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The Black Jambhala Page has been updated with addition images of sculpture and paintings.

The White Jambhala Page has been updated with additional images. The most unique and striking characteristic of the iconography of White Jambhala is the green dragon that he rides - usually depicted in a Chinese style.

The Mahachakra Vajrapani Page has been updated with additional paintings and sculpture.

Database search parameters for 'Bodhisattva, Standing' have been added to the system Search. A link is also provided on the Bodhisattva Main Page and titled Standing Sculpture Images.

Database search parameters for Avalokiteshvara Standing have been added to the system Search. A link is also provided on the Avalokiteshvara Standing Main Page and titled All Sculpture Images.

These paintings of Tara surrounded by an additional twenty-one forms are conditionally designated as describing the Sadhana-sammucchaya Tradition. The only reason for this designation is because they do not fit into the Suryagupta system where each form of Tara has a different appearance, colour, numbers of heads, arms, attributes, etc. They also do not fit into the Atisha system where each Tara holds a vase in the extended right hand. They again do not fit into either of the two Nyingma systems where the principal symbolic attribute of the deity is depicted above the flower blossom on the left hand side.

It is very possible that other traditions and systems for describing the Twenty-one Taras will be found or discovered in rare religious texts.

The individual links for the Eight Forms of Padmasambhava on the subject main page have been updated with additional images.

The Tara Main Page has been updated with new navigation, links and images.

A gallery page for the Twenty-one Taras according to the tradition of Jowo Atisha - in a single composition - has been added to the related Tara pages.

The Bhaviveka Page has been updated. As a central figure he is typically found as a pre-incarnation in the line of Tibetan Panchen Lamas. Bhaviveka can be found as a secondary figure in other compositions but not usually as a central figure. One of the very best painting examples belongs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

A Dhritarashtra Gallery has been added to the Masterworks Main Page. Dhritarashtra is traditionally the Guardian of the East, or Eastern Direction.

A Virudhaka Gallery has been added to the Masterworks Main Page. Virudhaka is traditionally the Guardian of the South, or Southern Direction.

A Virupaksha Gallery has been added to the Masterworks Main Page.

The page for the Indian mahasiddha, Shavaripa has been updated. Shavaripa typically appears holding a bow and arrow. Often he wears a lower skirt of peacock feathers.

There are three standard visual presentations for depicting the Panchen Lama Incarnation and Pre-incarnation Lineage. They can be described as short, medium and long. The shortest of the three numbers thirteen figures [13] in total and the best and most complete example of this is a set of paintings in the collection of Tibet House, New Delhi.

The medium length enumeration and visual depiction adds two more figures - Padmasambhava and Atisha for a total of fifteen [15]. A wood block print edition of the Prajnaparamita Sutra decorated with numerous Buddhas, deities, individual teachers and lineages of teachers and incarnations best highlights the inclusion of the two additional figures of the medium enumeration.

The longest presentation of the incarnation lineage adds four more Indian teachers for a total of nineteen [19] individuals and potentially nineteen individual painted compositions. The numbers of thirteen, fifteen and nineteen are all three based on the central figure of the earliest and most important of the sets being the person of the 3rd Panchen Lama, Lobzang Palden Yeshe (1738-1780). It was during the later life of the 3rd Panchen that the sets of incarnation paintings became widespread and popular.

A Parnashavari Gallery has been added to the Masterworks Main Page.

An early Tibetan mandala of Ekallavira Achala in a private collection:
An Art Historical Analysis by Pratapaditya Pal.


The history of portable Tibetan painting can now be confidently pushed back to the eleventh century. Buddhism was officially introduced to the country under the great ruler Song-tsen Gampo (r. 609-649) of the Yarlung dynasty and one can form a good idea of the architecture and sculpture of this early historical period; but significant evidence for Tibetan painting of any kind, cannot be traced back much earlier than the tenth century. (Read the full article).

The Padmasambhava Main Page has been updated with new pages along with smoother navigation between pages and sections. There still remains a considerable amount of work to organize the painting sets particularly for the Eight Main Forms, Terma Representations and Life Story.

An Atisha Gallery has been added to the Masterworks Main Page.

A White Tara Gallery has been added to the Masterworks Main Page.