Portrait of Jnanatapa Attended by Lamas and Mahasiddhas ca. 1350 Eastern Tibet, Kham, Riwoche monastery This portrait was created for Riwoche monastery in eastern Tibet, a branch of Taklung monastery. The central figure and the assembled abbots are not directly named on the painting. Nonetheless, two inscriptions allow a lineage identification: the epithet Jnanatapa (“heat of wisdom”) appears on the painting’s veil, a name denoting a famous Indian mahasiddha, the spiritual fathers of Tantric Buddhism. The second is the identity of presiding deity above the central figure, named as Avagarbha. T
Portrait of Jnanatapa Attended by Lamas and Mahasiddhas ca. 1350 Eastern Tibet, Kham, Riwoche monastery This portrait was created for Riwoche monastery in eastern Tibet, a branch of Taklung monastery. The central figure and the assembled abbots are not directly named on the painting. Nonetheless, two inscriptions allow a lineage identification: the epithet Jnanatapa (“heat of wisdom”) appears on the painting’s veil, a name denoting a famous Indian mahasiddha, the spiritual fathers of Tantric Buddhism. The second is the identity of presiding deity above the central figure, named as Avagarbha. The importance of these two clues is revealed by their presence in the official history of Taklung monastery, which tells that the first abbot of Riwoche monastery was an incarnation of “the peerless mahasiddha Jnanatapa” and that his Tantric teacher was Avagarbha, a Bengal siddha. Hence, this portrait is intended to invoke the spiritual lineage of Taklung and Riwoche monasteries through the person of mahasiddha Jnanatapa. Listen to experts illuminate this artwork's story Listen Play or pause #7986. Portrait of Jnanatapa Surrounded by Lamas and Mahasiddhas Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies We're sorry, the transcript for this audio track is not available at this time. We are working to make it available as soon as Portrait of Jnanatapa Attended by Lamas and Mahasiddhas. Eastern Tibet, Kham, Riwoche monastery. ca. 1350. Distemper on cloth. Paintings
Size: 3211px × 4000px
Photo credit: © MET/BOT / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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