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Krodharaja Achala (English: the Immovable One, King of the Wrathful). Achala is found in two Tantras from the Kriya classification along with the Siddhaikavira Tantra - catalogued by the Sakyas as a Charya Tantra - also known as the White Manjushri Tantra. From this last Tantra Achala takes on his primary role as a remover of obstacles and secondly as the special protector for the meditational practices related to Manjushri. The continuation of this practice of linking the two deities is still found in the Sakya Tradition and likely others as yet undocumented.

Of the two Kriya Tantra practices, the Achala depicted in a kneeling posture was continued through many traditions but specially through the Sakya Tradition following the commentary by Lobpon Sonam Tsemo (1142-1182). The commentary is still in use today as the principal explanatory text. The practice of Achala in a standing posture was popularized by both Lord Atisha (982-1054) the founder of the Kadampa School followed by Mitra Yogin (12th - 13th century) famous for the text known as the Mitra Gyatsa.

In the higher Tantras of Anuttarayoga there are three, possibly more, Tantras specific to Achala. The most famous of these Tantras is the Chandamaharoshana where the deity is in a kneeling posture while embracing a consort, surrounded by a retinue of eight mandala figures.

Achala Types:

1. Kneeling, Blue (Sakya Tradition & Various)

2. Kneeling, White (Sakya & Jonang traditions)

3. Standing, Solitary Form (Kadam Tradition)

4. Standing with 11 Deity Retinue (Mitra Yogin Tradition)

5. Chandamaharoshana with Consort & Retinue

6. Red, One Face & Six Arms, Embracing a Consort

7. Blue with Four Faces & Four Arms (Sakya Tradition)

8. Black with Four Legs (Sakya Tradition)

9. Black with Three Faces & Six Arms, Eight Monkeys (Jetari Tradition)

10. Others.....

(See the Achala Main Page, Outline Page and Masterworks Page).

A page of Selected Masterworks for Vajrapani including depictions as both a bodhisattva and a meditational deity has been linked to the Vajrapani Main Page.

There are many deities in both the Hindu and Buddhist Traditions that are associated with violence, aggression, conquest and war. In most cases it is not their primary function but there are enough deities and enough stories to make it an interesting subject. (See the Outline Page).

Shakyamuni Buddha & the Defeat of Mara: one of the important events in the life of the Buddha is his attainment of enlightenment after defeating the armies of Mara. The depiction of this event is standard for almost all visual presentations of the life story.

Indra: as an early Indian god of war and weather Indra is probably best known for wielding the great vajra scepter weapon - related to the lightning bolt of Zeus.

Durga: a female goddess of India, most famous for defeating the demon Mahisha and his vast army of followers. She is commonly portrayed as a warrior holding all of the various weapons of the most important Hindu gods.

Hevajra: a principal meditational deity and Tantric system in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism using the metaphor of war. Hevajra with the name 'Hail Vajra!' is related to the Hindu god Indra in a number of ways. Many of the minor associated rituals are concerned with destroying enemies and enemy armies.

Vajrabhairava: generally regarded as the most terrific and horrific of the Tantric Buddhist meditational deities he was also the means used by Rwa Lotsawa to ritually assassinate numerous Tibetan Lamas of the 11th and 12th century - most notably Dharma Dode - the son of Marpa the Translator.

Krodha Vajrapani: the wrathful form of Vajrapani who wields the vajra scepter in the upraised right hand - ready to throw - figures prominently in narratives related to the subjugation and defeat of the Naga races.

Mahakala: the most wrathful and the highest of all protectors (Dharmapala) of Tantric Buddhism, he has numerous rituals devoted to wrathful activity and destruction - notably of enemies and enemy armies. In 11th century India, at Bodhgaya, the human skin of a general leading an invading army was dried and used to make a Mahakala mask. In the 13th century, during the Yuan dynasty, the Mongolians under Kublai Khan and his descendants used the face of Mahakala as a war banner.

Sitatapatra: a female deity that since the 17th century - the time of the 5th Dalai Lama - has taken on the role as a state protector of the empire. Sitatapatra rituals were emplyed by Tibet, Mongolia and China.

Shambhala Kings & the Future War: an interesting part of the Kalachakra and Shambhala narrative is the prognostication of a future war and a battle to end all battles led by the last King of Shambhala.

A page of Selected Masterworks for the meditiational deity Vajrakila has been linked to the Vajrakila Main Page.

