Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Arhat/Sthavira (Buddhist Elder) - 16 Elders: Ajita

གནས་བརྟན། 罗汉
(item no. 122)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1700 - 1799
Lineages Buddhist
Size 91.44x58.42cm (36x23in)
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection Rubin Museum of Art
Catalogue # acc.# F1997.9.2
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Person

Appearance: Arhat

Gender: Male

Interpretation / Description

Arhat: wearing the robes of a fully ordained monk and a white cloth over the head, he sits in meditation posture with the hands folded in the lap. The Arhat Ajita typically wears a head covering.

At the right side is the mahasiddha Vinapa, in the typical dress of an Indian, holding a vina - stringed instrument, in the lap. At the right is a dark-skinned mahasiddha wearing bone ornaments and a tiger skin skirt. At the top left is the buddha Shuradatta and on the right Brahma. Both Buddhas are from the set of Thirty-five Confession Buddhas.

This example of a single arhat composition (HAR 122) from a set of twenty-three paintings and the painting HAR 640 depicting five arhats per composition are stylistically the same and were possibly created by the same artist or workshop.

Jeff Watt 9-2000

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