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Lot Essay
This jeweled-tone thangka presents the elaborate and ordered world of the wrathful deity Vajrabhairava. Painted in gold, he appears with thirty-four arms embracing his consort Vajravetali. From each of the four gates, each placed over a crossed vajra, are radiating bands that extend outward representing a three-dimensional model of the realm encompassing this great, wrathful emanation of the wisdom deity, Manjushri. The inscriptions of the figures along the upper register correspond to the Rwa lineage, whose founder Rwo Lotsawa Dorje Drag (1016-1198), was responsible for popularizing teachings on Vajrabhairava in Tibet.
New research by Bryan J. Cuevas discusses how Rwa-related texts in Mongolia and Tibet offer fresh insights on the development of the tantric cults of Vajrabhaiava in India, their transmission into Tibet by the radical teacher Rwo Lotsawa, and its elaboration over several centuries (B J. Cuevas, "The Rwa Pod and other 'Lost' Works of Rwa Lo Tsa Ba's Vajrabhairava Tradition", 2021, p. 9). Rwa lineage figures included here are inscribed as follows in this painting: Lalitavajra, Amoghavajra, Ye shes ’byung gnas, Padma vajra, Bal po Thugs rje chen po, Rwa lo tsā ba Rdo rje grags pa, Rwa Chos rab, Rwa Ye shes seng ge, Rwa Dharma seng ge, Rwa Dkon mchog seng ge, and Rwa Shes rab rgyal mtshan. Like all tantric lineages from Tibet, origins of the Rwa lineage begin with Indian adepts, designated here by Lalitavajra, the tenth-century Indian siddha responsible for bringing forth tantras of Vajrabhairava. Working with two Newar masters, Rwa Lotsawa produced new translations of the teaching cycle which were acknowledged as the most authoritative in Tibet, and transmissions of these teachings continued through this family line whose likenesses are illustrated here. The Rwa tradition of the Vajrabhairava cycles of teachings became the most prominent within Tibet and Mongolia.
In Rwa Lotsawa's manual, in which several of his emanations are described, the thirteen-deity mandala of the nine-faced, thirty-four armed, sixteen legged Vajrabhairava, which is depicted here, was the most influential (ibid., 2021, p. 95). The thirteen emanations are imagined in the central chamber with the center illustrating the thirty-four armed form with his consort, surrounded by eight emanations and four additional emanations of the deity situated at each of the four gates. Each of these entry gates is surrounded by concentric rings of multi-colored lotus petals, golden vajras, and pink, blue, orange, green, red, and white scrolling flames. The final circular register encompasses vivid depictions of charnel-ground activities which include dancing yoginis, flesh eating wild animals, fires, nagas, and practicing monks. These vivid bands enclose the palace and the deity within.
Outside the palace walls, above and below, are the Rwa lineage figures, monks, siddhas, and protective deities. The appearance of the Tsongkhapa-type figure in the upper left and the portrait resembling the Fourth Panchen Lama in the upper right, identifications based on visual conventions, has previously led to associating the mandala with the Gelug tradition. However, these identities remain inconclusive without an inscription beneath the 'Tsongkhapa' and given the partially legible caption below the 'Panchen Lama'. Still, the thangka may be associated with the Gelug tradition, considering the dominant Gelug deities situated near the donor in the lower right corner. Another fifteenth-century thirteen-deity mandala shares a similar format and has also presumed the association with the Gelug tradition due to the Tsongkhapa portrait type in the upper left. This painting bears no inscriptions, so that association is not definitively established either. However, this thirteen-deity Vajrabhairava mandala was in fact emphasized by Tsongkhapa in the fifteenth century and adopted as a central practice in the Gelug tradition (ibid., 2021, p.41), suggesting that this thangka possibly could be situated within a Gelug context who made clear their associations with the Rwa Vajrabhairava tradition.
New research by Bryan J. Cuevas discusses how Rwa-related texts in Mongolia and Tibet offer fresh insights on the development of the tantric cults of Vajrabhaiava in India, their transmission into Tibet by the radical teacher Rwo Lotsawa, and its elaboration over several centuries (B J. Cuevas, "The Rwa Pod and other 'Lost' Works of Rwa Lo Tsa Ba's Vajrabhairava Tradition", 2021, p. 9). Rwa lineage figures included here are inscribed as follows in this painting: Lalitavajra, Amoghavajra, Ye shes ’byung gnas, Padma vajra, Bal po Thugs rje chen po, Rwa lo tsā ba Rdo rje grags pa, Rwa Chos rab, Rwa Ye shes seng ge, Rwa Dharma seng ge, Rwa Dkon mchog seng ge, and Rwa Shes rab rgyal mtshan. Like all tantric lineages from Tibet, origins of the Rwa lineage begin with Indian adepts, designated here by Lalitavajra, the tenth-century Indian siddha responsible for bringing forth tantras of Vajrabhairava. Working with two Newar masters, Rwa Lotsawa produced new translations of the teaching cycle which were acknowledged as the most authoritative in Tibet, and transmissions of these teachings continued through this family line whose likenesses are illustrated here. The Rwa tradition of the Vajrabhairava cycles of teachings became the most prominent within Tibet and Mongolia.
In Rwa Lotsawa's manual, in which several of his emanations are described, the thirteen-deity mandala of the nine-faced, thirty-four armed, sixteen legged Vajrabhairava, which is depicted here, was the most influential (ibid., 2021, p. 95). The thirteen emanations are imagined in the central chamber with the center illustrating the thirty-four armed form with his consort, surrounded by eight emanations and four additional emanations of the deity situated at each of the four gates. Each of these entry gates is surrounded by concentric rings of multi-colored lotus petals, golden vajras, and pink, blue, orange, green, red, and white scrolling flames. The final circular register encompasses vivid depictions of charnel-ground activities which include dancing yoginis, flesh eating wild animals, fires, nagas, and practicing monks. These vivid bands enclose the palace and the deity within.
Outside the palace walls, above and below, are the Rwa lineage figures, monks, siddhas, and protective deities. The appearance of the Tsongkhapa-type figure in the upper left and the portrait resembling the Fourth Panchen Lama in the upper right, identifications based on visual conventions, has previously led to associating the mandala with the Gelug tradition. However, these identities remain inconclusive without an inscription beneath the 'Tsongkhapa' and given the partially legible caption below the 'Panchen Lama'. Still, the thangka may be associated with the Gelug tradition, considering the dominant Gelug deities situated near the donor in the lower right corner. Another fifteenth-century thirteen-deity mandala shares a similar format and has also presumed the association with the Gelug tradition due to the Tsongkhapa portrait type in the upper left. This painting bears no inscriptions, so that association is not definitively established either. However, this thirteen-deity Vajrabhairava mandala was in fact emphasized by Tsongkhapa in the fifteenth century and adopted as a central practice in the Gelug tradition (ibid., 2021, p.41), suggesting that this thangka possibly could be situated within a Gelug context who made clear their associations with the Rwa Vajrabhairava tradition.