Dance is a common theme in Indian and Himalayan art and well represented in Tantric Iconography - Buddhist and Hindu. A well known form of Shiva is in the appearance of 'The Lord of Dance' (Shiva Nataraja). Many forms of Avalokiteshvara are in a dancing posture as are Hevajra, Vajrayogini, Kurukulla and many other Buddhist deities. The Tibetan teacher Machig Labdron is depicted in a dance posture imitating Vajrayogini. A number of Tibetan biographical paintings depict narrative scenes including dance (Tibetan: cham).

Dance appearance is easy to recognize. Typically a simple dancing figure has two legs, one of the legs is raised up and the standing leg is somewhat curved and pressed to the ground. Males in a dance posture generally stand on the right leg and females on the left. It does become increasingly more complicated as the number of legs increase as with some forms of Hevajra.

The Buddhist Tantric texts speak of nine emotions of dancing, three of body, three of speech and three of mind. In Anuttarayoga Tantra a dancing figure (deity) must express physically these nine emotions through posture, gesture, facial expression and attire. (See the Dance Outline Page).

A page of Selected Masterworks depicting Vajrabhairava - a form of Manjushri.

Vajrabhairava is a wrathful form of Manjushri and functions as a meditational deity of the Anuttarayoga Classification in Tantric Buddhism. As a principal meditational deity, Vajrabhairava belongs to the Vajrabhairava and Yamari class of Tantras and specifically arises from the Vajrabhairava Root Tantra.

A page of Selected Masterworks depicting Vajravarahi - a form of Vajrayogini.

Vajrayogini is the principal female deity of the Chakrasamvara Cycle of Tantras. There are many forms of her each having a unique name and appearance. Some names are descriptive such as Varahi meaning the 'sow,' or Krodha Kali meaning 'black wrathful' yogini. Other names refer to the Indian or Tibetan lineage associated with a particular Yogini form and practice. The most common forms found in art are the Naropa (Naro Khacho) form, Vajravarahi (with the pig face at the side), Krodha Kali (the black form) and Dechen Gyalmo (of the Longchen Nyingtig).

There are many other forms of the deity besides those mentioned above but they are not as commonly found in art as a central subject or sculpture. Besides those painted and sculptural representations, there are also many different mandala configurations for the various forms.

Shakyamuni Buddha and the Sixteen Arhats are again shown to be the most common painting subject found in Himalayan and Tibetan art. In this set there are seven compositions making up the full complement of the twenty-five required figures. The set is from the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. The composition of the seven is somewhat unusual as they appear to be either copied from a set of block prints used as a model or painted directly onto the prints after carved blocks were inked and printed on cloth. (See the Arhats Painting Sets Outline).

Vajrakila, also known as Vajrakilaya or Vajra Kumara (Vajra Youth) , is the activity aspect from the set of Eight Herukas (Tib.: ka gye) of the Mahayoga Tantras of the Nyingma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and a principal meditational deity for both the Nyingmapa and Sakyapa, later taken up by the Jonang and many of the various Kagyu Traditions. The study of Vajrakila can be divided into three major subjects: (1) the early Nyingma and Sakya Traditions, (2) the later 'Revealed Treasure' (Terma) traditions and (3) the Purba Drugse Chempa of the Bon Religion.

See the updated Vajrakila Main Page.

The unique iconographic feature of Vajrakila is the three-sided peg (purba) that is held, pointed downward, with the two principal hands at the heart. Typically Vajrakila has three faces, six hands, four legs and wide outstretched wings behind. He embraces the consort Dipta Chakra who has one face, two hands and two legs.

There are two basic forms of the deity Vajrakila. The first is as described above with the lower body having four legs. An alternate to this is with a lower body shaped as a triangular peg with three blades (purba). In the 'Revealed Treasure' Tradition a variety of other forms developed such as the Nine-headed Vajrakila. There are dozens and dozens of 'Revealed Treasure' Traditions for Vajrakila and it can probably be said that he is the most popular meditaional deity of the Nyingma Tradition. Another deity form sometimes confused for Vajrakila is the deity Guru Dragpur, a form of Padmasambhava, an early Buddhist teacher in Tibet. Numerous wrathful meditational deities and protectors hold the purba (peg) as a hand attribute but they should not be confused with Vajrakila. Examples of these other deities are: Guru Dragpo, Shri Devi Dudsolma of the Naropa tradition, etc.

