A THANGKA OF CATURBHUJA MAHĀKĀLA

Estimated Value:

1.000 € - 1.500 €

Result:

incl. Premium and VAT

Description:

Tibet, 19th c.
85 x 63 (125 x 73) cm
Caturbhuja Mahākāla, dark blue in colour, has one face and four hands, with three large, round eyes and bared fangs, while his hair rises upward. In one pair of hands, he holds a human heart and a skull cup close to his chest as he embraces his consort. In his other hands, he holds a raised sword and a trident. His consort, also fierce in appearance, holds a skull cup in her left hand. Both wear crowns of skulls, bone and jewelled ornaments, and garlands of human heads. Mahākāla wears a tiger skin, while the consort is adorned with bone ornaments. They stand on corpses surrounded by flames, black dogs, birds, and a garuḍa. Mahākāla, referred to as the Great Black One (Tib. nag po chen po) in Tibetan, is a wrathful manifestation of enlightenment and a wisdom deity, serving as a protector in Vajrayāna Buddhism. The central deity in this painting is attended by various dharma protectors and wrathful figures, including multiple manifestations of Mahākāla, each depicted with distinct iconography. The Sanskrit mantra of each deity illustrated on the front of the painting is inscribed on the back in Tibetan script. Also on the reverse, the consecration formula oṃ āḥ hūṃ is also written vertically in various places. The seed syllable oṃ represents the union of form and emptiness. The second syllable āḥ represents the indivisibility of speech and emptiness. Finally, the syllable hūṃ represents the union of pure awareness and emptiness. Still on the back of this painting, a stūpa monument is outlined in red as part of the consecration process. The plinth of the stūpa features an inscription of the well-known stanza emphasizing the value of patience: Tibetan བཟོད་པ་དཀའ་ơབ་བཟོད་པ་དམ་པ་ནི། ǖ་ངན་འདས་པ་མཆོག་ཅེས་སངས་Źས་གǹང་། རབ་Ƙ་ǆང་པ་གཞན་ལ་གནོད་པ་དང਴ གཞན་ལ་འཚĲ་བ་དགེ་Ǒོང་མ་ཡིན་ནོ། Transliteration bzod pa bka’ thub bzod pa dam pa ni/ mya ngan ’das pa mchog sangs rgyas gsung / rab tu byung ba gzhan la gnod pa dang/ gzhan la tshe ba dge sbyong ma yin no/ Translation “‘The highest ascetic practice of patience is supreme Nirvāṇa’, declared the Buddha. A śramaṇa who injures and harms others is no recluse.1” This verse is then followed by a dedicatory inscription: Tibetan བś་ཤིས་དཔལ་འབར་འཛམ་ŵིང་źན་Ƥ་ǅོན།། འųོ་བ་དོན་འཕེལ་པའི་བśིས་ཤོག Transliteration bkra shis dpal ’bar ’dzam gling rgyun du byon// ’gro ba don ’phel pa’i bkra shis shog Translation “Let the blazing splendour of auspiciousness become an ornament of Jambudvīpa!2 May there be auspiciousness in the increase of the well-being of migratory beings!”. Mounts.
South German private collection, assembled between the 1980s and 2005
1: A śramaṇa refers to an ascetic or seeker who engages in rigorous practices and disciplines aimed at achieving spiritual liberation. The term is often associated with individuals who renounce worldly life, undertaking various forms of austerity, meditation, and ethical conduct in their quest for enlightenment
2: In Buddhism, Jambudvīpa refers to the ancient Indian term for one of the continents in the traditional
cosmological worldview. It is considered the southernmost of the four continents surrounding Mount Meru, which is the central axis of the universe in Buddhist cosmology. Jambudvīpa is often described as the dwelling place of humans where Buddha Śākyamuni taught the Dharma and where his followers practice and strive for enlightenment - Wear, traces of age

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