- 959
A THANGKA DEPICTING THE MIRACLE AT SHRAVASTI TIBET, CIRCA 17TH CENTURY |
Estimate
60,000 - 90,000 USD
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Description
- Distemper on cloth
- 89 x 62 cm
Buddha Shakyamuni with right hand raised in vitarka mudra and left in dhyana mudra, surrounded by a multitude of Buddhas within a rainbow realm, and seated on a flower rising from a lotus pond with naga in attendance, and gods, mythical animals, monks and dignitaries in obeisance to each side, the Stupa of Miraculous Display below and blue Vajrapani dispelling heretics at the shores of a lake Himalayan Art Resources item no. 18342.
Catalogue Note
Probably one of a series of paintings, the thangka depicts one episode of the miracles at Shravasti which are traditionally celebrated in Tibet during the Great Festival of Miracles in the first fortnight of the Tibetan New Year. The celebration praises the defeat of six Brahmanical or non-Buddhist teachers (Skt. tirthika) by Shakyamuni Buddha and his magical prowess.The thangka appears to narrate the eighth miracle with the naga offering a lotus tree of a thousand petals with myriad emanated Buddhas expounding the dharma, while Vajrapani dispels the six heretics that are depicted in the lower left of the painting wearing blue sashes, see block prints from Derge depicting the fifteen miracles of Shravasti, and compare a thangka depicting a similar scene, see Jeff Watt, Himalayan Art Resources item no. 99040.
The Tibetan inscription can be translated as follows:
The nagas offered a lotus tree (…) with as many as one thousand petals (…) was seated in the heart of that lotus. Then, many similar lotuses appeared to the right and left of the Blessed One (bhagavan). On these also were seated many emanations of the Buddha. [In the same way], Buddha Avatamsaka manifested himself as far as the Akanishtha realm. Upon seeing the miracle, [King] Prasenajit, the queen’s retinue, hundreds of thousands of spiritual heirs who had come from different lands, and hundreds of thousands of celestial gods felt overjoyed.
The Tibetan inscription beneath may be translated as follows:
Yaksha Vajrapani having sent [dusty] wind gusts and torrential rain, such that the magical pavilion did not come into the path of their sight, the heretics ran away.
The Tibetan inscription can be translated as follows:
The nagas offered a lotus tree (…) with as many as one thousand petals (…) was seated in the heart of that lotus. Then, many similar lotuses appeared to the right and left of the Blessed One (bhagavan). On these also were seated many emanations of the Buddha. [In the same way], Buddha Avatamsaka manifested himself as far as the Akanishtha realm. Upon seeing the miracle, [King] Prasenajit, the queen’s retinue, hundreds of thousands of spiritual heirs who had come from different lands, and hundreds of thousands of celestial gods felt overjoyed.
The Tibetan inscription beneath may be translated as follows:
Yaksha Vajrapani having sent [dusty] wind gusts and torrential rain, such that the magical pavilion did not come into the path of their sight, the heretics ran away.