of these newly renovated temples and question their sources of inspiration. While there are similarities in terms of arrangement in registers and the presence of inscriptions providing information about the scenes painted, these paintings differ from the wall paintings of western Tibet in terms of aesthetics and style. However, the main focus of this study is the choice of episodes and the manner in which they are depicted. For instance, the birth and youth of the future Buddha are depicted without reference to the sage Aśita's prediction or the various tournaments in which the young prince participated, such as the archery, wrestling, and swimming contests. In contrast, the paintings include episodes that are rarely seen in Tibetan temples, such as the episode of the goose wounded by his cousin Devadatta, which is generally omitted in favour of the episode of the white elephant killed in a fit of jealousy. The following discussion will reveal the surprising source of these unusual paintings.