CHAPTER IV

SCULPTURE

Gautam Buddha's teachings were focussed on 'four noble

truths' and 'eightfold path'. Buddha was against rites and

rituals performed by the Brahmins. He was very much against

the idol worship.^ He asked his followers to respect the

sangha and to follow the Vinaya rules. During the life time

of the Master there was no cult object of worship among the

Buddhists. The Buddhists respected Sangha, Dharma and the

Master. When the Buddha was on his death bed, Anand asked

the Master; 'who will now guide the monk's community'? The

Buddha replied that now onwards his words should be their

guide."

During the life time of the Buddha idol worship was

strictly prohibited. After the death of the Master his

mortal remains were kept in the stupa and thus it became the

first object of worship to the Buddhist community. In the

beginning the stupa was worshipped becuase it contained the

relics of their Master. But later on the stupa became the

symbol of dharma and the essence of Buddhism. Though many

changes took place in Buddhism for many centuries but''stupa

never lost its importance. The stupa remained the central

object of worship amongst the monks and the monasteries

irrespective of their affiliation to a particular sect of

Buddhism.

During the Mauryan and the Suftga periods the Buddha's

presence was marked by some of the symbols like royal

umbrella, railed bodhi tree and an empty space kept in place

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of the Master.'^ But around the first century AD the Buddhist a

images (first Bodhisttva, then Buddha) appeared at Gandhara

and Mathura almost simultaneously.

Before the first century AD, the Bhagavata movement

had started around the Mathura region. The members of this

cult had developed the images of their gods, and they were

directly visualising the images they were going to worship.

It seems very likely that with the spread of the Bhagavata

cult, the Buddhists could not long remain unaffected. They

felt a need of a visual human symbol to whom they could pay

homage and religious worship. The urge of the people to see

the Buddha in concrete shape could no longer be satisfied

with the mere sight of symbols but soon they wanted to

visualise the Master with thirty-two major and eighty minor

radiant signs.^

There was not only external pressure on the Buddhists

due to the spread of Bhakti movement but there were internal

pressures due to the new philosophical changes which occurred

in Buddhism. An impetus for the production of a human images

of Buddha was also due to the emergence and development of

Mahayana with its changed philosophical conceptions. The

newly developed Mahayana school based its arguments on the

prajnaparamita literature, states that phenomenal world,

nirvana and enlightment are all empty in a relative sense. *

The illusary historical Buddha, who though bodhi entered

nirvana yet until his parinirvana continued to have for the

eyes of world, may consequently be represented though alive

in the illusary world. Though this is a good philosophical

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justification but it has little to do with real reasons for

the production of Buddha image.

About the beginning of the Christian era Buddhist

community, laity and monks felt the need of an

anthropomorphic representation of their lord for adoration

and worship. There already had existed a cult of tree-

spirits, water-spirits and other local divinities. The force

of traditional prohibition was very strong as Buddha himself

was against worship of idols and one could not dare to

transgress it.' It required a high personality like kings or

the entire Buddhist community.

The first anthropomorphic image of Buddha belongs to

the period of Kaniska. It can be presumed that it was due to

the order or the' initiation of Kaniska that first Buddhist

image appeared. It was all done with precautions because

they first produced the image of Bodhisattva instead of the

Buddha image so that there may be a least violation of

faith.^

The image of divinities and human beings existed

already in the third and second century BC and it is also

possible that precious metal or impermanent material figures

had been made at a earlier date.^

When an artist or group of artists first asked to

produce the images of Buddha and Bodhisattva, it was

necessary to draw upon the traditional material available

locally for the formation of an image. In or around Mathura,

greatest number of the earliest Buddha images have been

found, and the second region is Gandhara. Mathura was the

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eastern province of the Kusana empire. The Mathura stone

workers drew upon two sources. First, the experience of

making images of super-human figures, gods and royal heroes;

second, indications given by literary traditions regarding

Sakyamuni's characteristics.-^® The artists at Gandhara

produced a Buddha image emphasizing on reality. It is said

that the art of Gandhara had hellenistic influence.

