In this picture, Nikolay Roerich used a sample of the heritage of Japan and China – a Chinese sculpture of Bodhisattva Skanda (“The Defender of the Teaching”). The symbolism of the sword is ambiguous. In this work, the sword is not a crushing weapon, but a messenger of the peace. He lies calmly on the arms of a warrior, joined in a gesture of antali mudra – a gesture of prayer, prayer for peace.

The painting was written in 1933, during the rise of the Banner of Peace and the preparation for the signing the Roerich’s Covenant for the Protection of Cultural Property. The artist placed the sign of the Banner of Peace on the warrior’s helmet. The tenseness of colors enhances the painting emotionality and strengthens its philosophical orientation. Roerich created an image full of great inner strength and spiritual power, aimed at the good of the world.