The murals of the temples of gLo sMon thang have only
recently come to light. The Byams pa lha khang and the Thugs chen lha khang provide a
major source of painting illuminating the activity of Newar artists in Tibetan ethnic
areas and upon the stylistic development of the Tibeto-Newar school. In terms of artistic
accomplishment and as a major repository of Tibeto-Newar art, this revelation elevates gLo
sMon thang to the status of Zhwa lu and rGyal rtse. This preliminary study of the mandalas
of the middle floor of the Byams pa lha khang seeks to describe the nature of that art and
lay a foundation for further study.
sMon thang is the principal town of the
ancient kingdom of gLo, perhaps better known by its Nepali name - Mustang (see also Helmut
Neumann, "Luri Stupa", p.178-85. gLo is located in western Nepal to the north of
the Annapurna and Daulagiri massifs - and thus north of the Great Himalayan divide - in
the upper reaches of the Thag Khola (Kali Gandaki) valley. Its height ranges from
approximately 10,000 to 13,000 feet. The walled town of sMon thang is the kingdom's
capital and the seat of its king. gLo is now ruled from Kathmandu, but historically,
ethnically, and culturally it is an integral part of Tibet. In recent history access has
been forbidden to outsiders. In the twentieth century only a select few have penetrated
the area, including Prof. Tucci, who in his 1952 visit was unable to photograph
successfully. In 1992 parts of gLo were opened to foreigners and during 1992/93 the
American photographer Tom Laird gained privileged access to the lhakhang and it is his
pictures that illustrate this paper.
At Zhwa lu and rGyal rtse we can see
the profound influence of the Newars, the indigenous people of the Kathmandu Valley, upon
the style of the temple murals of gTsang
1. Notwithstanding the mellifluence of the phrase
"Tibeto-Newar school", I recommend it as the appropriate term that best
indicates the radical and pervasive artistic influence that the Newars brought to Tibet
throughout the second period of dissemination of the buddhadharma - and
particularly after the wane of the Indian Pala influence (thirteenth - fifteenth century).
Secondly, it can serve as an umbrella term for the diversity of Newar-derived styles found
at gLo sMon thang, Sa skya, Zhwa lu and rGyal rtse, various other sites in the province of
gTsang, and also in most of the thankas painted in the area during the period of Sa skya
ascendancy. Thirdly, it indicates that Newar style superseded the pre-existent Pala and
Central Asian influenced styles found at Zhwa lu and Grwa nang, and became the basis of
the fully developed Tibetan style of the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Finally,
the phrase carries the implication that it was a Newar style modified by Tibetan influence
rather than vice-versa.
In considering Newar cultural influence
in gTsang, very briefly, it should be understood that throughout Tibetan history
geographical proximity and unobstructed access across the Himalayan divide provided easy
lines of communication between the Kathmandu Valley and gTsang and that similar
Tibeto-Burman languages, a shared religion, and economic interdependence, created a
special relationship between the Newars and the Tibetans. More specifically, in the sphere
of art the Newars were the undisputed masters of paint in the central Himalayan areas, and
their reputation in Tibet - underpinned by the genius of Aniko - was always high and never
higher than in the fifteenth century. The Newar artists' journeyman motto was - and still
is - "have brush, will travel" and as documented, they travelled to Sa skya and
to Ngor and, as we may deduce, to every site in gTsang where Sa skya wealth formed a
magnet (see Lo Bue and Ricca, 1990, pp.24-35). It was a Newar master painter, Devananda 2,
who was commissioned to decorate the middle floor of the Byams pa lha khang in gLo sMon
thang by a Sa skya hierarch during the second quarter of the fifteenth century.
The objection may be raised that if the
Newars were so active in gTsang during the fifteenth century why do their names not appear
inscribed in the lhakhangs of the rGyal rtse sku 'bum. It is probable that even if no
Newars from the Kathmandu Valley worked at rGyal rtse (and that is not excluded by the
absence of Newar names) then the Newars were represented by their katsara cousins.