Who produced the Buddha image first; Mathura artists

or the Gandharan artists? From the European standpoint the

idea of making Buddhist image to Indian mind is foreiga Greek

or Eurasian craftsmen created first image of Buddha on the

foundation of Hellenistic Apollo to Indian patrons.^^ Hair

style of Gandhara corresponds to Greek divinities and this is

themain argument maintained by Foucher.-"-"

The study and analysis of any art should be done

after general understanding of the internal development of

the art.^"^ The Gandhara Buddha have the following

characteristics. The throne generally has a lotus on it and

the figure is short and stocky. The hair are generally thick

and undulating arranged in waves gathered at the top of the

knot. The turban is represented in typical Kusana type. The

eyes are open. [/r;?a between the eye brows, often bearing

moustaches, ear lobes extended, heavy drapery with thick

folds covering both shoulders, monastic cloak touching near

feet. while sitting, feet covered, hands are in ahhaya,

dbyana and dharmacakrapravartana mudras.^^

The Mathura Buddha has been shown sitting on

simhasana, supported by lions. The hair style is different.

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Either head is shaven like a monk or spiral protuberance,

which is a lock of hair or top knot of a special shape and

not an usnisa, while in later periods head and hair are

covered with small short curls and this type later became

almost a universal rule. The halo is also absent at Mathura

but later it became Indianized. The trunk of the body is

like a lion.^^

The religious ferment and need of the image of Buddha

was quite prevalent at Mathura as has been discussed above

whereas it was absent at Gandhara. Mathura and Gandhara were

both included in the empire of Kaniska. The images of Buddha

were almost produced simultaneously at both the places. The

Mathura artists first produced the image of Buddha with

Indian elements. Thus, the first Buddhist image was produced

due to the religious ferments and need to visualise Buddha by

the Buddhists of the region and it cannot be accepted that

the Buddha image was the result of the vague caprice of an

unknown artist in Gandhara school and is of foreign origin.

So first image was produced at Mathura and there was a large

demand of images throughout the empire of Kaniska and artists

were few. We can definitely say that practically every

element essential to the iconography of Buddhas and

Bodhisattva figures appear in early Indian art before the

Buddha figure of Mathura and Gandhara is known.-^^

In the early stages Buddha image served two purposes,

first to express a stereotyped and rather static conception

of Buddhahood in transcendent scene, and secondly, to

illustrate the events in actual life of Sakyamuni on earth.

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Up to the enlightenment, Sakyamani is never depicted

in scenes. He was depicted by empty space or symbols. Since

Sakyamuni is considered as Buddha, he possessed no physical

form in which he might be suitably portrayed. Thus early

Buddhist art insists firmly upon the ineffable and

indescribable state of Buddhahood.^'

The Gandharan art was realistic. It introduced

realism into the Buddhist art while Hellenistic influence was

the motivating force. In many figures we can witness

delebrate Indianisation of Hellenistic suggestions.

In the beginning there was a great demand of Buddha

images, whereas the artists were limited. The stone statues

need a longer period to complete the image. So Gandharan

artists gave impetus to the easily worked materials like

stucco and terracotta.^° The statues with these materials

can be prepared easily with locally available material but

are perishable. Many heads of such materials has been found.

Stucco and clay statues became popular as they were assembled

with cheap material. In the Western, Himalayan region most of

the statues of several Buddhist gods and goddesses are made

of clay.

The artists who produced the first Buddhist images

were very much aware of the stories in the texts and depicted

the images accordingly. In early iconographic

experimentation, no distinction was made between Sakyamuni as

Bodhisattva and as Buddha. But later on a clear difference

was marked. Buddhas normally or strictly are represented

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with the monastic robe only. The Buddha figures (except

cosmological) do not wear crowns, whereas Bodhisattavas wear

secular or royal costumes. They have attributes in left or

right hands i.e.. Vajrapani has a Vaj'ra, Avolokitesvara a

padma and Maitreya normally holds an amrtakalasa. The

Bodhisattvas can also be recognised on the basis of the head

dress i.e. Avalokitesvara has Amitabha in the crown and stupa

in the case of Maitreya.^^

THE EVOLUTION OF THE PANTHEON

With the emergence of Mahayana doctrine many changes toolt

place in the sahgha. Sakyamuni was not considered the first

and the only Buddha but plurality of Buddhas was recognised.

