Item: Vajrapani (Bodhisattva & Buddhist Deity) - Bodhisattva

Vajrapani, Bodhisattva.

"This statue, one of the finest early Tibetan images of Vajrasattva [sic], is in the standing position commonly seen in early examples of this deity (Essen and Thingo, 1989, fig. II-44; Béguin, 1977, fig. 40). Holding vajra and bell, the figure is a complex and charming mixture of elements. [...] The face, made larger by the mass of stacked hair, has a benign, gentle expression, its large, soft features somewhat reminiscent of the faces in the early wall paintings at Shalu of ca. 1045 (Vitali 1990, pl. 50). Garments and jewels create a gorgeous, though somewhat unexpected, richness in the figure, and one is captivated by the unnatural yet restrained movements of the hems, sashes, belts, and ribbons. Somewhat heavy chasing for the textile designs adds to the linear complexity of the lower garment (dhoti), which has a series of U-shaped, narrow, raised pleats, known in Indian art but perhaps more typical of Chinese and Central Asian styles. The tight, curling hems are a feature notable in many figures of 11th-12th-century thangkas from the central regions." —Rhie & Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion, 2000, p. 464.

In the authors' seminal exhibition catalog, Marylin Rhie and Robert Thurman make several astute observations about this sculpture's aesthetic appeal, but misidentify its subject matter. The elegant bronze can indeed be confidently attributed to the 11th/12th century. As Rhie and Thurman touch on, it shares numerous characteristics with painting and sculptural programs at a series of monuments in Central Tibet. These monumental projects, namely Shalu, Nyethang, Yemar, Kyangpu, and Drathang (hereafter, the "Shalu-Drathang group") were undertaken in the 11th century, at the onset of the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet. The floral patterns chased into Vajrapani's pleated robe are the first elements associating the present bronze with the Shalu-Drathang group. Derived from Indian textile designs, the same type appears on the lower garment of a c. 12th-century Pala bronze of Maitreya at a temple in Nyethang (Henss, The Cultural Monuments of Tibet, Vol. I, 2014, p. 265, no. 395). Nyethang served as the first sanctuary for the relics of Atisha (982-1054), a pandit from Northeastern India who was one of the greatest masters of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and the foremost representative of the Second Diffusion in Tibet. The Nyethang Maitreya is thought to have either been brought from India or made by an Indian artist working in situ (ibid., p. 266). The daisy-like flower motif represented in its lower garment also decorates the present Vajrapani and is found elsewhere across the Shalu-Drathang group. For instance, the motif is repeated on the wall behind a no-longer-extant monumental sculpture of Maitreya at Yemar (photographed in 1947; ibid., Vol.II, p. 564, no. 804), and covers the princely garb of a bodhisattva at Drathang (fig. 1). The host of bodhisattvas painted at Drathang between 1081-93 also share crown types, tall chignons, and stylized facial features congruent with the Speelman Vajrapani, affirming its attribution to Central Tibet in the 11th/12th century.

As for the sculpture's subject, Vajrapani (Tibetan: chag na dor je; English: the Vajra Holder) is an important male character from the Sutra literature of Mahayana Buddhism. He is featured prominently in a number of important dialogues with Shakyamuni Buddha and other characters such as Manjushri. Vajrapani is also regarded as one of the Eight Heart-sons of Shakyamuni. With reference to his appearance, there is a very distinct difference between how figures are depicted between the Sutra and Tantra traditions. Sutra tradition figures, male and female, are all narrative based with a tremendous degree of freedom on the part of the artist in choosing the manner of portrayal, posture, and attire. Sutra figures can therefore be described as dynamic. In the Tantra tradition, Vajrapani is more typically shown in a wrathful form and known as Guhyapati - 'the Lord of Secrets.' He is believed to be the main recipient, holder, and protector of all the Tantra texts, literature, and teachings received from the Buddha Shakyamuni (in the appearance of Vajradhara Buddha). Very different from the Sutra tradition, in the Tantric tradition figures are described in ritual manuals and function as meditational objects, and are therefore static with prescribed iconography, limiting an artist's freedom of imagination.

With Vajrapani having two main categories, Sutra and Tantra, for the form and function, it is a process of elimination and probability to determine the proper textual source and context for this important early Tibetan bronze sculpture. There are five possibilities where Vajrapani can appear in a peaceful standing manner. Two of these are Sutra in origin and three are Tantra in origin. Observing the Tantra possibilities first, there is the group known as the Three Lords of the World that includes Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, and Vajrapani, which is rarely, if ever, created in a large sculptural format. There is a standing Vajrapani holding a vajra and a fly whisk included with the Nine-Deity Ushnishavijaya long life mandala, which again is rarely, if ever, found in large format sculpture. Lastly within Tantra, Vajrapani can be commonly found within a triad of Vajradhara Buddha in both painting and sculpture. However, such triads were not generally depicted in Tibetan art until the 14th century. Moreover, none of these three Tantric possibilities were popular during the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet (10th through 12th centuries), and so we may conclude that this figure of Vajrapani from the 11th century does not represent a Tantric program.  

Turning to the Sutra possibilities, there are two very common contexts for a standing Vajrapani. The first is within sculptural depictions of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, mentioned earlier as the Eight Heart-sons of Shakyamuni. These eight represent the most important realized students of the Buddha and a new Mahayana class of interlocutors and teachers—separate and above the elders, sthaviras and arhats—who were the monastic students in the earlier Shravakayana sutras. The second possible Sutra context is a standing Vajrapani along with Avalokiteshvara or Maitreya as attendants to a large sculpture of Amitabha Buddha. This was a very popular theme and set of figures to represent Mahayana Buddhism in general and intended to distinguish it from the Shravakayana Buddhism represented principally by Shakyamuni Buddha, the students Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, the Sixteen Arhats, Dharmatala, Hvashang and the Four Guardian Kings.  

In modern times confusions and questions have persisted with any standing figure, male, peaceful in appearance, that holds a vajra, or both a vajra and bell. It is a question of identification. In the recent past it was popular to identify all standing figures such as this as the meditational deity Vajrasattva. However, standing forms of Vajrasattva have not yet been textually identified among the various Tantra classifications and mandala examples. So, the key point for identifying this sculpture as Vajrapani is the standing posture.

The Vedic god Indra can also be in a standing posture and holding a vajra. However, the possibility of this figure representing Indra can be dismissed as Indra does not hold a bell as a hand attribute. He also generally wears a different, unique crown with a large flat peaked front. Other Buddhist iconographic figures can also be mentioned, such as the Five Symbolic Buddhas, but those five are all in a seated posture. Therefore, we can resolutely determine that this important early Tibetan sculpture, and others like it, represent Vajrapani, the Great Bodhisattva of Power.

Jeff Watt, 1-2024