Dragon Subduing Arhat

During the Buddha’s time, stories already existed about the Dragon Subduing Arhat. The tales followed the spread of Buddhism to China and translations of his stories were already in circulation during the Western Jin dynasty. By the Tang dynasty, images of the Dragon Subduing Arhat could be found. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, he was often included among the Eighteen Arhats commonly found adorning the sides of main shrines in Buddhist temples.