The evidence of latter day social practice shows that Newar traders and artists married
Tibetan women, forming a pseudo-caste of Tibetans called katsaras, many of whom
took Tibetan names. Some katsaras were completely assimilated by Tibetan society.
Others formed Tibeto-Newar communities in Lha sa and in settlements along the trade
routes, such as those at Lha rtse and gNas rnying, villages that were the domicile of many
of the rGyal rtse sku 'bum artists.
Then concerning Tibeto-Newar style in
general, the evolution of the fully developed Tibeto-Newar styles in gTsang - and I use
the word loosely to include the kingdom of gLo - was a process of relaxation of the
strictures that governed the classical Newar style of the Early Malla Period and also
assimilation of other styles and idioms - particularly that of the Chinese. This was done
by Newar artists transcending the conventions that had caged them in their Valley home, or
by katsaras and their Tibetan brethren spurning the tradition that had produced
them, to create a new vital religious art that allowed the visionaries of Tibetan Tantra a
greater scope and range. We will see some modifications of this "classical"
Newar style in the Byams pa lha khang. We find a further development of it at rGyal rtse.
The documented history of gLo begins in
the period of the Yarlung Empire. It is mentioned in the Tun Huang Annals and in
the Ladakhi Chronicles. Legend makes Mu tig btsan po, son of the eighth century
Yarlung king Khri Srong lde btsan, the ancestor of Glo's royal dynasty. From the eleventh
century gLo was attached to Eastern mNga' ris and ruled as a tributary state from Pu hrang
or from further west (see Francke, 1926, p.96). "During the last half of the
thirteenth century the kings of Gung thang, because of their close ties to Sa skya and
hence to the Mongols, came to rule the thirteen hundred-groups of mNga' ris [including
gLo] from their capital at rDzong kha." (Jackson, 1978, p.211)3. In the
early fourteenth century gLo was conquered by the resurgent Khasa Mallas of the Jumla
kingdom, but it was reconquered by a general named Shes rab bla ma towards the end of the
century, and for his reward the Gung thang king gave him the fiefdom of gLo and Dolpo.
Shes rab bla ma founded the dynasty that was to give gLo its time in the sun.
Under A ma dpal, Shes rab bla ma's
grandson, the power of gLo reached its height. From gLo sMon thang A ma dpal controlled
much of Eastern mNga' ris, including Gu ge and Pu hrang, and also Thag to the south. His
son, A mgon bzang po, maintained the pre-eminent position of gLo. Although the dates of
both are lacking, it is certain that these two princes ruled gLo during the first half of
the fifteenth century. Both of them were devotees of the great Lama Ngor chen Kun dga'
bzang po, who they invited to gLo and under whose auspices the Byams pa lha khang was
constructed. The inscriptions in the Lhakhang indicate A ma dpal and A mgon bzang po as
the patrons of Ngor chen and the construction of the temple.
At the back of the middle floor
lhakhang, on the right side of the door upon entry, underneath the red lokapala,
and below the verses of homage, are two verses dedicating the merit of "the patron,
brothers, son and queen" in constructing the sacred representations of the Buddha's
Body, Speech and Mind - statues, murals, stupas, books etc - to transporting them to the
level of the omniscient Buddha4.
It may be deduced from this that A ma dpal and A mgon bzang po ("spiritual
brothers") and A mgon bzang po's son and daughter-in-law, Tshangs pa bkra shis and
queen, were the patrons of the construction of the Byams pa lha khang, the great Byams pa
image and the yogatantra mandala murals of this middle floor lhakhang. A verse
within the long inscription on the left side of the door upon entry, underneath the chain
of vajras below Vajrahumkara, describing vajrayana practice, contains a
eulogy of the masters who spread the buddhadharma in mNga' ris. Here a verse,
seemingly of prophecy that may be interpreted as history, foretells the birth in "Lho
gtod" of a father and son whose names begin with an "A", and who were
spiritual brothers, who would support Buddhism and suppress Bon. This must be a reference
to A ma dpal and A mgon bzang po. In the same verse, partly mutilated, "rDo rje 'dzin
pa" Kun dga' bzang po's propagation of the buddhadharma in gLo is mentioned 5.