In the series of Buddhas, Sakyamuni was considered the

seventh one and still there is eighth to come who would be

Maitreya. So past, present and future Buddhas are all

imagined."® Before the production of the first Buddhist

image the first seven Buddhas were represented by symbols,

like the row of seven sacred trees, or by a row of seven

stup as.

There are many Buddhist texts which present us the

lists of various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. These literary

works not only preserve various divinities of the Buddhist

pantheon but also preserve their iconographic details to a

very precise order. These include Sadhanamala,

N ispannayogavali, Manjusrimulakalpa, Sadharmapundarika,

Sarvatathagatatattva-sangraha and the Vaipulya sutras.

163

The Sadhanamala is one of the most valuable for

Buddhist iconography. It is a product of a period when

Buddhism was about to be destroyed in Bengal due to the

invasion of Ghorian Turks. It comprises of 312 sadbanas and

contains description of numerous Buddhist deities. Another

work, supplying iconographic material, is Nispannayogavali of

Mahapandita Abhyakaragupta of Vikramsila monastery (1084-

1130). This work is remarkable for the richness of

information and brevity. It contains twenty six mandalas in

twenty six chapters. All the mandalas describe innumerable

deities of the Vajrayana Buddhism. Many of the deities

described accurately here are not found anywhere in the

tantric Buddhist literature. Besides these two works there

are many other published and unpublished works like

Dharmakosa samgraha, Heruka Tantra, Hevajra Tantra,

Chandamaha^rosana Tantra, Vaj'ra Varahi Tantra, Guhyasamaja

Tantra and Advayavajra Sangraha.

In the transformation of the ideology of Mahayana

into Vajrayana, a lot of changes and many innovations of

revolutionary character were introduced into Buddhism. The

idea of sunyata was transformed into the idea of vajra. It

introduced the theory of five T^athagatas as embodiment of

five skandhas or cosmic elements and also formulated the

theory of kulas or families of the cosmological Buddhas, from

which deities emerge according to need. It introduced PrajrTa

worship. The mantras, mudras, mandalas and mystic

realisation come due to it. One of the chief topic dealt

within Vajrayana is the deity. These deities are a product of

164

psychic exercises of most subtle character, and are

visualised by the worshiper in the course of intense

meditation. "^^

After the emergence of Vajrayana the chief Buddhist

god Vajrasattva or Vajradhara was imagined. he is the sixth

Tathagata Buddha and Adi-Buddha. This lord supreme or

Vajradhara possesses the five kinds of knowledge like five

types of attributes of the lord. From these five types of

attributes proceeed five kinds of meditation and from five

kinds of meditation emanate five BuddhaS. These five Buddhas

seems to have evolved in later Buddhism with some influence

from the Saiikhya philosophy.^

The Saddharmapundrika, The Lotus of the Good Law is

one of the early Mah'ayana Sutras to have been preached by

Saky^age. In this text the resplendent Lord Sakyamuni is

mentioned by the name of Vairocana, who just means

Resplendent. The Sarvatathagatatattva-sahgraha is also one

of the first text where Vairocana appears and represents

himself as unity of all Buddhas. We find statues of

Vairocana in many monasteries under study.

The Bodhisattva Maajusri also appears in Saddharma-

pundrika, who is fully conversant with the teaching of

Buddha. In Manjusrimulakalpa , he is represented as is

Pancasikha Manjughosa. He is associated with the preaching

of Buddha first as his lieutinent and later as Bodhisattva of

wisdom.

The two other Bodhisattvas which rise to prominence

in Manjusrimulakalpa are Avalolitesvara and Vijrapani, where

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they appear to the right and left of Sakyamuni.

