Mother Goddess Chandi -Tibetan Buddhist Deity

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Chandi is a great goddess and conceived as mother principle and naturally was associated, rather almost identified with the cult of the Mother-goddess or Shakti which is actually divine creation power operative in the production and government of the universe. The Mother-goddess is conceived as the personification of the primordial energy and the source of all divine as well as cosmic evolution. Thus she is identified with the Supreme Being conceived as the source and spring as well as the controller of all the forces and potentialities of nature. It is this Shakti, which makes god active and effective. There are different names and forms of Shakti and among them one is Chandi. The Mahabharata mentions various epithets of goddess Shakti – Durga, Uma, Parvati, Chandi, Kali, Mahakali and so on. Moreover the Devimahatmya containing an account of the greatness of the great goddess, Chandi. The cult of Shakti is very much popular in tantric world, especially in Tibet, Nepal, and other regions that are following this tradition of Faith. Goddess Chandi has the power to protect the suffering beings from all harm and destroys all sorts of evil spirits and bestows peace and prosperity. She is very popular since ancient period.

The images of Chandi are both peaceful and wrathful. Numerous eight or eighteen-armed images of the goddess have been noticed. The present beautiful eighteen-armed image of goddess Chandi depicts her peaceful aspect. She is seated in vajraparyankasana on a lotus emerging from a lake. Two Chinese style beautiful dragons have been depicted each side of the stem of lotus flower. Her first pair of principal hands, held near the chest, is in mystic mudra, while another pair is holding sacred book and chakra (?). One right hand is in abhaya-mudra and remaining right hands are holding flaming sword, rosary, lotus, axes and vajra, while the lefts hands are holding, victories banner, lotus, vase, noose, wheel, conch and kalasha. Her hair is partly upturned in knots with decoration and falls on shoulders. She is adorned with exquisitely designed crown, earrings, necklaces, armlets, anklets, waistband, scarves and dhoti. There is a wisdom fire aureole behind her body and a parasol above her head. Upper corners are filled with beautiful clouds, while the foreground and the lower corners are with offerings, lakes and mountainous landscape with natural vegetation etc.

The painting is very much suitable for sadhana and ritual. The light complexion painting is brilliantly drawn and painted.

Select Bibliography

James Hastings (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. I & II

Hugo E. Kreijger, Kathmandu Valley Painting: The Jucker Collection, London, 1999

Jitendra Nath Banerjea, The Development of Hindu Iconography, Delhi, 2002(reprint)

N.K. Bhattasali, Iconography of Buddhist and Brahmanical Sculptures in the Dacca Museum, Delhi, 1972 (reprint)

T.A. Gopinatha Rao, Elements Of Hindu Iconography, Delhi, 1997(reprint)

This description is by Dr. Shailendra K. Verma, whose Doctorate thesis is on "Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (From its inception to 8th century A.D.)".

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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.