Padmasambhava as King Padmaraja (The Manifestations of Guru Padmasambhava)

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Padmasambhava has been depicted in arts in many ways, among them one is of his eight manifestations. His each for or manifestation is based on his actions he performed during his lifetime. Among them one is king Padmaraja. Guru Rinpoche Manifests here as the royal king Padmaraja, the royal persona he adopted when living in his original homeland Oddiyana. He is seated slightly turned on a throne before his palace and enjoying his majestic ease. The complexion of his body is red. He holds a drum in his right hand and mirror in the left hand. A drum (damarau) generally symbolizes impermanence and it is the symbol of celebration of the mystic teachings of the tantra. A mirror generally represents sight. Padmaraja wears jewel crown and ornaments that are painted with gold and an ornately decorated brown robe with an orange outer cloak and green scarves. A royal lady with lute is standing before him, may be to entertain the king. On the top center there is a figure of a lama, either he is Guru Rinpoche in his usual form or a Nyingma lama, who is holding a khatvanga and a bowl. In Chinese style, a flying lama, holding vajra and ghanta is shown on upper left corner in rainbow light. There are two beautiful trees on the upper right corner. A siddha, brandishing a khatvanga, is seated on the left of middle ground. There is a head of a horse on the top of his head. The auspicious offerings are shown on a lotus flower, emerged from a lake before the throne of king Padmaraja. The bottom corners are filled with the figures of siddhas, who are actually the disciples of Padmasambhava. The bottom center is filled with charnel ground, which is represented by dismembered corpse being devoured by wild creatures. There is slight a big wild animal in the ground.

The composition and color-combination of the painting is excellent.

References:

A.Getty, The Gods Of Northern Buddhism, Tokyo, 1962

L.A. Waddell, Buddhism & Lamaism of Tibet, New Delhi, 1979 (reprint)

M.M. Rhie & R.A.F. Thurman, World of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1999

This description by Dr. Shailendra Kumar Verma, Ph.D. His doctorate thesis being on the "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.