Copper load of this! Company digging mine in Afghanistan unearths 2,600-year-old Buddhist monastery - By Daily Mail Reporter.

The dating may be a little off but the find is certainly sensational.

Shakyamuni Buddha and the Sixteen Arhats are the most common painting subject found in Himalayan art. The Buddha and arhats can be depicted all together in one composition or spread over several compositions of three, five, seven, eleven or twenty-three paintings in total. The complete complement of figures in a set is twenty-five. (See the Arhats Painting Sets Outline).

The Painting Sets Image continues to be added to all record pages where the single image of a painting belongs to a multiple painting set. In some cases the sets image indicates the exact number of paintings in the complete composition. Sometimes the image is also linked to other paintings from that same set.

Recently Completed Collections with Sets Images:

American Museum of Natural History, New York

The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago

Also see the Painting Sets Outline and the Painting Sets Glossary.

This seven painting set of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Sixteen Arhats is missing painting numbered 'Left One' containing four of the arhats. (See the Outline Page for this painting set).

One of the most interesting things about this set from the The Field Museum in Chicago is the depiction of a single Tibetan Lama bearing the inscription Je Changkya Rinpoche. From the incarnation line of the Changkya Tulkus it is quite possible that this is referring to Changkya Rolpai Dorje (1717-1786) an extremely important figure for Buddhism in China in the 18th century. (See the upper right corner of HAR #54439 for Changkya Rinpoche).

In Tibetan painting and sculptural sets the arhats are never created alone as just a set of sixteen. The full composition always has twenty-five figures: the most important - Buddha Shakyamuni, together with the two foremost disciples - Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, followed by the sixteen Arhats. Accompanying all of those are the attendant Dharmatala, the patron Hvashang and the Four Guardians of the Directions; Vaishravana, Virupaksha, Dhritarashtra and Virudhaka.

Arhat (Tibetan: ne tan): a Sanskrit term for Buddhist saints representing the earliest followers of the Buddha, always found in a group of sixteen (arhats), they are painted on cloth, as wall murals, and fashioned of metal, stone, clay, or wood. An early iconographic source for the individual descriptions of the arhats is the verse text Praise to the Sixteen Arhats attributed to the Kashmiri teacher Shakyashri Bhadra of the 12th/13th century.

In all, an extensive set of paintings with one figure per composition would comprise twenty-three individual paintings making up the complete work. In painting the two foremost disciples are almost always portrayed in the same composition with Buddha Shakyamuni. Each of the other figures is depicted in their own individual composition. In Chinese Buddhist art they count eighteen arhats known as lohan. This number is calculated by adding Dharmatala and Hvashang and including them as arhats (lohan) whereas the Tibetan system does not.

An outline page has been created for a set of paintings belonging to The Field Museum of Chicago. The four paintings belong to a five painting set depicting all of the Dalai Lama incarnations up to the 7th Dalai Lama (1708-1757) along with pre-incarnations. The depiction of each of the central figures, three per painting, is based on the famous Nartang Block Print Set of compositions from Nartang Monastery, Shigatse, Tibet. The central figure for the set is the 7th Dalai Lama, Kalzang Gyatso. At the top and bottom of each painting are depictions of the Buddha & Sixteen Arhats along with Attendants & Guardian Kings. For two of the paintings, at the bottom center, there are two protector deities - Inner Yama Dharmaraja & Magzor Gyalmo.

The missing painting depicts the 1st, 3rd and 5th Dalai Lamas along with the arhat Gopaka, the patron Hvashang & two of the Guardian Kings - Virudhaka and Dritarashtra. (Click on the individual paintings for the identification of each figure).

Art as commodity was somewhat known in Tibet for the last several hundred years with paintings produced in advance for sale to pilgrims and traders traveling to Tibet from India, Nepal, China and Mongolia. In Tibet the market places of Lhasa and Shigatse appear to be the primary sources for such paintings and objects of general consumption.

Pilgrimage paintings directed towards the Nepalese travelers and traders are generally identified by a black border with a Nepalese or Newar inscription at the bottom of the composition. Unlike typical Tibetan compositions the inscription on paintings for the Nepalese market almost always includes a date, the name of the donor and the individual or special purpose of dedication. The example painting at the left, Sitatapatra, was purchased in 1864 by a loving Nepalese husband to honour the memory of his deceased wife

The paintings in this group appear to be trade goods, export art, from the turn of the century China. The central figures - deities - are somewhat recognizable without close inspection. However, after a detailed viewing many of the iconographic details are incorrect. Some of these paintings are duplicates with the copies showing minor changes and differences while others are clearly made from tracings with some of the the tracing originals mistakenly reversed (duplicates: example 1, example 2. Reversed examples: Yama Dharmaraja, White Tara). A number of museums in North America have paintings such as these but they are rarely if ever displayed making the presentaion of these images a rare opportunity to study the phenomena of Himalayan art turning into a factory produced trade good. 

