Item: Indian Adept (siddha) - Tilopa

Tilopa. In the Tashi Gephel monastery this painting is mis-identified as Naropa.

This the second painting in the set, it is placed to the proper right of Vajradhara, which is the first and central painting in the set.

Tilopa rests with his right leg folded in and his left leg extended, his right hand is behind his back supporting his body and his left hand is on his left knee. The reason why this figure was not easy to identify is because Tilopa typically holds a fish in one hand, however the artist has chosen to depict the fish inside the skull cup, which rests on a white lotus behind Tilopa's knee. The resolution of the photo makes the fish hard to see, but the head of the fish is pointing towards Tilopa, and its eye is visible.

The design, line work and color palette of Tilopa's dress (crown, ornaments meditation belt and skirt) largely borrows from the Khyenri tradition. The facial features of the figures also match the Khyenri tradition, with Indian mahasiddhas having rectangular faces and long limbs. The blue, green and brown palette of the rocks, and transparent halos are also distinctive features of the early Khyenri tradition. The attendant figure behind Tilopa who holds an umbrella also wears a white robe and turban which is a distinct motif in Khyenri paintings, sometimes this type of attendant also holds a vina instrument.

(See HAR #7186 for Naropa in the same set).

HAR Team, 10-2026