Mahasiddha Ghantapa: The Monk Who Became a Householder

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King Devapala was himself a pious and devout person. On hearing of the noted sage's arrival at the edges of his city, he asked the holy man to take up residence in his own royal palace, Ghantapa refused the king's request, proclaiming the latter to be a sinner. The king's repeated requests were of no avail, and this greatly incensed his royal highness. Feeling slighted, Devapala took upon himself to avenge his humiliation.

Accordingly, the king offered to give half his kingdom to anyone who could violate the sage's celibate status. A voluptuous courtesan named Darima took upon herself to accomplish this task. For this purpose, she enlisted the support of her twelve-year old virgin daughter, whose charming face, seductive gait, well-developed hips and nubile breasts caused even the sun to halt in its tracks whenever it lay its eyes upon her. Darima felt that her daughter's pronounced sensuality combined with her pristine purity would definitely help her achieve her goal.

The young girl, playing upon the monk's compassion, managed to snuggle inside his diminutive hut on the pretext of taking shelter in a stormy night. Inevitably, during the course of the night, their bodies touched and one thing led to another and they ultimately became lovers. The next morning Ghantapa asked her to remain with him as his consort. The girl agreed. As time progressed, the venerable one's own inherent purity cured the young lady's mind too of its defilements. And an year later a child was born to them.

King Devapala, meanwhile, had come to know of what had transpired between the two. With a large retinue, he confronted the sage, accusing him of a gross loss of conduct. The huge crowd supported the king with loud abuses hurled against Ghantapa. Finally, Ghantapa hurled both his son and the gourd of wine he was carrying on the ground. The earth trembled and split wide open, and a flood of water gushed forth.

Ghantapa's child was transformed into a thunderbolt and the jug of wine into a bell. Taking hold of one in each hand, Ghantapa along with his consort, rose into the air and there they were transformed into the deities Samvara and Vajravarahi, conjoined in the father-mother union. They hovered over the heads of the king and his supporters.

The waters rose higher and higher, threatening to consume both the king and his followers. As death seemed imminent, and all were on the point of drowning, the people prayed to Ghantapa for forgiveness. Their cries however were to no avail. Suddenly there appeared Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. He placed his sacred foot over the crevice from where the flood was issuing and the waters immediately entered back into the earth.

Everyone was relieved. Prostrating themselves on the ground, they all asked for Ghantapa's forgiveness. In his message of forgiveness, Ghantapa gave the following profound message: "Do not cultivate virtue and renounce vice. Rather, learn to accept all things as they arise. Penetrate the essence of each experience until you have achieved the one taste."

Then he recited the following verse:

While medicine heals and poison kills,
Their ultimate essence is the same.
Both positive and negative qualities
Are aids on the path.
The sage rejects nothing.
Yet the unrealised fool
Five times poisoned
Is forever lost in sansara.

Here Ghantapa and his consort are shown in union as Samvara and Vajravarahi. His legs are drawn up and both the deities are seated on a double lotus pedestal. He balances his dainty consort on his lap, her slender form and nubile breasts perhaps hinting at her budding youth. He holds aloft his vajra and bell, while she like Vajravarahi, holds a chopper and skull cup in her hands, and throws back her head in a gesture of unrestrained ecstasy, stemming out of their mystical union. Except for their crowns and jewelry, and Ghantapa's animal skin loincloth, both of them are naked, and the smooth texture of their golden bodies grants a transcendental glow to the whole composition.

This sculpture was created in the city of Patan, near Kathmandu (Nepal).

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How are Nepalese copper statues made?

Nepalese statues and sculptures are best known for their unique small religious figures and ritual paraphernalia for over two thousand years. These are mainly cast in copper alloy. Nepal draws influences from the artistic styles of Buddhism and Hinduism, and therefore the sculptors of the country specialize in making the icons of both these religions. Over the years, Nepalese sculptures evolved into their own distinctive iconography. Some characteristic features of these sculptures that differ from other pieces are exaggerated physical postures, youthful and sensual features, languid eyes, wider faces having serene expressions, and ornate flourishes. The Buddhist deity icons of Nepal have tremendous demand in countries such as China and Tibet for ritual purposes in their temples and monasteries.

Nepalese statues and sculptures have a high copper content and therefore develop a slightly reddish patina on the surface as they age. However, the most unique feature of Nepalese copper statues is their decorative detailing. The pieces are heavily gilded and sometimes inlaid with semi-precious stones. This embellishment protects them from getting tarnished. The traditional lost-wax method for casting Nepalese copper statues remains the most practiced technique in Nepal for many centuries. This process involves many steps and requires skilled artists.

The first step in lost-wax sculpting is to make a wax replica of the desired Buddhist deity to be cast in copper. This replica is created by hand and therefore needs excellent artistic skills otherwise fine features will be lacking.

Once the wax replica is made, it is then coated with a special mixture of clay with a brush. This layer of clay is hardened when left to dry. A small hole is made on the base of the wax mould so that the wax flows away when it is heated.

At this stage, a hollow mould in the shape of the deity is obtained.

This is the time to pour liquid copper into the hollow mould which is then allowed to cool and harden inside a container of cold water. When the liquid metal has hardened, the mould is removed and the statue within is revealed.

The artist works on the details of the statue using various tools. It is then polished to get a shiny and lustrous surface.

Now comes the most important part of Nepalese art which is gold gilding. This is done by the traditional fire gilding method. A mixture of mercury and 18K gold is applied on the surface of the statue and heat is applied using a flame torch. The result is that mercury evaporates along with impurities, leaving a pure 24K gold finish.

The lost-wax method of sculpting is the most preferred technique

for artists to cast a metallic statue having intricate details. Since Nepalese copper sculptures require extraneous effort for giving a majestic look by adding special embellishments, it takes several weeks to complete one masterpiece. A 24K gold gilded copper sculpture retains its brilliant luster for many years and appears as like before. Nepalese sculptures continue to remain one of the finest specimens of the art of the East that have a strong aesthetic appeal that other sculptures cannot match.