Avolokitesvara holds in his hand lotus and became associated

with the lineage of the 'lotus family'. Vajrapani holding

vajra in his hand became associated with the lineage of

vajra. The central lineage was simply known as that of

Tathagata. Originally, there were three families. These were

purifying three evils namely desire, wrath and stupidity. But

these were extended to five with the addition of malignity

and envy. It is interesting to notice that how original

threefold pattern typifying three evils changed to

fivehold."*^ These three Bodhisattvas are represented at

various places in Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur.

Five cosmological Buddhas represent five kinds of

knowledge, they are presiding deities over the five elements.

From these originate five families and from these families

emerge numerous deities."^

The Sarvatathagatatattva-sahgraha, is one of the

valuable books on the tantras. It represents the visual

dharma as a mandala. It has been divided into four samayas. ^

Abhi-samaya, 2. vajra-samaya, 3. dharma-samaya and 4. karma-

samya. Each samaya has six mandalas. The vajradhatu

mahamandala is the basic mandala. This mandala serves as the

prototype to the rest of the mandalas. In the main mandala

Vairocana is in the centre and other four Buddhas are the

presiding deities of four directiions. Each Buddha of four

directions has a set of four Bodhisattvas. The act of worship

is symbolysed by eight goodesses of offerings who likewise

may be associated two by two with the four directional

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Buddhas. Each family and Buddha of direction has fierce

divinity. Finally each of the family of four directions is

represented vocally by spell. So the number of divinities

comes out to be thirty-seven. ° The clay sculptures at the

'Du-khan of Tabo represent the mandala of Vairocana based on

the same text.

Due to the doctrinal changes the feminine partners

were also introduced into the Buddhist pantheon. Locana

belongs to the Aksobhaya's family so its colour is blue.

Hamaki belongs to^the Ratnasambhava's family and its colour

is yellow. Panduravasini belongs to the Amitabha's lotus

family so its colour is red and TSra belongs to

Amoghasiddhi's family so its colour is green. But Tara has

got its own cult and it has twenty-one forms presented in

many colours.

The role of feminine partners is different in

Buddhist tantras as compared to the Hindu tantras. In Hindu

tantras the female partner is sakti or energy. Whereas in the

Buddhist tantras the male partner represents the energy

elements.

The Buddhist deities are portrayed in dual aspects

one in placid and the other in wrathful. Buddhists have

many fierce divinities like, Bhairva, Samvara, Heruka, and

Hayagriva, etc. Tibetans believed in many fierced deities.

They believe that these are the defenders of the doctrine,

and the nature of their duty makes them fierce.

Many Hindu gods were also taken into Buddhism but

they were given either inferior status or the rank of the

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defenders of the doctrine. Tibetans incorporated many deities

which were considered as heretical and were forcibly

converted into the doctrine including many Bon divinities. So

the pantheon thus evolved is a complex one. °

The Tibetan Buddhist pantheon thus evolved can

broadly be classified into the following groups.

A Buddha Emanations closely associated with

S§.k.yamuni:

i. In earlier tradition only Sakyamuni was portrayed but in

later period seven Buddhas, some times twenty-fou^r, sometimes

one thousand or even infinite in number;

ii. Buddhas of past, present and future, Dipankara,

Sakyamuni and Maitreya;

iii. With Sakyamuni a set of eight usnisas are also

represented;

iv. Another set which is closely associated with

Sakyamuni is the set of eight Buddhas of medicine;

(B) Cosmological or celestial Buddhas; five Tathagates;

(C) Celestial Bodhisattvas; Maitreya, AvolokitesVara in

many forms, Vajrapani and Manjusri;

(D) Goddesses of the Buddha rank: Prad^^aparamita",

Saviouress Tara who has twenty-one forms and four goddesses

associated with cosmic Buddhas;

(E) Tutelary divinities: KSlacakra, Guhyasamaja,

Cakrasamvara, Hevajra and Mahamaya;

(F) Lamas who are considered as Buddhas and Bodhisattvas:

Padmasambhava, eighty-four Mahasiddhas, Tsonkha-pa, etc;

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— ' — _

(G) Major defenders: Varjabhairava, Hayagriva, Sridevi

and Dharmaraja;

(H> Lesser Defenders: four Lokapalas;

(I) Eight planets and many more local gods and defenders

of the doctrine, which previously belonged to the Bon, the

pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet.

