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Lot Essay
The Transcendental Buddha Akshobhya, meaning "He Who is Unshakeable," is recognizable by his peaceful, bodhisattva-like appearance, blue skin color, the right hand in bhumisparshamudra, the left palm upturned, and the pair of elephants at the base of the throne. Akshobhya is associated with the eastern direction and is Lord of the second of the Five Buddha Families described in the tantras; he is also featured in the corpus of Mahayana sacred literature, most notably the Vimalakirti Nirdesha sutra. The great Tibetan yogi, Milarepa, and the important scholar, Sakya Pandita, are known to have achieved complete Buddhahood in Abhirati, the Pure Land governed by Akshobhya.
Here, Akshobhya is brilliantly rendered in a luminous blue and given a unique iconographic arrangement. The Buddha's princely appearance is enhanced by sumptuous ornaments, four-tiered crown, and saffron chest sash, his face with fish-shaped eyes and his body with idealized proportions. The painting is part of a set of five representing the Tathagatas along with the principal figures of the Sarvavid Maha Vairochana mandala as it is described in the Sarvadurgati Parishodhana Tantra. The five painting set is an aesthetic innovation on a single painting composition, where the center and each quadrant of the Sarvavid Maha Vairochana mandala is represented by an individual painting. The figures accompanying Akshobhya in the current work all belong to the mandala's eastern quadrant, appropriate to the direction with which Akshobhya is associated. Immediately surrounding the central figure [1] on the numbered diagrams) is a set of eight bodhisattvas; the four flanking Akshobhya represent four of the sixteen vajra-bodhisattvas [2], while the four seated to the left and right of his head are part of the group of Bodhisattvas of the Fortunate Aeon [3]. On the throne's lower portion, beneath a multicolored double-lotus, the guardian of the eastern direction, Vajra Angkusha [4], appears at center flanked by the elephants and the two offering goddesses of the Southeast, Lasya and Dhupa [5]. All of the associated deities, including the directional deities Indra and Virudhaka in the lower left and Ishana in the lower right [6] have a specific location within the Sarvavid Maha Vairochana mandala, as represented in the diagram above.
The throne itself has a notable appearance: rather than the standard pair of vyalas, each side is occupied by a vertical row comprising an elephant, lion, hamsa, and vyala, surmounted by a second hamsa with exquisite scrollwork tail issuing nagas with Garuda at the apex. Three rows of miniature Buddhas with golden skin and wearing red monastic robes are arranged around the central figure; they likely relate to the thousand Buddhas of the bhadrakalpa, the Auspicious Era, a concept that was particularly popular in Central Asia when the painting series was produced. The lowest Buddha register includes four wrathful protectors standing brandishing a weapon (from left to right: Amritakundalin, Krodha Trailokyadarsha, Kala Rakshasi, and Kala Angkusha), flanked by six shravakabuddhas and Virudhaka and Indra on the left, and the pratyekabuddhas holding khakhara staves followed by four Buddhas and Ishana on the right.
Here, Akshobhya is brilliantly rendered in a luminous blue and given a unique iconographic arrangement. The Buddha's princely appearance is enhanced by sumptuous ornaments, four-tiered crown, and saffron chest sash, his face with fish-shaped eyes and his body with idealized proportions. The painting is part of a set of five representing the Tathagatas along with the principal figures of the Sarvavid Maha Vairochana mandala as it is described in the Sarvadurgati Parishodhana Tantra. The five painting set is an aesthetic innovation on a single painting composition, where the center and each quadrant of the Sarvavid Maha Vairochana mandala is represented by an individual painting. The figures accompanying Akshobhya in the current work all belong to the mandala's eastern quadrant, appropriate to the direction with which Akshobhya is associated. Immediately surrounding the central figure [1] on the numbered diagrams) is a set of eight bodhisattvas; the four flanking Akshobhya represent four of the sixteen vajra-bodhisattvas [2], while the four seated to the left and right of his head are part of the group of Bodhisattvas of the Fortunate Aeon [3]. On the throne's lower portion, beneath a multicolored double-lotus, the guardian of the eastern direction, Vajra Angkusha [4], appears at center flanked by the elephants and the two offering goddesses of the Southeast, Lasya and Dhupa [5]. All of the associated deities, including the directional deities Indra and Virudhaka in the lower left and Ishana in the lower right [6] have a specific location within the Sarvavid Maha Vairochana mandala, as represented in the diagram above.
The throne itself has a notable appearance: rather than the standard pair of vyalas, each side is occupied by a vertical row comprising an elephant, lion, hamsa, and vyala, surmounted by a second hamsa with exquisite scrollwork tail issuing nagas with Garuda at the apex. Three rows of miniature Buddhas with golden skin and wearing red monastic robes are arranged around the central figure; they likely relate to the thousand Buddhas of the bhadrakalpa, the Auspicious Era, a concept that was particularly popular in Central Asia when the painting series was produced. The lowest Buddha register includes four wrathful protectors standing brandishing a weapon (from left to right: Amritakundalin, Krodha Trailokyadarsha, Kala Rakshasi, and Kala Angkusha), flanked by six shravakabuddhas and Virudhaka and Indra on the left, and the pratyekabuddhas holding khakhara staves followed by four Buddhas and Ishana on the right.