The word thangka comes from the Tibetan thang yig, which mean “annals” or “written record.” The ending yig, which means, “letter” and carries the sense of “written,” is replaced by the ordinary substantive ending ka. Thus the word thangka has the sense of a record.
The main source of the Tibetan art that has flourished since then is the iconographical art of India with strong influences from China and Persia. Thangkas or scroll paintings were, from the first, religious in nature. The first thangka originated in India and depicted the Wheel of Life, a sort of diagram showing the world of samsara and how to get out of it.
Thangkas communicate a message to the practitioner, serving as an aid to teaching and as an aid to meditation through the visualization of the deity.These thangka served as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities and Bodhisattvas.The Buddhist Vajrayana practitioner uses a thanga image of their yidam, or meditation deity, as a guide, by visualizing “themselves as being that deity, thereby internalizing the Buddha qualities". On a deeper level thangka paintings are the visual expression of the fully awakened state of enlightenment, this being the ultimate goal of the Buddhist spiritual path. That's why a thangka is sometimes called 'the roadmap to enlightenment'. Thangka is a Nepalese art form exported to Tibet after Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal, daughter of King Lichchavi, married Songtsän Gampo, the ruler of Tibet imported the images of Aryawalokirteshwar and other Nepalese deities to Tibet.History of thangka Paintings in Nepal began in 11th century A.D. when Buddhists and Hindus began to make illustration of the deities and natural scenes. Historically, Tibetan and Chinese influence in Nepalese paintings is quite evident in Paubhas (The Tibetan equivalent is known as Thangka.).
From the fifteenth century onwards, brighter colours gradually began to appear in Nepalese.Thanka / Thangka. Because of the growing importance of the Tantric cult, various aspects of Shiva and Shakti were painted in conventional poses. Mahakala, Manjushri, Lokeshwara and other deities were equally popular and so were also frequently represented in Thanka / Thangka paintings of later dates. As Tantrism embodies the ideas of esoteric power, magic forces, and a great variety of symbols, strong emphasis is laid on the female element and sexuality in the paintings of that period.
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Vajrabhairava (Yamantaka)
Year: 1740 |
Yamāntaka is seen as a wrathful manifestation of Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva of wisdom, and in other contexts functions as a dharmapala, or 'Dharma-protector'.
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Guru Orgyen Dorje Chang
One of the eight manifestations
of Padmasambhava |
Orgyen Dorje Chang is in sambhogakaya form, with its specific ornaments; holding vajra and bell and his legs in full vajra posture, he embraces white Vajravarahi.
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| Palden Lhamo (Shri Devi) |
Palden Lhamo (Shri Devi) is a protecting Dharmapala of the teachings of Gautama Buddha in the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. She is the wrathful deity considered to be the principal Protectress of Tibet.
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Vajrayogini
Eastern Tibet, 19th century, mineral pigment on cotton. |
Vajrayoginī is a ḍākiṇī and a Vajrayāna Buddhist meditation deity. As such she is considered to be a female Buddha.She is a Highest Yoga Tantra Yidam (Skt. Iṣṭha-deva(tā)), and her practice includes methods for preventing ordinary death, intermediate state (bardo) and rebirth (by transforming them into paths to enlightenment), and for transforming all mundane daily experiences into higher spiritual paths.
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| Vajravarahi (Dorje Pakmo) |
Vajravarahi is one of the female Buddha forms, also known as Vajradakini (Diamond Skywalker) or Vajrayogini (Diamond Spiritual Athlete). These female archetype deities symbolically illustrate the Buddhist insight that enlightenment is beyond all sexual identity.Vajravarahi, literally the Adamantine Sow, is the consort of Chakrasamvara, the presiding deity of the Samvaratantra. A sow's head can be seen projecting from the apex of her crown of skull. The three-eyed, red Vajravarahi stands in a dancing pose with one foot on a figure lying on its back, and with her right leg raised and suspended in the air in an awesome posture. Although an animal skin wraps her hips and thighs, she appears naked. Apart from various jewelry she also wears a garland of severed human heads. She wears gold earrings, and fine bone ornaments adorn her body. The swaying strands of her ornaments reinforce the movements of her body and conjure the tinkling sounds of bone and bell that accompany her dramatic dance.
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Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi Embracing
1575–1600
Nepal |
This powerful depiction of the twelve-armed Chakrasamvara embracing his consort Vajravarahi depicts a highly charged vision by an advanced tantric master. Potent color dynamics add tension to the picture. The blue figure of Chakrasamvara has additional heads in yellow, green, and red (symbolizing the colors of the Jina “Victor” Buddhas). This is one of few Nepalese paintings to evoke so completely the energy of physical union as an expression of knowledge and method coming together to achieve enlightenment. Chakrasamvara is associated with both Heruka and Hevajra, and his iconography closely resembles that of Shiva (both have three eyes and hold a skull cup, trident, and elephant skin). Such concordance of Buddhist and Hindu iconography is not unusual and has its origins in tantrism of medieval eastern India. Here, Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi together trample a blue Bhairava and a red Kalartri, showing their dominance over these Hindu gods.
Chakrasamvara is a highly revered yidam (personal mentor deity) in Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. He has four heads and twelve arms, two of which embrace his consort Vajravarahi. Both figures hold objects that symbolize the transformative powers of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. In one of his six left hands, Chakrasamvara wields a noose to harness all ego and negativity that prevent progress toward enlightenment. In one of his right hands, he holds a long-handled ax to sever the root of ignorance that generates negativity. In her right hand, Vajravarahi grasps a chopper, an implement that represents "wisdom-consciousness" and that symbolically cuts defilement and disillusionment at the root.
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| Samantabhadra |
A very clearly and impressively painted Thangka representation of the Adi Buddha Samantabhadra. He shows himself united in YabYum with his Prajna Samantabhadri and is surrounded by an aureole of flowers and fruits.
Samantabhadra (Sanskrit: समन्तभद्र; literally Universal Worthy), is a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with Buddhist practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and fellow bodhisattva Manjusri he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism.In the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana, Samantabhadra is considered a primordial Buddha in indivisible yab-yum union with his consort Samantabhadri.
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| Grarbhakosa Mandala (Womb Realm) |
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