The paintings in this set are both interesting for the study of Himalayan and Tibetan style art becoming a commodity in 19th century China and also because these particular examples have a very clear provenance as of 1908-09 when they were collected in China by Berthold Laufer for The Field Museum of Chicago.

On recent attributions to Aniko by David Weldon. October 21, 2010

"Publications of late have seen a trend in the attribution of sculpture and painting to Aniko (1245-1306), the renowned Nepalese artist and architect. While Aniko’s career is well documented, his oeuvre has up to now been known only from descriptions in the annals. He was one of a group of artists summoned to Tibet from Nepal in 1260 by the Sakya hierarch Phags-pa (1235-1280) to construct a memorial stupa to Sakya Pandita (1182-1251). The Mongol emperor Khubilai Khan (1215-1294) sponsored the building. Aniko was then brought to the Chinese court where he impressed the emperor and rose to prominent posts in the Yuan (1279-1368) court. Amongst many honours he was appointed ‘Supervisor-in-chief of All Classes of Artisans’, and later ‘Minister of Education’ in charge of the ‘Imperial Manufactories Commission’ responsible for the court’s supply of precious materials such as gold, pearls and rhinoceros horn. The court annals describe numerous temples and stupas that Aniko constructed, bronzes that he cast and textiles that were woven to his design. Two stupas remain, one in Beijing and one on Wutai Mountain. The temples have not survived. But does anything remain of the portable works? The prolific output that we are told about would suggest there might be, and this leads to the desire among scholars to identify his work. While these recent attributions could be important steps forward in our understanding of thirteenth century Tibeto-Chinese metal sculpture and portable painting, how can we be sure of the attributions when there is a paucity of his works with which to compare them and no inscriptional evidence relating to the attributed works?" (Read the full article on the Asian Art website. See images of the Aniko Stupa in Beijing on the HAR website).

Images of Tibetan style paintings and sculpture from the public galleries of the Sichuan Provincial Museum in Chengdu, China, have been added to the HAR site [See Gallery Page]. There are now approximately 30 images with some details on the HAR site. Cataloguing is ongoing and more images will be added in the future.

In the beautiful and newly constructed museum there are three primary galleries for Tibetan artifacts: (1) sculpture, (2) shrine room with sculpture and (3) paintings. There are also additional Tibetan and Himalayan artifacts found scattered in other galleries. The Museum's total collection of Tibetan paintings might number as many as several hundred. It is not known how many sculptural objects are in the collection. According to HAR staff, after viewing a portion of the Tibetan painting collection in art storage, the best material in the museum's collection is not on display. The Tibetan collection is known for having a complete, or near complete set, of Gesar of Ling narrative paintings almost identical in composition to the partial set belonging to the Guimet Museum in Paris. Currently only one of those Gesar paintings is on display, although not in the Tibetan galleries.

There are two other important Tibetan museums in Chengdu, aside from a number of private collections of note - the Sichuan University Museum with approximaterly 300 Tibetan paintings and the Minorities University Tibetan Museum with approximately 50 paintings.

A page of Selected Masterworks depicting the form of Avalokiteshvara known as Chaturbhuja has been added to the site.

Avalokiteshvara is commonly referred to as the patron bodhisattva of Tibet. He is practiced by all traditions of Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhism. There are numerous New (Sarma) lineages and forms of practice which span all four Tantric Classifications. In the Nyingma Tradition there are uncounted numbers of Kama and Terma (treasure) traditions of Avalokiteshvara. Amongst all of the different forms of Avalokiteshvara the four armed form of the deity is the most commonly depicted.

This is surely an unusual Refuge Field. It contains elements of both Nyingma and Karma Kagyu Traditions. Probably the most interesting visual element is the line of lineage teachers extending above the head of Vajradhara. This feature follows the Refuge Field description according to the 9th Karmapa and later the commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul. The image has not yet been added to the HAR database. (See the Custom Subject Fields Page).