Shamvara and Vajravarahi in Yab-Yum

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His four heads, in their painted form, have the following four colors: the central one is blue; the one at the right yellow; the one at the left green; the one at the back, red. On each head is a crown of five skulls, above each of which is a flaming pearl. Each face has a third eye and an angry expression. He is blue in color and represented with twelve arms.

He wears a long garland of heads, and a tiger-skin hangs from his waist. He steps to the left on a nude figure of a four-armed female, and on the right treads on a four-armed man with a tiger-skin covering. The whole group is on a lotus with jagged petals.

Shamvara is represented here with his shakti, Vajravarahi, whom he clasps to his breast, his arms crossed behind her back. Vajravarahi holds a skull cup and chopper. She is of cherry color, and according to her sadhana, has 'nothing but the four quarters as her garments', i.e., is represented nude.

Shamvara's hair is arranged in the coif of a yogi. This is a reminder that he was first worshipped by the wandering ascetics of medieval India, and that he shares some attributes with Shiva. According to legend, the Hindu god Shiva became the Buddhist deity Shamvara, and his teachings were brought to Tibet in the eleventh century. Both Shiva and Shamvara are supposed to dwell on Mount Kailash, a place for pilgrimage for Hindus and Tibetan Buddhists. His name too, for example, is related to Shamba (Fortunate), an epithet of Shiva.

Tibetans say that rather than having an ordinary physical form, such a deity is a congerie of pure symbolic elements. Thus, the deity's attributes are of paramount importance; they are clues to his identity and to his function in meditation and ritual. According to Snellgrove, the symbolic interpretation of Shamvara is as follows:

'His body is blue, indicating that he does not diverge from the (celestial) Dharma-sphere. Each face has three eyes, indicating that he sees the (whole) threefold world and that he knows the substance of the three times (past, present, and future). He has twelve arms indicating that he comprehends the evolution and reversal of the twelvefold causal nexus and eliminates these twelve stages of transmigration.'

Corresponding to the usual iconography of Shamvara, this image has twelve arms, each of which hold a characteristic implement. Tantric texts explain the meaning of each implement:

The first pair of hands holds, right and left, a vajra scepter and a bell respectively, symbolizing the union of skillful means and wisdom.

The second pair rends the elephant of illusion and stretches its hide out like a cape.

The drum in the third right hand shows that Shamvara's "voice resounds joyously." The third left hand holds the khatvanga staff that represents "the blissful Thought of Enlightenment."

His fourth right hand brandishes the axe that "cuts off birth and death at the roots." The skull bowl full of blood in his fourth left hand shows that he "has cut away discrimination between existence and non-existence.

His fifth right hand wields the vajra chopper that "cuts off the six defects, pride and the rest." The vajra lasso in his fifth left hand binds beings to wisdom from life to life.

The trident in his sixth right hand signals that he has "overcome the evil of the threefold world." The severed head of the god Brahma dangles from his sixth left hand, showing that Shamvara "avoids all illusion."

This description by Nitin Kumar, Executive Editor, Exotic India.

References:

Getty, Alice. The Gods of Northern Buddhism. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1978.

Lipton, Barbara, and Ragnubs, Nima Dorjee. Treasures of Tibetan Art: Collection of the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Rhie, Marylin M. & Thurman, Robert A.F. Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet. London: Thames and Hudson, 1996.

Snellgrove, D.L. Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Indian Buddhists and Their Tibetan Successors. 2 vols. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1987.

Unveiling the Divine Art: Journey into the Making of Thangkas

A Thangka is a traditional Tibetan Buddhist painting that usually depicts a Buddhist Deity (Buddha or Bodhisattva), a scene, or a mandala. These paintings are considered important paraphernalia in Buddhist rituals. They are used to teach the life of the Buddha, various lamas, and Bodhisattvas to the monastic students, and are also useful in visualizing the deity while meditating. One of the most important subjects of thangkas is the Bhavacakra (the wheel of life) which depicts the Art of Enlightenment. It is believed that Thangka paintings were developed over the centuries from the murals, of which only a few can be seen in the Ajanta caves in India and the Mogao caves in Gansu Province, Tibet. Thangkas are painted on cotton or silk applique and are usually small in size. The artist of these paintings is highly trained and has a proper understanding of Buddhist philosophy, knowledge, and background to create a realistic and bona fide painting.

The process of making a thangka begins with stitching a loosely woven cotton fabric onto a wooden frame. Traditionally, the canvas was prepared by coating it with gesso, chalk, and base pigment.

After this, the outline of the form of the deity is sketched with a pencil or charcoal onto the canvas using iconographic grids. The drawing process is followed in accordance with strict guidelines laid out in Buddhist scriptures. The systematic grid helps the artist to make a geometrical and professional painting. When the drawing of the figures is finalized and adjusted, it is then outlined with black ink.

Earlier, a special paint of different colors was made by mixing powdered forms of organic (vegetable) and mineral pigments in a water-soluble adhesive. Nowadays, artists use acrylic paints instead. The colors are now applied to the sketch using the wet and dry brush techniques. One of the characteristic features of a thangka is the use of vibrant colors such as red, blue, black, green, yellow, etc.

In the final step, pure gold is coated over some parts of the thangka to increase its beauty. Due to this beautification, thangkas are much more expensive and also stand out from other ordinary paintings.

Thangka paintings are generally kept unrolled when not on display on the wall. They also come with a frame, a silken cover in front, and a textile backing to protect the painting from getting damaged. Because Thangkas are delicate in nature, they are recommended to be kept in places with no excess moisture and where there is not much exposure to sunlight. This makes them last a long time without their colors fading away. Painting a thangka is an elaborate and complex process and requires excellent skills. A skilled artist can take up to 6 months to complete a detailed thangka painting. In earlier times, thangka painters were lamas that spent many years on Buddhist studies before they painted.