BUDDHIST SCULPTURE: MATERIAL AMD TECHNIQUE

In the region under study clay, metal wood, stone and

marble statues has been found preserved in the

monasteries. Before studying and analysing sculpture,

iconography and their style we shall briefly discuss the

technique of making statues.

Clay Statues

A clay statue is made by using seven different materials like

Sula (a componant part of armature), astabandha (a kind of

glue), rajju (rope), mrta (clay). sarkar-kalka (limestone

paste), pata (cloth) and varna (colour). The human body is 9Q

believed to be made up of seven parts: asthi (bones), medas

(fat), sira (arteries and veins), mamsa (flesh and muscles),

sonita (blood), tvak (skin) and jiva (life).

The clay used for making the image consists of three

types: Jahgla (arid) anupa (damp) and misra (mixed). The

clay of all the three types is used. Preparation of clay

involves twelve steps. "^ When clay and other materials are

ready the armature of human body is prepared with seasoned

189

wooden bars using specified measurements and shapes. The

texts provide us the proportionate measurements of. the each

part of the body. After fixing the sula panj'ar (skelton), a

kind of glue or varnish (astabandha) is applied to it before

tieing it with ropes. The rice or locally available straw is

also tied to the various parts of the skelton in order to

give appropriate anatomical details to the skeleton. The

already prepared clay is applied to the various parts of the

body. The large sized statues cannot be fashioned by using

the entire clay at once, if they are meant for the permanent

purposes. In order to cast such images one has to wait until

the earlier clay layer is dried before applying the another

one. The entire clay is applied in this manner in different

layers till true anatomical details of the body are not

gained. But the heads of the images are either moulded

separately or along with the body. After the completion of

the application of the clay few coats of finest clay and

limestone pastes are applied to it. But it is again

necessary, for every succeeding layer is applied after the

previous layer is dried up completly. The coats of the

limestone paste helps in repairing the cracks that had

already developed and to prevent the appearance of new one.

The succeeding layers of this paste should contain less

amount of gum. After above process ten days rest is given to

the image and ground is prepared for colouring so as colours

could give sufficient shine to the image. The last step is

colouring.

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01

The broken statues at Gumrang in Lahaul are very

useful to study the technique used for the clay sculptures in

the region. The lotus seats for the statues, which are fixed

on the walls at Tabo are made up of very strong locally

available grass, called sipgya. The statues are fixed on the

walls with the help of two or three pegs at the shoulder, hip

and the lotus seat levels.

No stucco statue has been found in the region under

study. A few scholars, ' however have used the term 'stucco'

for the Western Himalayan clay sculptures. It seems that the

'stucco would not be an appropriate term to be used for the

clay sculptures of the Western Himalayan Buddhist

monasteries. Strictly, stucco is the substance obtained by

mixing quick lime and sand. These two ingredients are found

to have been used in various proportions but for more

strength 1:3 or 4 is the best ratio. Both these ingredients

are mixed by adding appropriate amount of water and then it

is kneaded properly with different techniques. Thus obtained

mixture is heaped and covered with some cover to retain the

moisture.

Metal Statues

Metallic sculptures are also the speciality of

Buddhists and Brahmanical temples. Many patrons were

responsible for the production of the metallic statues of

Chamba, Kulu, Simla and Kinnaur districts. The statues are

superb and artistically elegant. Many of these statues bear

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dedicatory inscriptions along its base. ^ Such statues

served tripple purpose for the donors: 1. support for

meditations, 2. accrues merit for the donors and 3. merit

generally to sentient beings. Copper, bronze, brass and

silver are used to cast such sculptures. The majority of the

metallic statues are hollow with a modelled clay core, while

smaller statues are usually solid.

Metallic sculptures or art works were commissioned by

monks and their associate craftsmen. The first step in

producing such a statue is usually to model a clay core. The

next step is to form the wax model over the clay. Then metal

replaces the wax. This method is known as the lost wax

casting process. There is another process which is more

recent called sand casting process.