Ngor chen Kun dga' bzang po (1382-1456)
was the founder of the Sa skya sub-school of Ngor, and the builder of Ngor Evam chos ldan
dgon pa, south of Shigatse. Besides a builder and a teacher he was a great scholar and
systematiser of the tantras. His extensive research resulted in a major work of
classification called the rGyud sde kun btus in thirty-two volumes which included
twenty-two sadhanas of twenty-two Buddha deities, classified according to the four
divisions of tantra. He disseminated the practice of these tantras through
empowerment, instruction and also by commissioning the painting of sets of mandalas on the
walls of rGyal rtse sku 'bum and also in the Byams pa lha khang in gLo sMon thang. He
appears in gLo in the role of missionary and proselytizer of the Sa skya school and the
teacher of A ma dpal and his family.
Ngor chen's biography records three
visits to gLo 6.
The first two, in 1415 and 1424, were at the behest of A ma dpal (A me dpal) and the
third, in 1435, was hosted by "Chos rgyal" A mgon bzang po. During this last
visit Ngor chen consecrated "the Great Golden Byams pa" and gave the
empowerments of the Vajradhatu and Trailokyavijaya. Thus it seems probable that the Byams
pa lha khang was built and, less certainly, decorated in the period between his second and
third visits - between 1424 and 1435. At rGyal rtse the 1420s saw the construction and
decoration of the gTsug lha khang and the 1430s the rGyal rtse sku 'bum. Thus the work on
the murals of gLo Byams pa lha khang overlapped with the painting of both the gTsug lag
khang and the sKu 'bum at rGyal rtse. 1429, incidentally, was the year of the foundation
of Ngor Evam chos ldan.
The Byams pa lha khang, and the Thugs
chen lha khang, suffered decay during the period of gLo's decline and stagnation under
Gorkhali rule, and of their large monastic complexes only a few chapels remain. The Byams
pa lha khang today comprises a three floor building fronted by an assembly hall ('du
khang) open to the sky at its centre (Fig.1). At the front of the assembly hall a door
leads into the circumambulatory passage ('khor sa) that surrounds the ground floor
lhakhang. As its name implies the Byams pa lha khang enshrines as its principal object of
worship an image of the Forthcoming Buddha Byams pa (Maitreya). This monumental image has
its throne set at the front of the ground floor lhakhang and the image at the front of the
middle floor lhakhang. Including its throne base it is approximately 50' high. Panjaranath
(Gur dgon), the Sa skya protector, is enshrined in the throne base. The walls of the
ground floor lhakhang are bare, but the circumambulatory passage contains interesting
examples of Tibeto-Newar work. Although there is no epigraphical evidence, these murals
were probably painted in the fifteenth century period of the building's foundation - but
not by the technically more proficient atelier of the Newar Devananda that painted the
mandalas of the middle floor lhakhang. The upper floor lhakhang, accessed by ladder from
the assembly hall roof, is painted in a plethora of Tibeto-Newar styles, which most likely
also date from the same period.
The middle floor lhakhang is reached
from the assembly hall roof. At the front of the lhakhang is the indifferently restored
clay image of Maitreya (Byams pa) in padmasana. The mural decoration consists of
forty mandalas, approximately four feet in diameter, twenty in a lower and twenty in an
upper row, around the walls of the lhakhang, with fourteen(?) smaller mandalas forming an
intermediary row. The intervening space is filled with figures of bodhisattvas, lineage
lamas and floral motifs. On both sides of the doorway four(?) lokapalas, one above
the other, stand guard. The murals are in a good state of preservation. However, due to
the exigencies of light and access only the lower row has been photographed. Above courses
of vajras and Buddha-deities (approximately four feet above the floor) are verses
of homage to the Buddha-deities of the lower row of mandalas. In most cases these verses
permit precise identification, although a few on the right side of the lhakhang are
illegible7.
