Arapachana Manjushri -Tibetan Buddhist Deity

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Manjushri is the Bodhisattva of Wisdom and Knowledge. He is actually the male embodiment of Perfection of wisdom and is second in importance only to Avalokiteshvara in Mahayana tradition. Manjushri's name, often translated as "Beautiful Glory", may equally accurately be translated as "Beautiful Goddess". In the Tantric understanding, Manjushri is recognized as fully enlightened Buddha. He manifests in highly esoteric forms, such as Yamantaka or Vajrabhairava and Dharmadhatu Vagishvara Manjushri also embodies the full enlightenment of Vairochana and manifests the entire Dharma, or teachings of Buddhism. Manjushri ensures that human will gain knowledge and insights provided have faith in the Dharma. He cleaves the clouds of ignorance with wisdom and brings light into darkness. This darkness has a double meaning, and is thus also spiritual darkness and ignorance.

Manjushri is the patron deity of Nepalese Buddhism. He is identified with the primordial Buddha Svayambhu and is the root teacher of Nepalese Buddhist Chakrasamvara practice. Moreover the cult of Manjushri is popular in Northern Buddhist countries. They conceived him in various forms and worshipped him with various mantras. Those, who could not form any conception of him according to Tantric rites, attained perfection only muttering his numerous mantras; he is believed to have been a wandering ascetic and the Gandavyuha Sutra records the tradition that he came out of Pratishthanakutagara and, accompanied by Bodhisattvas of his status and other divinities, led his journey to Dakshinapatha. Further it is also mentioned in the text about an assembly at Jetavana in which Manjushri, Samantabhadra, five thousand Bodhisattvas and Mahashravakas are said to have been present along with Buddha. A Chinese tradition records that Gautama Buddha informed Manjushri of his duty to turn the Wheel of Law for the salvation of the Chinese and choose Panchashira (five-peaked) mountain in Shan-si province in China as his place of manifestation. The association of Manjushri with China is also mentioned in the Svayambhu Purana in which it is mentioned that Manjushri was a great saint with many disciples and followers. He came from mount Panchashira, which was his abode, to Svayambhunath Kshetra in order to pay his respect to Adi Buddha who had manifested himself as a flame of fire on a mountain in lake Kalihrada, which is now the Nepal Valley. Manjushri erected a temple over the flame of fire and on a hillock and nearby he made his own abode, and also a vihara still known as the Manjupattana, for his disciples. He did many pious deeds there. He returned home after putting everything in proper order and soon attained the divine form of a Bodhisattva, leaving his mundane body behind. This tradition has led some scholars to propound the view that Manjushri was a historical character who brought civilization to Nepal from China. Arya- Manjusri-Mulakalpa and Sadhanamala describe a number of distinctive forms of the god for worship.

The present form of Manjushri is known as Arapachana. In this form he is to seated in vajraparyankasana, the right hand upraised with the wisdom sword and the left holding a manuscript held near his chest. But in many manifestations as in the case of present painting he does not carry the book against the chest, but holds the stem of a lotus flower, which bears the book. In this painting ever graceful Manjushri is seated in vajraparyankasana on a moon disk on a lotus flower against a brilliant aureole and moon disk with natural vegetation. He has a smiling face and his body is painted golden instead of white or red, the contribution of this color bringing increased merit to the donor. His hair is partly upswept in a knot with decoration on it and partly falls on his shoulders. He is adorned with a jeweled crown with flowers and ornaments of a prince, flowing scarf and floral dhoti. One white silk scarf is tied diagonally in his left shoulder.

This description is by Dr. Shailendra K. Verma. His Doctorate thesis being: "Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (From its inception to 8th century A.D.)".

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Unveiling the Divine Art: Journey into the Making of Thangkas

A Thangka is a traditional Tibetan Buddhist painting that usually depicts a Buddhist Deity (Buddha or Bodhisattva), a scene, or a mandala. These paintings are considered important paraphernalia in Buddhist rituals. They are used to teach the life of the Buddha, various lamas, and Bodhisattvas to the monastic students, and are also useful in visualizing the deity while meditating. One of the most important subjects of thangkas is the Bhavacakra (the wheel of life) which depicts the Art of Enlightenment. It is believed that Thangka paintings were developed over the centuries from the murals, of which only a few can be seen in the Ajanta caves in India and the Mogao caves in Gansu Province, Tibet. Thangkas are painted on cotton or silk applique and are usually small in size. The artist of these paintings is highly trained and has a proper understanding of Buddhist philosophy, knowledge, and background to create a realistic and bona fide painting.

The process of making a thangka begins with stitching a loosely woven cotton fabric onto a wooden frame. Traditionally, the canvas was prepared by coating it with gesso, chalk, and base pigment.

After this, the outline of the form of the deity is sketched with a pencil or charcoal onto the canvas using iconographic grids. The drawing process is followed in accordance with strict guidelines laid out in Buddhist scriptures. The systematic grid helps the artist to make a geometrical and professional painting. When the drawing of the figures is finalized and adjusted, it is then outlined with black ink.

Earlier, a special paint of different colors was made by mixing powdered forms of organic (vegetable) and mineral pigments in a water-soluble adhesive. Nowadays, artists use acrylic paints instead. The colors are now applied to the sketch using the wet and dry brush techniques. One of the characteristic features of a thangka is the use of vibrant colors such as red, blue, black, green, yellow, etc.

In the final step, pure gold is coated over some parts of the thangka to increase its beauty. Due to this beautification, thangkas are much more expensive and also stand out from other ordinary paintings.

Thangka paintings are generally kept unrolled when not on display on the wall. They also come with a frame, a silken cover in front, and a textile backing to protect the painting from getting damaged. Because Thangkas are delicate in nature, they are recommended to be kept in places with no excess moisture and where there is not much exposure to sunlight. This makes them last a long time without their colors fading away. Painting a thangka is an elaborate and complex process and requires excellent skills. A skilled artist can take up to 6 months to complete a detailed thangka painting. In earlier times, thangka painters were lamas that spent many years on Buddhist studies before they painted.