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Lot Essay
This thangka includes the Green Tara, the Five Buddhas, the Twenty-one Taras of the Suryagupta tradition, and the Eight Taras Removing the Eight Fears. It is the earliest example of Green Tara in association with Twenty-one Taras and the Eight Fears, and is in the same condition since it was first acquired in 1933.
Once she achieved complete enlightenment, Tara promised to return in a female form to benefit all beings. Meditational practices and visual descriptions of Tara appear in all schools of Buddhist tantra. She is usually depicted as a beautiful young woman, commonly either green (for all types of meditation), white for longevity, and red for power. There are close to two hundred different meditational forms of Tara, varying in color, number of faces and limbs, and in peaceful or wrathful countenances. In this painting, Green Tara is flanked by Marichi to her right, the peaceful deity with clean skin and bright white clothing, and to her left by Ekajati, the ash-covered wrathful deity with third eye wrapped in a tiger skin.
The top and side registers of the painting contain the Twenty-one forms of Tara according to Suryagupta system. Suryagupta was a layperson from Kashmir who was cured of leprosy by a miraculous statue of the goddess Tara. He is famous for having many visions of Tara and originating many lineages of her practice, including the Twenty-one forms of Tara, the names of which are 1. Tara Very Heroic, 2. Tara Radiant White Moon, 3. Tara Golden Coloured, 4. Tara Crown Ornament of the Conqueror, 5. Tara Resounding with Hum, 6. Tara Victorious Over the Three Worlds, 7. Tara Defeating Adversaries, 8. Tara Treasure of Supreme Power, 9. Tara Bestowing Wishes, 10. Tara Dispelling Sorrow, 11. Tara Clearing All Misfortune, 12. Tara Auspiciously Shining, 13. Tara Completely Ripening, 14. Tara With a Frown, 15. Tara Treasure of Virtue, 16. Tara Destroyer of Attachment, 17. Tara Accomplishing Happiness, 18. Tara Greatly Increasing, 19. Tara Burning Suffering, 20. Tara Giving Rise to Attainments, 21. Tara Accomplishing the Complete Perfection.
The Eight Fears are described as fire, water, lions, elephants, snakes, chains or false imprisonment, demons or ghosts, and thieves. These are often depicted literally in painting and represent very real fears of the day, inner meanings related to ego and emotions, and deeper secret meanings representing specific tantric philosophies. In this painting there are four panels each at the lower left and right depicting a Tara seated on a cushion and turned towards a diminutive figure, consoling him as he confronts one of the Eight Fears (see diagram below).
Starting at lower left, the bottom register contains Namasangiti Manjushri, Chaturbhuja Avalokiteshvara, Krodha Vajrapani, followed by Vajrasattva and Yellow Jambhala. The identification of the last two figures is not certain. Assembled on the right side are a Lama figure, a shrine, and devotees representing the donor of the painting.
Once she achieved complete enlightenment, Tara promised to return in a female form to benefit all beings. Meditational practices and visual descriptions of Tara appear in all schools of Buddhist tantra. She is usually depicted as a beautiful young woman, commonly either green (for all types of meditation), white for longevity, and red for power. There are close to two hundred different meditational forms of Tara, varying in color, number of faces and limbs, and in peaceful or wrathful countenances. In this painting, Green Tara is flanked by Marichi to her right, the peaceful deity with clean skin and bright white clothing, and to her left by Ekajati, the ash-covered wrathful deity with third eye wrapped in a tiger skin.
The top and side registers of the painting contain the Twenty-one forms of Tara according to Suryagupta system. Suryagupta was a layperson from Kashmir who was cured of leprosy by a miraculous statue of the goddess Tara. He is famous for having many visions of Tara and originating many lineages of her practice, including the Twenty-one forms of Tara, the names of which are 1. Tara Very Heroic, 2. Tara Radiant White Moon, 3. Tara Golden Coloured, 4. Tara Crown Ornament of the Conqueror, 5. Tara Resounding with Hum, 6. Tara Victorious Over the Three Worlds, 7. Tara Defeating Adversaries, 8. Tara Treasure of Supreme Power, 9. Tara Bestowing Wishes, 10. Tara Dispelling Sorrow, 11. Tara Clearing All Misfortune, 12. Tara Auspiciously Shining, 13. Tara Completely Ripening, 14. Tara With a Frown, 15. Tara Treasure of Virtue, 16. Tara Destroyer of Attachment, 17. Tara Accomplishing Happiness, 18. Tara Greatly Increasing, 19. Tara Burning Suffering, 20. Tara Giving Rise to Attainments, 21. Tara Accomplishing the Complete Perfection.
The Eight Fears are described as fire, water, lions, elephants, snakes, chains or false imprisonment, demons or ghosts, and thieves. These are often depicted literally in painting and represent very real fears of the day, inner meanings related to ego and emotions, and deeper secret meanings representing specific tantric philosophies. In this painting there are four panels each at the lower left and right depicting a Tara seated on a cushion and turned towards a diminutive figure, consoling him as he confronts one of the Eight Fears (see diagram below).
Starting at lower left, the bottom register contains Namasangiti Manjushri, Chaturbhuja Avalokiteshvara, Krodha Vajrapani, followed by Vajrasattva and Yellow Jambhala. The identification of the last two figures is not certain. Assembled on the right side are a Lama figure, a shrine, and devotees representing the donor of the painting.