The principal of these mandalas, the Vajradhatumandala
(rDo rje dbyings kyi dkyil 'khor) (Fig. 2), known descriptively as the Mandala of the
Thousand Buddhas, is located to the left of the Byams pa image that gives the lhakhang its
name. The verses beneath it identify it as the Guru Mandala, "the root mandala of the
mahayogatantra", and "the basic instructor and trainer in the root tantra".
Ngor chen Kun dga' bzang po is identified here as the Lama of this tantric lineage. The
root tantra referred to is the Sarvatathagatatattvasamgraha, the seminal tantra
that dominated the buddhadharma of the second period of its dissemination in Tibet.
In Western Tibet it was propagated by Rin chen bzang po as we see at A lci and rTa bo, and
it was one of the main dharmas of the Sa skya School. The significance of this tantra
and its Guru Mandala to the systematisers of the Sa skya School - particularly Bu ston Rin
po che and Ngor chen Kun dga' bzang po - may be gauged, for example, from its commanding
place in the gNas brtan lha khang at Zhwa lu, the dedication to it of a lhakhang in the
rGyal rtse gtsug lha khang, and also from the rGyal rtse sku 'bum itself which illustrates
the Sarvatathagatatattvasamgrahatantra, and its supplementary explanatory tantras,
in the lhakhangs below the harmika (but see also Richardson, 1990, pp.271-275).
It should be noted that available data
indicates that the Newars never made systematic collections of tantras nor painted
sets of mandalas on their vihara walls. But what is evident from a comparison of Newar
mandala paubhas and Sa skya school mandala thankas ("Ngor
mandalas") is that the Tibetan mandala style is derived directly from the Newar and
that in the period of the Tibeto-Newar school only minor distinctions are evident between
them in composition or style. The depiction of Lamas in the upper or lower registers is
sometimes the only method of identifying the Tibetan provenance.
At the centre of the Vajradhatumandala
(Fig 3) is the Tathagata Vairocana (rNam par snang mdzad), white, four-faced, in bodhyagrimudra,
the mudra of supreme clarity and purity. Vairocana is surrounded in the four
directions by subsidiary mandalas of the other four Tathagatas. The square enclosing the
Five Tathagatas is surrounded by the thousand Vajrasattvas (rDor sems), representing the
ideal visionary form of the Lamas of the lineage . The outer mandala walls represent the
line dividing the microcosm, the divine psycho-organism, from the macrocosm, the elemental
cosmos. The gates represent the four sense organs of sight, sound, taste and smell and
each is guarded by one of the Guardian Kings (Caturmaharaja). In the design of the mandala
walls and gates, note the uncluttered composition, the fine line of the detail, and the
wall to wall scrolling. The detail of the mandala gate (Fig.4) shows the makara
holding in his mouth a spoke of the visvavajra upon which every mandala is laid.
Fig.5 shows a detail of a comparable mandala from the rGyal rtse sku 'bum, which can serve
to illustrate the development of style within the Tibeto-Newar school.
In the rGyal rtse mandala, the stupas
in the upper register of the mandala wall have become piles of jewels; in the register
below, the ornaments show a more pronounced Tibetan style; below that the full Newar
Kirtimukha motif has been lost; and below that again the style of scrolling has been
modified. In the pillars of the gate, the elephant, sardula and kinnara have
become totally enclosed in the pillar and the inner pillar is a further example of
Tibeto-Newar modification. The makara here has an added touch of realism, as indeed
wrathful deities in general increasingly tend to as the style evolves. And finally the
brilliant gold scrolling outside the gate replaces the more sombre green.
To the right and below the Vajradhatumandala,
Amoghasiddhi and Vajrasattva are exquisitely depicted in unmodified Newar style (Fig.6).
