Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Mandala of Manjushri (Bodhisattva & Buddhist Deity)

འཇམ་དཔལ་དབྱངས། 文殊师利菩萨
(item no. 58139)
Origin Location India
Date Range 1960 -
Lineages Buddhist
Material Ground: Paper
Collection Private
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Interpretation / Description

Manjushri at the center: a mandala of the three Lords of the Three Families. A practice from the Kriya classification of Buddhist tantra. This mandala represents the principal rituals and meditation practices for the Lords of the Three Families also known as the Three Lords of the World.

"... [for the mandala] the east is white, south blue, west red, north green and middle yellow. ... At the center is Arya Manjushri, the colour of fresh saffron, one face and two hands. The right [hand] holds aloft a wisdom sword. The left [hand] holds an utpala supporting the text of the Prajnaparamita. With the hair tied up in five tufts, [he] is seated in vajra posture.

In the south, on a lotus, is Lokeshvara, white, with the right hand in the [gesture] of generosity and the left holding a white lotus. Seated in a posture with the right leg pendant and the left drawn in.

In the north is Guhyapati [Vajrapani], blue, the right [hand] holds a vajra to the heart and the left a bell supported at the hip, seated in sattva posture." (Gyu de kun tu, volume 1, pages 64-65).

Lineage of Teachers: Raja Maha Vajradhara, Guhyapati Vajrapani, Raja Indrabhuti, Madyima, Mrityu, Acharya Nagarjuna, Acharya Nagabodhi, Kache Jnana Vajra, Lochung Dragjor Sherab, Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092-1158), (etc.).

Jeff Watt 6-2013

Related Items
Publications
Publication: Tibetan Mandalas of the Tantra-Samuccaya
Tantra Classification: Kriya Tantra (Action)
Tantra Classification: Kriya (Tatagata Family)

Thematic Sets
Buddhist Deity: Vajrapani (peaceful, vajra & bell)
Subject: Three Lords of the World (Manjushri)
Subject: Tantra Set, Kriya (Action)
Subject: Three Lords of the World
Buddhist Deity: Manjushri (Mandala)
Buddhist Deity: Manjushri Main Page