MONGOLIAN COLLECTABLES

Affiliated with http://stores.ebay.com/mongoliancollectables

Home     Statues    Thankga    Gao    Ghanta     Sutras    Gallery  Payment    Shipping    About me     MP3's     Contact Me

SOLD

Most Excellent 18th Century Thangka of Golden Vaishravana and his Retinue.

”Bestowing Wealth and Dharma Protection”

This is a most excellent 18th century thangka of considerable potency and importance to the Gelugpa sect. It portrays Vaishravana astride a Snow Lion. He is an important Mongolian Buddhist protector. This deity form has two main aspects - that of a warrior protector and that of a deity of wealth. We see here a Great Golden Vaishravana dressed in armour and wearing the jewelled crown symbolic of the Five Transcendent Buddhas. He is seated upon a roaring snow lion and holds the cylindrical victory banner and the jewel-spitting mongoose - indicating the desire to distribute all wealth to the poor. His expression is one of benevolent good humour. The victory banner signifies his defeat of the demon gods (asuras). The snow lion shows that he is a great conqueror and roars "dharma truth". He has several names as a protector including that of Kuberu.

He is surmounted by an image of Tsong Khapa, founder of the Geugpa and symbolic of enlightened being, and surrounded by his retinue of Eight Warrior Kings. Their presence weaves further dimensions of dharma protection and grounded wisdom and compassion into the thangka’s symbolic composition. The mounted warriors are in this thangka presenting further wealth offerings as they each carry more mongooses onto the field - thus multiplying the composition’s spiritual potency. The painting itself is mounted in a fine blue silk brocade and the protective silk curtains are wholly intact. Altogether, this thangka is in splendid condition with no losses. The central meditational deity is rendered in a delicately balanced palette of pastel shades. The powerful silvery Snow Lion crouches upon a moon disc of transcendent wisdom. The central deity is flanked by Moon and Sun.

Mongolians believe that performing prosperity rituals to Vaishravana will increase wealth. Mongolian buddhists consider Vaishravana actions regarding wealth to be providing freedom by way of bestowing prosperity, so that one may focus on the path or spirituality rather than on the materiality and temporality of that wealth.

If you would like to see more pictures, please don't hesitate to ask and I will send you a zip file full of them.

All rights reserved.  Mongoliancollectables. 2007/2208/2009/2010