Dublin Core
Title
The Buddha at Vajrāsana and Stūpas
Subject
Eight great events of the Buddha's life
Description
Depiction of the eight great events of the Buddha's life and their commemorative stūpas.
The central image shows the Buddha, sitting in meditation and holding his hand in the bhumisparsha mudra. On his sides are two bodhisattvas depicted. The central image is enclosed in a stūpa, with a tree behind him. The image is surrounded by seven smaller depictions of different kinds of stūpas. On the sides of the stūpas are inscriptions in chinese ans tangut on vertical bands.
The upper right stūpa besides the central image is the one showing the first sermon at Sarnath. Under this is the stūpa showing the birth at Lumbini and the next one showing the Parinirvāṇa at Kushinagar. On the other side, on the upper left, there is the stūpa showing the taming of the elephant Nalagiri at Rajgir, under it the stūpa showing the monkeys gift of honey at Vaishali and the next one displaying the descent from Tushita heaven at Sankissa. Under the central image there is a row of five stūpas with common base depicted, showing the miracle of multiplication at Shravasti. The stūpas seem to be uniform in appearance, but they have different bases. This is especially noticeable in the stūpa
at the lower left corner which represents the site of the descent from the Tushita heaven. There is a stairway running from the bottom of the dome down, painted as a red vertical band.
The central image shows the Buddha, sitting in meditation and holding his hand in the bhumisparsha mudra. On his sides are two bodhisattvas depicted. The central image is enclosed in a stūpa, with a tree behind him. The image is surrounded by seven smaller depictions of different kinds of stūpas. On the sides of the stūpas are inscriptions in chinese ans tangut on vertical bands.
The upper right stūpa besides the central image is the one showing the first sermon at Sarnath. Under this is the stūpa showing the birth at Lumbini and the next one showing the Parinirvāṇa at Kushinagar. On the other side, on the upper left, there is the stūpa showing the taming of the elephant Nalagiri at Rajgir, under it the stūpa showing the monkeys gift of honey at Vaishali and the next one displaying the descent from Tushita heaven at Sankissa. Under the central image there is a row of five stūpas with common base depicted, showing the miracle of multiplication at Shravasti. The stūpas seem to be uniform in appearance, but they have different bases. This is especially noticeable in the stūpa
at the lower left corner which represents the site of the descent from the Tushita heaven. There is a stairway running from the bottom of the dome down, painted as a red vertical band.
Source
Pakhoutoua, Elena A. Reproducing the Sacred Place: The Eight Great Events of the Buddha’s Life and their Commemorative Stupas in the Medieval Art of Tibet (10th to 13th century), diss. University of Virginia, 2009, 303.
Publisher
Elena A. Pakhoutoua
Date
12th- 13th century
Language
chinese and tangut
Type
cloth painting (thang ka)
Coverage
Khara Khoto,