A Large and Complex Mandala of Fourteen-Armed Heruka Father-Mother

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

In the center of this grand mandala, fourteen-armed, ten-headed, blue-complexion Heruka is standing in the warrior posture on a throne. His expression is wrathful and he embraces his consort with his two principal hands. His remaining hands are in the threatening gesture. His consort is embracing him with her two hands. Her right leg is extended along his, while the left is wrapped around his waist. Both are adorned with bone ornaments. There are auspicious peaceful offerings before his throne. The inner circle is encircled with eight lotus petals depicting the figures of Amitabha Buddha and great Adepts. This circle is followed by another circle of Buddhas, and wrathful Yab-yum figures. The area outside of this circle is filled with stylized designs and there is a square outside this circle, which has four gates with Buddha, figures in them. The walls of the square depict wrathful Yab-yum figures and single ferocious deities. Over the gates are beautiful houses in which are wrathful deities, Buddhas, and ferocious Yab-yum figures. A dragon is depicted on either side of each gate outside the walls.

The square is surrounded with four circles. The outer one is of protective fire circle, which florally rendered here. Then there is a circle of charnel ground. Thereafter come two circles of auspicious symbols and Buddhas. An inner circle of lotus petals follows these two circles. Here the spiritual realm begins and one enters the mandala.

The upper center of the thangka is brilliantly rendered with the figure of eleven-headed, thousand-armed white complexioned Avalokiteshvara before his beautiful palace with attendant deities in clouds. There are two dragons one each side of his palace in clouds. The upper corners are beautifully filled with the figures of Shadakshari Lokeshvara (Avalokiteshvara) with his companions – Manidhara and Shadakshari Mahavidya and so on. They are attended by peaceful and wrathful deities. The middle ground of the right side depicts a flying figure, while on the right side an offering deity. Moreover middle ground is beautifully filled with high peaks, waterfall, lakes, stupa (on left side), a dragon on a rock (on right side), flowers, natural vegetation and peaceful offerings etc. One of the interesting scenes of this painting is the scene of Buddha Shakyamuni at Lumbini grove, third major event of the life of Buddha. Here lady Mayadevi, the mother of the Buddha, holding the branch of the shal tree and gives birth to the Buddha from her right side. The baby is held in a cloth by Indra, king of gods and attended by other devas. The center of the foreground depicts twelve-armed, three-faced Mahakala, flanked by two Dakinis seated on mules. Amitabha Buddha is seated in lower right corner flanked by a lute Buddha and a Buddha in abhaya-mudra . Two sentient beings are shown below his throne with offerings. Peaceful and wrathful offerings are shown at the bottom and foreground.

This is perhaps a rare thangka as it depicts various peaceful and wrathful deities of Mahayana and Vajrayana pantheon with an event of the life of Shakyamuni Buddha. So it is very much suitable for sadhana and practices.

Select Bibliography

A. Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, Tokyo, 1962

Ben Meulenbeld, Buddhist Symbolism in Tibetan Thangka, Holland, 2001

B. Bhattacharyya, The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Calcutta, 1968

J.C. Huntington and D. Bangdel, The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, Ohio, 2004

Marylin M. Rhie & Robert A.F. Thurman, Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1999

R. Linrothe & J. Watt, Demonic Divine: Himalayan Art and Beyond, New York, 2005

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

Click Here to View the Thangka Painting along with its Brocade

Free Shipping. Delivered by to all international destinations within 3 to 5 days, fully insured.

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.