These Buddhas are enclosed within the circular stems of the flowers that fill the
intermediate space. These flowers are done in an exuberant style that shows the syncretic
dynamic at work within the Tibeto-Newar school, particularly in decorative detail. Similar
products of such unfettered imagination may be found in the Tibeto-Newar murals of the
Tathagatas in the bKa' 'gyur lha khang at Zhwa lu (Vitali, 1990, pls.71 & 72) and in
the Yuan-influenced painting in the ground floor circumambulatory passage (Vitali, 1990,
pls.58 & 59). Such exuberance was unknown in the Kathmandu Valley in the Early Malla
period, when floral motifs, represented here by the rain of small flowers, were naive and
simple. The treatment of kinnaras - and particularly of their tails - during that
period, on the contrary, was highly sophisticated and can be seen here in the kinnaras
on top of the Buddha's thrones.
The majority of mandalas subsidiary to
the principal Vajradhatumandala represent Vairocana in his krodha forms, or
in his aspect as peaceful Vajrapani (Phyag rdor), in the centre of various emanatory
retinues.10 These retinues are often gods and demigods of the Hindu spiritual
world, who have been coerced into serving the buddhadharma in their various
capacities by the yogin visualizing them as emanations of Vairocana in his heart centre.
The mandalas chosen for illustration here, appearing at the back of the lhakhang, are also
to be found in two lhakhangs of the rGyal rtse sku 'bum, where they correspond to
descriptions in the Durgatiparisodhanatantra, an explanatory tantra of the Tattvasamgrahatantra
(see Lo Bue and Ricca, 1993, pp.280-81).
Trailokyavijaya (Khams gsum rnam
rgyal), "Victorious Over the Three Worlds", is the krodha of the vajra
family, and a principal wrathful aspect of Vairocana. The mandala immediately to the right
of the doorway (R-1) shows Trailokyavijaya as the principal, iconographically identical to
Vajrahumkara (Fig.7). He is blue-black, two-armed, standing in pratyalidha stance
showing vajrahumkaramudra. The execution is very fine, but note the specifically
Tibetan elements modifying the Newar. The white stole flying above the deity's shoulders
and around his arms is a convention of the Tibeto-Newar school unknown in the Kathmandu
Valley until it was introduced from Tibet (see Lo Bue & Ricca, 1993, pp.78-79); the
tiger skin around the Buddha-deity's waist has a fantastic stylized design of Tibetan
origin - undoubtedly an innovation of artists unfamiliar with tigers; the green silk shawl
is another Tibeto-Newar innovation; the flaming aura out of which he steps has the usual
Newar scrolling, but the tongues of flame are stylized with an insistent spikiness to be
found frequently in the rGyal rtse sku 'bum. Further, note the heavy black outline that
also appears around trees and vegetation after the time of Grags pa rgyal mtshan at Zhwa
lu, and which is found in the circumambulatory passage on the floor below.
Trailokyavijaya's retinue consists of
the Navabhairava ('Jigs 'byed dgu) and their consorts, eight in the surround and the
principal Bhairava with his consorts underneath Trailokyavijaya's throne. The nine-fold
Bhairava retinue is derived from the saiva tradition, where their consorts, or saktis,
are the Navamatrka, the Nine Mother Goddesses. Bhairavas and saktis are here
depicted in peaceful mode, but the Bhairavas' residences are usually cremation grounds.
Here, then, Trailokyavijaya is seen in his function as transmogrifier of the wrathful
forms of Siva perceived as dynamic aspects of the divine ego. Note the angular stylization
of the eight lotus petals in which the Bhairavas sit.
Beside the Trailokyavijaya mandala is
the mandala of Krodharaja Jvalanala (Khro bo'i rgyal po Me ltar 'bar ba)(R-2),
"Blazing like Fire" (Fig.8). One of the principal krodha forms of
Vairocana, showing the vajrahumkaramudra, iconographically he is indistinguishable
from Vajrahumkara. His retinue consists of the Astamahadeva (Lha chen brgyad) emanated
with Jvalanala, as the inscription informs us, from Vairocana's heart. Here again
Vairocana emanates his wrathful form to subdue and transform saiva deities into
protectors of the Buddha mandala. The Sitaganesa, "White Ganesa", holding an axe
and seated upon his vehicle the rat, is executed in fine Newar style (Fig.9): the artist
is evidently familiar with the appearance of the elephant and this Ganesa contrasts
strongly with the depiction of the more mythic type of elephants found in the Thugs chen
lha khang and at Zhwa lu, for example. Note again the angular lotus petal stylization and
also the modified scrolling.
