Item: Teacher (Lama) - Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen

AMNH Description

Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen Pal Zangpo (1182-1251): the Sixth Throne holder of Sakya.

Sa kya pan di ta kun ga gyal tsen Biographical Details

In a perfect pose similar to a buddha he performs the Dharma Teaching mudra (gesture) with the two hands placed at the heart while holding the stems of two utpala flowers blossoming to the sides supporting the sword of wisdom and the Prajnaparamita book. Fully attired in the robes of an ordained monk, having proven worthy, he wears the hat of a pandita. Within the ornate spheres of a nimbus and aureola he sits above a variously coloured lotus blossom atop a Dharma Teaching throne. At the front a small table supports a damaru drum and black begging bowl.

At the top left is the bodhisattva Vajrapani, in the form of the meditational deity Bhutadamara, blue, with one face and four hands, surrounded by orange flames. At the right sits a buddha with the right hand raised in the mudra (gesture) of teaching and the left resting in the lap in the mudra of meditative equipoise. At the bottom right and left are bodhisattva figures from the group of 'Eight Great Heart-Sons' of the Buddha Shakyamuni. This painting is number 14 from a set of 27 Lamdre lineage tangkas. Beneath each of the figures is a Tibetan name inscription written in fine gold lettering. (AMNH 70.2/ 3735 F).

Jeff Watt 10-2000