In the lost wax casting process, an iron armature of

the desired statue is formed. On the armature clay model

code is formed. On the clay core layers of wax are laid

which are to be displaced by the metal. Wax layers are again

covered by the outer layers of clay mould. After drying it

in the sun it is heated to melt the wax, which is replaced by

the desired metal. In sand casting process a mixture of sand

and molasses is heated to make sand sticker. After heating

mixture is kneaded. Fine clay and molasses are again added

to this mixture and again kneaded. This mixture is used to

make the impression of wax model.

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Wooden Statues

The viood is quite scarce in the region but we have found

wooden statues in various monasteries. The wooden statues

preserved in the monasteries of Tsarang and Ropa are

important from iconographic and stylistic point of view. At

Pooh there are two human size wooden statues. The wood

selected for carving the statues should be seasoned and free

from insects. The wood of deodar (cedar) and walnut had been

the first choice of the craftsmen.- The statues are carved in

the wood with the help of small iron tools with great care.

Certain statues have been polychromed.

Stone Statues

Only few stone sculptures have been found preserved in the

Western Himalayan monasteries. The stone statue of

Manjughosa at Tabo is one of the beautiful examples of the

stone statues found in the region. The good quality sandstone

required for the stone statues is not easily available in the

area under study. So the use of stone for making sculptures

is very limited. But the stone bases of some pillars in some

chaples at Tabo are beautifully chiselled by the stone

carvers.

Marble Statues

A few marble statues have been found housed in the

monasteries of the region. Apart from the famous

Avalokitesvara head from Guru Ghantal monastery and

Avalokitesvara statue from Triloknath in Lahaul, places such

173

as Somang and Chitkul have housed marble statues. The marble

is not found in Himachal Pradesh so the nearest source

possibly was Rajasthan. The statues of marble seem to have

been sculptured outside Himachal Pradesh.

After discussing the varieties and methods of

sculptural productions we would like to analyse individual

sculptural collections in each Iha-khan surveyed in this

study. The monastic establishments are arranged valley wise

and chronologically, however there are some later monasteries

which possess metal sculptures of the earlier periods,

whereas the sculptures of later period are fairly common in

all the monasteries. The collection of each monastery where

there are more than one variety of sculpture, is arranged in

the following manner: clay, metal, wood, stone and marble.

(A) MONASTERIES OF THE SPITI AND PIH VALLE^iS

Tabo Monastery

Clay sculpture

There are forty-three clay sculptures in the gTsug-

lag - khan and a huge statue of Maitreya in the Byams- pa'i

Iha-khan. The clay sculptures in the gTsug- lag khan can be

divided into three groups: (i) three sculptures in the sGo-

khah, (ii) thirty-five in the 'Du-khan, and (iii) five clay

sculptures in the Dri-gtsan-khari.

Three clay sculptures are presently found in the

ante-chamber (Skt. mukha-mandapa, Tib. sGo-khan) of

gTsug-lag-khart at Tabo. Two are the guardian dieties placed

on the either side of the door leading to the assembly hall.

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They stand on mud platform and are cantilevered into the

walls with the help of wooden studs. On the left side is

blue-coloured Vajrapani (ht. 168 cm). Whereas the deities on ft

the right side seems to have been remade (ht. 154 cm). A

clay statue of Ganesa has been placed near the pedestal of

Vajrapani. Its height is c.67 cm. The earlier photograph of

the sanctum taken by A.H. Francke in 1909 shows that Ganesa

was placed near the four-bodied statue of Vairocana in the

'Du-khan.

The assembly hall of the gTsug-lag-khan has a set of

thirty-three clay sculptures. The principal deity of this

set is four-bodied Sarvavid Vairocana (rNam-par snan-mdzad)

on the floor of the hall at the western €nd facing all the

four directions in bodhyahgi mudra (PI. IX). The rest of the

thirty two statues are cantilevered on the walls with the

help of wooden sstuds. Six deities have been cantilevered in

the east wall (three on either side of the entrance), ten

each on the north and south walls, four on the west wall (two

on either side) and one each on the two terminuses of the

west wall on the way to the garbhagrha. These statues are

painted in different colours, and shown in different moods.