To the left side of the entrance is a
very fine mandala of Vajrasattva (rDor sems), Vajrapani in his peaceful aspect (L-1). The
identification of Vajrapani and Vajrasattva is a convention of the Durgatiparisodhanatantra.
Vajrapani with a canopy of nagas is seated in the centre of his Astamahanaga
retinue of naga and nagini couples (Fig.10). The cult of the naga
demigods is historically and contemporarily strong in the Himalayas from Kashmir to Assam
and especially in the Kathmandu valley where the Eight Nagas are worshipped by both
Buddhists and Hindus. In this mandala Vajrasattva controls the nagas as raingivers
and protectors of the treasures of the earth. Note the eight petals are here depicted more
naturalistically in the Newar style. This mandala, in a very similar style, has been
preserved in the Tshe dpag med lha khang at Zhwa lu: but the mandalas of that lhakhang are
dated to Bu ston's period there in the 14th century (Vitali, 1990, p.110).
The first mandala on the left, side
wall, again shows Vajrapani as Vajrasattva, this time in the centre of his retinue of the
Caturmaharaja (rGyal chen bzhi), the Four Guardian Kings (L-4) (Fig.12). Dhrtarastra with
lute is in the east (below Vajrasattva), Virudhaka with sword in the south, Virupaksa with
stupa in the west, and Vaisravana with victory banner in the north. Here we have an
example of a Central Asian or Chinese originated icon, the Caturmaharaja, treated in
Tibeto-Newar style. There is no symmetrical four-petalled lotus as the seat of the
principal and retinue - rather, vajra walls separate the nine sections. Vajrasattva
wears long silks with a geometric pattern similar to his retinue. His lower garment has
the Chinese ankle length, hanging in Chinese-style folds. The Kings wear Hats of Victory,
Chinese robes over their breastplates and Chinese shoes. This painting shows the
innovative creativity of the artists of the Tibeto-Newar school when treating subjects out
of their tradition - a quality perhaps better illustrated by their treatment of
Panjaranath (Gur dgon), for instance, the Sixteen Arhats or the Mahasiddhas.
Finally, a glance at the eight lokapalas
guarding the doorway: the fine blue protector to the left upon entry is Vajrahumkara,
identified in the inscription by implication. To the left upon entry, above the red lokapala,
is a blue Protector wielding sword and rope, evidently an aspect of Mahakala (Fig.13). A
comparison with a Vajrapani from the rGyal rtse sku 'bum (Fig.14 and Lo Bue & Ricca,
1993, pl.38) shows remarkable similarity. The dwarfish figural proportion and short necks,
the hair-knots, and the stylization of the auras' tongues of flame, indicate a unity of
style; but at the same time the more decorative blue stole, the snowlion shawl, the
Tibetan Garuda between Vajrapani's feet holding the intertwined therianthropic naga
couple in his mouth, can serve to show the greater loosening of Newar composition and
style at rGyal rtse. Vajrapani's lotus throne on its stalk and the naturalistic floral
composition below are a remnant of Pala style.
To conclude, as an example of the Newar
penetration of the Tibetan artistic sphere, as a link in the development of the mature
Tibetan style that was the basis of the later sman ris school, and as an inspired rendering of the Tattvasamgrahatantra mandalas by
Tibeto-Newar artists, the murals of the middle floor of the Byams pa lha khang are without
compare. It is unfortunate at this juncture that political conditions have prevented a
more thorough study of the Byams pa lhakhang and a complete photographic record. It is to
be devoutly hoped that the fabric of the building be preserved.
