TIBET, 18TH CENTURY

The present painting depicts Acharya Dharmakirti, one of the group of early Indian religious scholars known in Tibet as the 'Six Ornaments and Two Excellent Ones of the Southern Continent,' the Southern Continent here referring to India. These teachers were integral in establishing Buddhist traditions that became important strands of worship in the Tibetan tradition. The group of the 'Six Ornaments' includes Nagarjuna, founder of the Madyamaka Tradition, and Asanga, founder of the Yogachara tradition, their students Aryadeva and Vasubhandhu, Dignaga and Dharmakirti, illustrated here, along with the 'Two Excellent Ones,' Gunaprabha and Shakyaprabha. All eight figures are also included in the group known as the Eighty-Four Mahasiddhas.