Eight of them are offering goddesses and four are guardian

deities, one each on the either side of the door in the east

wall and one each on the terminus in the west wall. Out of

the ten statues each on the north and south walls two each

are cosmic Buddhas. These are a bit of larger size than the

rest of the statues. Rest sixteen statues, eight each on the

north and south walls are Bodhisattvas.

175

P I . I X C l a y - f - v ta tue of

V a i r - o c:: TI n r: , g "1" ir, u g - 1 i i g - 1 - : h a n , T a b D

y-' .1 ™ A '- ;::! j r s d h'U [::- a ^

o T s u q - i a g - k hian ^ T a b o

The scheme of the clay statues of Tabo's gTsug-lag-

khan correspond to the deities mentioned in Vajradhatu

mahamandala of Sarvatathagatatattvasangraha. Instead of

thirty seven deities of the mandala at Tabo we find the set

of only thirty-three deities. The missing deities are the

four main goddesses associated with Vairocana (i.e.

Sattvavajri, Ratnavajri, Dharmavajrl and Karmavajri). A few

scholars have argued that these statues are re-made on the

model of the originals, " and the statues of the four

goddesses could not be adjusted, and thus the number is

reduced to thirty-three. This hypothetical argument does not

sound well because of the technical reasons for readjusting

all these clay statues on the walls. Another argument put

forward by scholars that the garbhagrha was a later addition

and in order to add an opening in the west wall was created

and the four statues could not be adjusted and they were

removed from the mandala . Such an argument is also equally

misleading. " ^ The only possibility is that either four

goddesses were represented by symbols or small statues placed

on the four corners of the pedestal of the Vairocana.

The Vairocana (ht.l25 cm.), who is the presiding

deity in this mandala has been shown in sitting position on

the lotus pedestal in four bodies facing the four directions.

The height of the lotus throne is 138 cm.

The four family heads of the Vajradhatu mandala along

with their families are: Aksobhya, Ratnasambhava,

Lokesvararaja (Amitabha) and Amoghasiddhi. Two each have been

176

shown on the western and northern walls. The pattern of the

crown and aura of these four Tathagatas is also different

from the other deities. In the halo of the four family heads

first there is colour band of three strings then a band of

pearls and after it a row of vajras and two flames emanate

from each vajra.

The two guardians of the directions have been

cantilevered at the both sides of the entrance door to the

assembly hall (Vajrahkusa on the southern side and Vajravesa

on the northern side) and rest two on the terminuses of west

wall of the hall (Vajrapasa on the southern side and

Vajrasphota on the northern side). The eight goddesses of

offerings have been cantilevered two each at the northern and

southern ends of the east and west walls (PI. X). The four

sets of sixteen Bodhisattvas are displayed, two on the each

side of the respective heads of the families.

The height and width of all the deities on the wall

starting from the left hand side of the door in the clockwise

direction is as follows:

TABLE 1

Data on c lay s c u l p t u r e s , gTsug-lag-khaii , Tabo.

Sr.No. name wall colour height width

1. Vajran ku^a east 2. Vajradhupa east 3. Vajralasya east 4. Vajrasattva south 5. Vajraraja south 6. Aksobhya south 7. Vajraraga south 8. Vajrasadhu south 9. Vajraratna south 10. Vajratejah south 11. Ratnasambhava south

blue 112 cm 115 cm white 110 cm 63 cm white 105 cm 55 cm white 125 cm 62 cm

122 cm 67 cm 132 cm 74 cm 117 cm 61 cm 123 cm 64 cm 122 cm 62 cm 117 cm 56 cm 125 cm 70 cm

