The Thangka of Longevity

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

The term 'Tara' also refers to 'pilotship' of the ferry-boat of life. Mother Tara ferries across all her devoted children through the stormy ocean of mundane existence. Moreover the name 'Tara' is the most powerful mystical name. It is believed that if human beings utter this name audibly or inaudibly with sincerity of purpose they may obtain insight and spontaneously acquire the ability for visualizing mundane problems in their right perspective.

The cult of Tara was introduced into Tibet in the 7th century A.D. and was greatly propagated in the 11th century A.D. by Atisa Dipankara. Tara became one of the most popular deities of Tibet after her two principal forms, White and Green, were assimilated to the two wives of the first great Tibetan emperor, Sron-btsan-sgam-po.

White Tara is the special goddess of long life as she bestows boundless life to her devotees. Moreover she helps practitioner overcome obstacles, particularly impediments to the practice of religion. She also protects devotees from danger and distress. White Tara has seven eyes which symbolizes her capacity to see all those in need in all four corners of the earth. In Nepal that's why she is popularly called sapta-lochani-Tara or seven-eyed Tara. Here the sweet faced White Tara is shown seated in Vajraparyankasana on a moon disk on a beautiful lotus that sprang up in a lake. Her right hand is in varada-mudra, while the left hand, at the breast, is in vyakhyana-mudra and also holding the stem of a lotus flower. Her hair is upswept in a knot with a beautiful decoration on it. She is wearing exquisitely designed flowery crown with jewels; gold earrings, necklaces, armlets, bracelets and anklets with jewels. Moreover she is wearing silk scarves, one scarf is tied diagonally; red and blue coloured floral silk dhotis with leggings made of multi-coloured bands of silk. There is an aureole with stylized border and halo behind her body and head, respectively.

On the top centre Amitabha Buddha is seated on a lotus throne in Chinese style clouds with rainbow light. Amitayus, the Buddha of boundless life is seated in lower left corner, who is holding the long-life vase with a jewel. His colour is red; he wears gold ornaments and a crown. Ushnishvijaya is seated in lower right corner. She is also one of the deities of long life. She has white body, three faces, and eight arms. Her centre face is white, her right face is red and her left face is blue. Her side faces are slightly wrathful in appearance. Her main right hand holds a vajra, her upper right hand holds an image of Amitabha Buddha on a lotus, her second right hand holds an arrow (here it is not clearly visible), and her lower right hand is in charity mudra. Her main left hand is in vitarka-mudra, her upper left hand is in the mudra of fearlessness, her second left hand holds a bow, and her lower left hand holds the long-life vase filled with nectar. She wears many jeweled ornaments and silk garments.

Occasionally a thangka of three long-life deities is made for someone who feels a special connection with these deities. Moreover thangkas of three long-life deities are also commissioned in order to assume a long life for the patron. Thus the present powerful thangka is very much suitable for the sadhana and practices for boundless life. All the images in this lovely thangka are brilliantly drawn and painted on mountainous landscape.

Select Bibliography

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

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

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

Lokesh Chandra, Transcendental Art of Tibet, Delhi, 1996

Marylin M. Rhie & Robert A.F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet New York, 1997

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.