NOTES
1. I use "Tsang" loosely
and for convenience throughout this article to define a geographical area, rather than a
political entity, including Byang and gLo. [BACK]
2. The verse identifying the master
painter is found - in diminutive script - beneath the Vajradhatumandala. His name
is given as Bal po Dhe ba Lha dga'. Bal po is his title, "Newar"; Dheba is the
Sanskrit or Newari deva; Lha is a Tibetan translation of deva, and dga' is a
rendering of ananda. Thus this Newar master's name was probably Devananda. Within
the Dasadikpalamandala another inscription immortalizes a Tibetan artist called
Chos kyi dbang phyug.[BACK]
3. David Jackson's "The
History of Se-rib", 1978, and "The Early History of Lo (Mustang) and
Ngari", 1976, provide the best secondary sources of gLo's history to date and I have
relied upon them in the following passages. [BACK]
4. rGyal ba'i sku gsung thugs kyi gtsug
lag 'di / mthong thos reg pa tsam gyis grol ba dang / phyag sogs bskor ba tsam gyis grol
ba dang / yid la bsams pa tsam gyis grol bar shog // 'Di bzhengs [gzhin in Tucci] dge ba
rab dkar dri med des / sbyin bdag sku mched sras dang gtsun mor bcas / 'gro kun sgrib
sbyangs tshogs gnyis rab rdzogs nas / kun mkhyen rgyal ba'i go pang myur thob shog //
These and the following transcriptions were made in 1992. Michael Henss reproduced Prof.
Tucci's partial and ill-ordered transcriptions in his Mustang: Tibetisches Koenigreich
im hohen Norden Nepals, 1993, pp.160-167, which show slight but unexplained
variations. [BACK]
5. Khyad par mnga' ris g-yas ru lho'i
stod / dge bcu 'dzom pa'i gnas bde blo'o 'dir / gsang ba'i bdag po'i rnam phrul las byung
ba'i / a'i mtshan can yab sras [sku?] mched 'khrungs / gzhan sde nag po'i phyogs rnams
pham mdzad cing / rang sde dkar po'i las rnams rgyas mdzod pa'i / stobs chen gang gis
sangs rgyas bstan pa ni / 'dam du bying 'dra 'gyen 'degs phyir du / thams cad mkhyen pa
phyogs....dang / rdo rje 'dzin pa kun dga' bzang po sog[s] / ...mkhas sgrub.....nas /
bstan pa dar shing rgyas pa'i ..mdzod // [BACK]
6. Sangs rgyas phun tshogs, De bzhin
gshegs pa thams cad kyi bgrod pa gcig pa'i lam chen gsung ngag rin po che'i bla ma brgyud
pa'i rnam thar glegs bam gnyis pa las rDo rje chang Kun dga' bzang po'i rnam par thar pa
legs bshad chu bo 'dus pa'i rgya mtsho yon tan yid bzhin nor bu'i 'byung gnas (Lam
'bras bla ma'i rnam thar pp.475-585), publishing data unavailable, see pp.537-540. [BACK]
7. The verses provide the following
identifications of the twenty mandalas of the lower row, beginning on the left side of the
door upon entry and proceeding clockwise: Left-1 (rear wall) rDor sems (Vajrasattva) with klu
chen brgyad (Astamahanaga) retinue; L-2 Rab brjid khro chen Me ltar 'bar ba
(Jvalanala) with bza' brgyad (Astagraha) and rgyu skar (Naksatra) retinue;
L-3 rDor sems (Vajrasattva) Rigs rnams kun gyi bdag with phyogs skyongs bcu
(Dasadikpala) retinue; L-4 (left side wall) Phyag rdor (Vajrapani) with rgyal chen bzhi
(Caturmaharaja) retinue; L-5 Don yo[d] grub pa'i las rigs (karmakula of
Amoghasiddhi); L-6 sPyan ras gzigs... gyi las rigs (karmakula of Avalokitesvara);
L-7 Khams gsum rnam rgyal las rigs (karmakula of Trailokyavijaya); L-8 De bzhin
