Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Teacher (Lama) - Yutog Yontan Gonpo

བླ་མ། 喇嘛
(item no. 100623)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1700 - 1799
Lineages Nyingma, Gelug and Buddhist
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection Publication: A Tale of Thangkas
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Person

Appearance: Lay Person

Gender: Male

TBRC: bdr:P3005

Interpretation / Description

Yutog Yontan Gonpo (12th century): the Physician King of Tibet, with Buddhas above and deities below. There are allegedly two Yutog Yontan Gonpos - referred to as the Elder and Younger. The younger Yutog is the originator of the Yutog Nyingtig cycle of 'Revealed Treasure' teachings.

Pleasant in appearance and clean shaven he stretches the right arm forward across the knee in the gesture of generosity while holding the stem of a pink lotus flower blossoming at the shoulder supporting the wisdom sword. The left placed in the lap supports a medicinal vase. He wears a long flowing garment typical of a layman, trimmed with green and tied with a sash. Atop a moon disc and lotus, he sits surrounded by rays of light. Four medicinal goddesses sit or stand at the sides: green, red, white and yellow.

Directly below the central figure, stem and pond is Yeshe Khandro Tsomo Palden Treng, the female wisdom dakini that taught Yutog Yontan Gonpo the 'Heart Essence' Yutog Nyingtig.

At the top center is blue Medicine Buddha. On the left side are red Amitayus Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha. On the right side are Padmasambhava and a Rishi.

At the middle left side is Hayagriva and consort the principle meditational deity for the Yutog Nyingtig 'Treasure' teachings. On the right side is Kutagara Vajrapani belonging to the retinue of Shanglon Dorje Dudul located directly below in the bottom right of the composition.

At the bottom left side is the Yutog Nyingtig Mahakala along with the retinue of eight deities - five males and three females.

Jeff Watt 23-2014

Secondary Images
Related Items
Thematic Sets
Teacher: Yutog Yontan Gonpo Art History
Teacher: Yutog Yontan Gonpo Page
Mahakala: Shanglon (minor figure)
Exhibition: The Art of Tibetan Medicine
Subject: Treasure (Terma) Discovery in Paintings & Murals
Publication: A Tale of Thangkas
Collection: Bonhams New York (Painting & Sculpture. March, 2017)
Subject: Yutog Nyingtig Guruyoga