Six-Armed Vajrakila Father-Mother with Rainbow Aureole

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Vajrakila is one of the favourite esoteric archetype deities used in Nyingma practice on the Mahayana and Anuyoga levels. Here deep blue complexioned Vajrakila is terrific union with his prajna (consort). Together they represent the union of wisdom (female) and artful method (male), which is compassion's action. He has powerful Garuda's wing. His expression is extremely terrifying. He has flame shaped frowning eyebrows and moustache on the sides of the mouth. His hair is also flame shaped and there is a half vajra in his hair. His three heads wear crown of skulls. Vajrakila is standing in pratyalidha on prostrate figures, one male and one female, symbolizing their triumph over delusion. Vajrakila has three heads, six-arms and four legs. He is embracing his consort with two principal hands and holding triangle phurpa in the same manner as when single. His two right hands holds vajra, while the upper left hand is in threatening gesture and the lower on holds a khatvanga staff. He wears elephant-skin and human-skin cloak a long garland of severed human heads, flowing scarf, gold earrings, bone ornaments and tiger-skin skirt. His consort is one-faced and two armed. Her right hand is around his neck, while her left hand holds a skull bowl. She is dressed in a leopard-skin skirt, wears the skull-crown, a garland of skulls and bone ornaments. Her hair falls loose; her left leg is wrapped around his waist, while the right leg is extended along him. There is wisdom fire aureole with the streams of rainbow light behind him. Garuda is depicted in clouds just above the aureole. The middle ground is filled with clouds, snow covered peaks, lakes and natural vegetation, while the foreground depicts rocks with trees, flowers and leaves etc. The artist has brilliantly drawn and painted all the figures. The Tibetan style mountainous landscape is excellent.

Select Bibliography

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

Lokesh Chandra, Transcendental Art of Tibet, Delhi, 1996

Marylin M. Rhie & Robert A.F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, Thames and Hudson, 1996

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.)".

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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.