Kontapa, Naropa and Atisha from the group of 84 mahasiddhas according to the system of Vajrasana. The full set of paintings, the complete composition, was made up of twenty-nine individual works.

At the top center is Kontapa, a pale yogi wearing a simple white cloth about the waist and a bag across the back supported by a yellow strap. Seated on an elaborate throne, he gazes upward.

At the bottom left is Naropa, depicted as a dark-skinned yogi with an elaborate headdress and earrings holding outstretched a flayed human skin.

At the right is Atisha performing the mudra (gesture) of Dharma Teaching with both hands held to the heart. Wearing the orange patchwork robes of a monk and the head crowned with a pandita hat, he sits in vajra posture beneath an ornate canopy.

Jeff Watt 4-2000