An Offering at the Altar of Tara's Feet

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Name: An Offering at the Altar of Tara's Feet
Brand: Exotic India
SKU: TN81
Price: 365.00 USD
Availability: InStock

$365

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Item Code:	TN81
Specifications:	Tibetan Thangka Painting
Dimensions	Size of Painted Surface 16.0 inches X 22.0 inches Size with Brocade 24.0 inches X 37.0 inches

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This fine thangka painting portrays savior goddess Green Tara who is also called Shyama Tara and Sgro Ljam in Tibetan. She is reincarnated in the Nepalese queen of king Sron-btsan-sgam-po. She is here seated in lalitasana on a lotus against a brilliant aureole. The aureole is surrounded by a flowering creeper. Her right leg is pendant on a smaller lotus and the left leg is folded into her lap. Her complexion is green. She holds a lotus in her left hand which is in abhaya-mudra and displays the gesture of charity with the right hand. Her hair is partly upswept in knots with decoration on it and partly falls on her shoulders. She wears a beautiful tiara, encrusted with gems. Her eyes are awake wkith compassion and there is a circle between the eyebrows. Her lips are painted red. The goddess is adorned with exquisitely designed ornaments hoop earrings, necklaces, armlets, bracelets, and anklets. Moreover she wears a flowing floral scarf and a beautiful, colorful dhoti.

The cult of Tara was propagated by Atisha Dipankara in the Land of Snows. He dedicated a hymn to her and it has been continuously commented upon by Tibetan scholar for a millennium. She became one of the most popular deities of Tibet after her two principal forms, White and Green, were assimilated to the two wives of the first great Tibetan emperor. The Mahavairochana-sutra relates her name to tara pupils of the eyes. The Manjushri-mula-kalpa calls her "the compassion of Avalokiteshvara." She is the active power of the compassion look diffused over all the points of space to save suffering creatures. She is the force of compassion that saves the afflicted. Her manifold refractions are epiphanies of the serene strength of compassionate intuition. The goddess emerged as a merciful and benevolent helper of every soul in torment. She takes an active part in the lives of her devotees, and is ever ready to save them from disasters as they invoke her with faith.

Nagarjuna gives a detailed interpretation of Green Tara in a work of his in the Tanjur the goddess has a single face because the global knowledge of things is gnosis. The green colour points to the power of performing every kind of action. Green is, in fact, also the colour of Amoghasiddhi, a Buddha of the supreme pentad who presides over action. Her hands are two the one on the right is the symbol of the relative or conventional truth, the one of the left is the symbol of the transcendent or absolute truth. Her right leg is stretched or pendant because the gnosis symbolized by Tara implies the renunciation of all kinds of sin. Her left leg is bent towards her body because this gnosis realized every kind of virtue. Her ornaments mean the perfection of knowledge and moral praxis. Her right hand is in the attitude of gift in order to point out that the perfection of liberality (dana-paramita) should be a companion gnosis; her left hand is in the attitude of protection because it protects creatures from all kinds of fear. She holds the lotus flower in order to show that from her all beings, taking refuge in her, derive their blessedness. She is conceived as being sixteen years old (the years of eternal youth, kishora) because she has the power to realize the welfare of all.

All-in-all an exceptional painting of unsurpassed beauty. An offering of his talent by the artist at the altar of Tara's feet.

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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.

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