Ushnishavijaya – The Mother of All Buddhas

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Her intelligent white face with its three eyes looks confidently in fierce moods. Her main right hand, held near the breast, hold a vishva-vajra,signifying her perfect mastery of the basic elements of reality and thus her power to arrange them to support boundless life for any one who will spiritually benefit thereby; her upper right hand is holding a miniature image of Amitabha, the Buddha of boundless light; her second right and left hands hold an arrow and bow, respectively, symbolizing the universal reach of compassion and wisdom that can penetrate the egotistic hearts of all beings and Her third right hand is in varada-mudra (boon-granting gesture). Her main left hand, held near the chest, is holding a noose to tie up disturbances, while the upper left hand is in abhaya-mudra. Her lower left hand, held in meditative position, holds the vase of the elixir of immortality.

Ushnishavijaya sits in vajraparyankasana on moon disk supported by a lotus flower. She is very youthful and graceful. Her hair is partially upswept in knots with gold ornaments decoration over it and partially falls on her shoulders. Her all three faces are adorned with gold crowns. Moreover she is wearing exquisitely designed gold hoop earrings, necklaces, armlets, bracelets and anklets. There is a brilliant aureole and halo behind her body. The Goddess is garbed in silk scarves, covering both the shoulders and dhoti as lower garment.

Ushnishavijaya has been represented in many forms. The mantra of this form of the Goddess, – Om immortal Goddess, source of immortality/nectar, of infinite strength, gone to the infinite, giving to/in immortality, giver of immortal life, you who makes the sky your hide mat, destroyer of all defilements.

By reciting this mantra 108 times, the practitioner becomes the goddess Ushnishavijaya. The thangka is neatly drawn and painted; it is very much suitable for the prarthana stuti of the Goddess Ushnishvijaya.

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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.