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Shakyamuni Buddha: Shakyamuni & Sixteen Arhats | Shakyamuni Buddha Main Page | Shakyamuni Outline Page
Principle Characteristics:
- bald or shaved head
- middle aged or elderly in facial appearance
- monastic in attire with multi-coloured robes in a Chinese style
- sometimes wearing Chinese style shoes
- seated with the legs either folded or extended down
- almost always a lack of any Vajrayana attributes, ornamentation or decoration
Shakyamuni Buddha is the central figure, the first painting or sculpture, for all sets of the Sixteen Great Arhats. The full group of arhats always has twenty-five figures: the Buddha Shakyamuni, together with the two foremost disciples - Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, the sixteen Arhats, the attendant Dharmata, the patron Hvashang and the Four Guardians of the Directions; Vaishravana, Virupaksha, Dhritarashtra and Virudhaka. In all an extensive set of paintings would comprise twenty-three individual paintings. The two foremost disciples are almost always portrayed in the same painted composition with Buddha Shakyamuni. In sculpture sets the total number of pieces is twenty-five. In the Tibetan system there are only sixteen arhats.
Twenty-five Figures:
1. Shakyamuni Buddha
2. Shariputra
3. Maudgalyayana
4-19. Sixteen Great Arhats
20. Dharmata
21. Hvashang
22-25. Four Guardian Kings
Other Arhats that do not belong to the Group of Sixteen:
- Subhuti
- Arhats & Pratyekabuddhas appearing as minor figures in Charya & Yoga Tantra Mandalas
- Others....
It is understandable that the figures of Dharmatala and Hvashang are commonly confused for arhats as they belong to the same group and set and do not generally appear independent of the depictions of the Sixteen Arhats.
Confused Images:
- Dharmatala
- Hvashang
- Sage of Long-life
The images below are single paintings not yet matched with sets:
The images below are paintings that currently remain as singles, the only known survivors of larger sets. As new art collections are catalogued into the HAR database it is hoped that many more of these paintings will be re-united with others from their original sets.
