NEPAL, DATED SAMVAT 1530 (1609 CE)

This 1609 CE thangka painting analyzed in Ian Alsop's article depicts King Vikram Shahi, an early seventeenth century ruler of the Kalyala dynasty in Nepal’s Jumla valley, seated barefoot on a cushion beneath a dual-trunked tree (I. Alsop, K. Tamot and P. P. Parajuli, "In the Khasa Malla Tradition: A Thangka of Vikram Shahi (r. 1602-1631) King of Jumla," Asianart.com, April 20, 2021). Dressed in courtly robes and gold jewelry with a dagger tucked in his waistband, the king holds a coral branch and smokes a hookah held by one of his three sons. He is flanked by his two wives, Queens Agravati and Samudravati, and his other two sons; one holding a ceremonial yak-tail fan and the other controlling a chained tiger. The artwork features two distinct inscriptions: the first which dates the piece and names the royal family, and the second declaring that the king and his princes grant official lineage protection to Lama Yonten Gyaltsen under the witness of his ministers.

This rare piece blends a traditional Tibetan thangka framework with Indian courtly portraiture of the earlier Khasa Malla kingdom. Historical Tibetan biographies and local autobiographies underscore a profound, enduring alliance between the predominantly Hindu Jumla kings and northern Buddhist lamas; the lamas frequently mediated local political disputes and provided spiritual counsel, while the crown issued protective royal decrees and material patronage to safeguard monastic lineages.