Painting Set: Shambhala Kings (Tashi Lhunpo Style)
Shambhala Kings Art History | Palace Museum, Beijing
This painting set was commissioned by Lobzang Palden Yeshe the 3rd Panchen Lama (1738-1780) as a gift to the Qianlong emperor and given to him in 1774. Each painting depicts one of the Shambhala Kings, and the bodhisattva or deity they are an emanation of, either in the top right or top left corner. The iconography of the Shambhala Kings is not set, so several of the kings in these paintings hold different hand attributes, meaning that they can only be identified reliably by name inscription.
In the other top corner of each painting are the teachers who were lineage holders of the Kalacakra teachings. The source of the list of Kalachakra lineage holders is the publication: Kalachakra, text written by monks of Namgyal Monastery, published by Tibet Domani, Italy, 1996, page 51. Not all the teachers in the paintings are in this publication.
Nick Dharmadi [updated 4-2026, 5-2026]
