Ushnishitatapattra: The Goddess of Victorious Parasol

$325
Item Code: TK36
Specifications:
Tibetan Thangka Painting
Dimensions Size of Painted Surface 14.5" X 19.0"
Size with Brocade 25.0" X 33.5"
Handmade
Handmade
Free delivery
Free delivery
Fully insured
Fully insured
100% Made in India
100% Made in India
Fair trade
Fair trade
Ushnishasitatapattra, the Goddess of the Victorious White Parasol, is a very powerful Deity in Tibetan Buddhist pantheon. She has the power to protect the suffering beings from all harm and destroys all sorts of evil spirits. It is believed that she is the special form of goddess Tara, a female counterpart of the thousand-armed form of Avalokiteshvara. Her iconography is perhaps one of the most complex in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon. She has thousand faces, thousand arms, and thousand legs. Each face has three eyes, and the palm of each hand and sole of each foot has its own eyes.

In this superb painting, she displays her hands and legs in multiple rows, including a tall stack of heads. Her impressive and awesome appearance is bolstered by her vigorous posture, emphasized by her wide brocade tent like skirt and long twisting silk scarves. Moreover she is adorned with celestial ornaments, and sash. Her slightly fierce mien does not outweigh the beauty of her form, her white color, and refinement of her oval face, idealized features. Her main right hand is holding a mirror and her remaining right hands are holding mirror, vishva-vajra, flower, and many of them are in threatening gestures.

Her main left hand is holding her namesake, the staff of the parasol of protection, with many fluttering ribbons. Her remaining left hands are holding arrows, bows, axes, swords and snakes. Beneath the broad fan-shaped spread of her feet lie swarms of squirming bodies of the world's evil ones – demonic rulers, military men, and demigods – as well as dragon, flying rocks, animals and birds etc., all of which she keeps under control. Thus the devotees who worship her are always free from the shadow of evil spirits and led a peaceful and prosperous life. Behind her is a flaming aureole.

The upper corners are beautifully rendered with offering deities, while the lower left corner with Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of wisdom, and the right corner with a wrathful Heruka.

Ushnishasitatapattra is a very popular deity in Tibetan Buddhist pantheon, especially with the Gelupa Order. She is often given a prominent position among the wall painting in Gelupa monasteries, such as Drepung in Lhasa.

The painting is evidently been made by a very skillful and experienced artiste who has managed to execute each one of Ushnishasitatapattra's thousand arms by arranging them as a kind of aureole surrounding the goddess. The thousand heads and legs are rendered conventionally. This type of painting is scarcely found in the general art marts.

The present painting is very much suitable for sadhana and esoteric practices of all levels.

Select Bibliography

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

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

Hugo E. Kreijger, Kathmandu Valley Painting: The Jucker Collection, London, 1999

J.C. Huntington and D. Bangdel, The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, Ohio, 2004

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.)".

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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