Padmasambhava as Guru Drakpo (The Eight Manifestations of Guru Padmasambhava)

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It is said that at the end of his fifty years stay in Tibet Padmasambhava disappeared miraculously, and entered the body of a Yaksha king, Me-wal, where he has reigned supreme over all the Yakshas up to the present day, and in perpetual youth is preaching the doctrine of Lamaism in a paradise which rivals that of Amitabha's western heaven of Sukhavati.

Padmasambhava was deified and is still worshipped by the Northern Buddhists of Tibet. He has eight forms; among them one is named Guru Drakpo. It is a fierce manifestation of Guru Rinpoche. In this form Nyingmapa specially worship him. It is said that Padmasambhava took this form as a propagator of religion in the six worlds with the roaring lion's voice. Here , a pot-bellied Drakpo is standing in pratyalidha on two corpses on a lotus throne. He holds a vajra in his right hand, while his left makes a threatening gesture. The complexion of his body is deep blue. His brown hair is upswept and wears a crown of skulls with jewels and half vajra, earrings, armlets, bracelets, and anklets; bracelets and anklets of snakes; scarf and elephant skins; garland of freshly severed human heads, tiger-skin dhoti and a waist-band. Moreover, he wears finely painted white bone ornaments. The fiery halo is well painted. In the top center a Nyingma lama is seated. On the top right a beautiful cave has been depicted from which a lama is coming out. Below this, a siddha is seated on a cushion in a field and before him perhaps a blue complexioned yogini is approaching Guru Drakpo. The scene of charnel ground is also shown in this region. There is a serene blue lake in the foreground, over which a yogi is flying whose right hand is in teaching gesture. A siddha is seated in lower right corner on a cushion and holding a vajra in the right hand. His left hand is in tarjani-mudra. There are three figures of baby Buddha before him in the clouds.

References:

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

L.A. Waddell, Buddhism & Lamaism of Tibet, New Delhi, 1979 (reprint)

M.M. Rhie & R.A.F. Thurman, World of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1999

This description by Dr. Shailendra Kumar Verma, Ph.D. His doctorate thesis being on the "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.