gshegs pa'i las rigs (karmakula of Vairocana); L-9 rTsa rgyu[d] rtsa ba'i Nam
snying(?); L-10 (front wall) rTsa rgyu[d] rtsa.ba'i 'gro 'dul (Vajradhatumandala);
Right-10 Chos dbyings gsung gi dbang phyug (Dharmadhatuvagisvara); R-9 (right side wall)
gSang ldan (gZhon nu) 'Jam pa'i dbyangs (Manjughosa); R-8, R-7, R-6, R-5 are illegible;
R-4 Spyan ras gzigs...'Od dpag med pa sems dpa' (Avalokitesvara); R-3 (rear wall) Khams
gsum rnam rgyal (Trailokyavijaya) as Mi skyod rdo rje khro bo (Aksobhyavajra); R-2 Khro
bo'i rgyal po Me ltar 'bar ba (Mahakrodha Jvalanala) with Lha chen brgyad (Astamahadeva)
retinue; R-1 ['Khor los] sgyur 'bar(?) (Cakravartin? = Trailokyavijaya) with 'Jigs 'byed
dgu (Navabhairava) retinue. Gang gis khyod sku mthong bar gyur pa'am / khyod gsung lan
gcig thos pa tsam gyis kyang / srid zhi'i rgud pa mtha' dag skyob mdzad pa / rtsa rgyu[d]
rtsa ba'i 'gro 'dul la phyag 'tshal. // dPal ldan rnal 'byor rgyud chen gyi / rtsa ba'i
dkyil 'khor rdo rje dbyings / de yi rgyud pa'i bla ma la / sgo gsum gus pas phyag 'tsal lo
// Chos rje kun dga' bzang po la phyag 'tshal lo // "Whoever beholds this [mandala]
or whoever even hears its name just once is protected from the troubles of existence: we
pay homage to the basic instructor and trainer of the root tantra." "Homage with
body, speech, and mind to the Lama of the lineage of the root Vajradhatumandala of
the glorious mahayogatantra." "Homage to the Lord of Dharma Kun dga'
bzang po." 'Jigs pa'i hung sgra des bsgrogs shing. [BACK]
Selected Bibliography
Francke, A. H., Antiquities of Indian Tibet, Part
II, S.Chand, New Delhi, 1926.
Gyatso, Sonam, Tibetan Mandalas: the Ngor Collection,
Kodansha, Tokyo, 1983.
Henss, Michael, Mustang: Tibetisches Koenigreich im
hohen Norden Nepals, 1993, Fabri Verlag, Ulm, 1993.
Jackson, D.P., "The Early History of Lo (Mustang) and
Ngari" 1976, Contributions to Nepalese Studies, Vol 4 no.1, 1976.
------- "The History of Se-rib", Kailash,
Vol Vl, no.3., 1978.
Lo Bue, Erberto & Ricca, Franco, The Great Stupa of
Gyangtse, Serindia, London, 1993.
------- Gyangtse Revisited, Casa Editrice Le
Lettere, Torino, 1990.
Richardson, H.E., "The Cult of Vairocana in Early
Tibet," Indo-Tibetan Studies, Tring, 1990.
Vitali, Roberto, Early Temples of Central Tibet,
Serindia, London, 1990.
CAPTIONS
Fig.1. gLo sMon thang and the Byams pa lha khang looking
north
Fig.2 The Vajradhatumandala, the principal mandala.
[Fig.3 Detail of the Vajradhatumandala showing the
Thousand Vajrasattvas, mandala wall and gate.]
Fig.4 Detail of the Vajradhatumandala showing the makara
and gate
[Fig.5 Detail of a rGyal rtse sku 'bum mandala gate]
Fig.6 Amoghasiddhi and Vajrasattva in rondels, with floral
motifs
Fig.7 Detail of the Trailokyavijaya mandala showing the
Red Bhairava couple above and Mahadeva with consorts below
Fig.8. The Jvalanala mandala with Astamahadeva retinue
Fig.9 Detail of Jvalanala mandala showing Sitaganesa
Fig.10 The Vajrasattva/Vajrapani mandala with Astamahanaga
retinue
Fig.11 Detail of Vajrasattva mandala showing naga couple
Fig.12 The Vajrapani mandala with Caturmaharaja retinue
Fig.13 The dharmapala Mahakala, a protector of the
doorway
[Fig.14 A Vajrapani from the rGyal rtse sku 'bum.]