177

south 124 cm 66 cm south 120 cm 62 cm west 115 cm 61 cm west 110 cm 56 cm west 105 cm -

west 104 cm -

west 110 cm 62 cm west 116 cm 66 cm north 126 cm 64 cm north 130 cm 69 cm north 128 cm 64 cm north 120 cm 64 cm north 125 cm 69 cm north 118 cm 65 cm north 125 cm 65 cm north 135 cm 57 cm north 120 cm 70 cm east 130 cm 66 cm east 118 cm 62 cm east 118 cm 61 cm east 114 cm -

on the floor 125 cm -

12. Vajraketu 13. Vajrahasa 14. Vajramala 15. Vajrapuspa 16. Vajrapasa 17. Vajrasphota 18. Vajraloka 19. Vajragita 20. Vajradharma 21. VajratTksana 22. Lokes'vararSja 23. Vajrahetu 24. Vajrabh"3sa 25. Vajrakarma 26. Vajraraksa 27. Amoghasiddhi 28. Vajrayaksa 29. Vajrasandhi 30. Vajranrtya 31. Vajragandha 32. Vajrave^a 33. Vairocona

On the wooden altar are placed two statues of Rin-

chen bzafi po. They seem to have been placed in the monastery

after his death. Two standing statues of Akasagarbha and

Ksitigarbha are placed in front of the two guardian deities

at the terminus of the west wall of the raandapa. The height

of Akasagarbha without throne is 192 cm and the height of

throne is 29 cm the total height including throne is 221 cm.

The height of Ksitigarbha without throne is 206 cm. and that

of throne is 23 cm thus the total comes to 229 cm.

The sanctum of Tsug-lag-khah has Amifabha as the presiding

deity. He is shown sitting cross-legged in dhyanasana on a

throne supported by lions. The height of Amifabha is 156 cm

and the height of throne is 180 cm Amitabha is painted in its

usual red colour. Along the two walls of the sanctum are

standing Padmapani Avalokitesvara (ht. 214 cm) and

MahasthStoprapta (ht 213 cm). They belong to the family of

178

Amitabha.

Amitabha in the sanctum has been represented

according to the description given in the Sukhavativyuha-

sutra. However, a few scholars"^' have doubted this

identification for the reasons that Amitabha is usually shown

seated on peacocks, but in this case, he is represented as

the universal monarch, thus lions substituted for peacocks.

The presiding deity of the thirty-three deity

Vaj'radhatu-manc^ala, the four-bodied Vairocana has been

depicted in white colour facing four directions. Each body is

wearing a pointed crown. From the ends of the crown two

ribbons has been shown falling on the shoulders of the deity.

The deity has been shown wearing karnaphula, armlets, mekhla

and dhoti. The colour and pattern of the ornaments and

costumes varies slightly with each body. The gesture of the

hands of each body has also slight variations. Both the hands

are held near the chest. This seems to depict the bodhyangi-

mudra, "^^ the mudra of foremost knowledge.

The four Buddhas of the mandala, blue coloured

Aksobhya on the south wall has been shown in bhumisparsa-

mudra, yellow-coloured Ratnasambhava on the same wall has

been depicted in varada-mudra. The red-coloured Lokesvararaoa

is in dhyana-mudra and green coloured Amoghasiddhi in abhaya-

mudra have been studded in the north wall of the mantjapa.

The colour and pattern of the dhoti of each Buddha varies.

Below the seats of the Buddhas are shown their vehicles.

These are: white elephants in the case of Aksobhya, horse,

below Ratnasambhava, peacocks below Lokesvararaja and red-

179

coloured fabulous bird Garuda below the seat of Amoghasiddhi.

In the sanctum of the temple of Byams pa'i Iha-khafi a

huge statue of Maitreya almost touching the ceiling of the

chapel has been enshrined. The height of this statue is o.

550 cm. He is shown sitting in his traditional posture with

his two legs pendant resting on the lotus-cushion and his two

hands are in dharmacakrapravartana-mudra. The statue has

suffered some damage during the earthquake of 1975. The

statue has been re-touched several - times but we know from the

inscr;iption preserved in the dKyil-khan that the temple

dedicated to Maitreya (Byams-pa) was present from the very

beginning.

Stone sculpture

The statue of Manjughosa is the only stone sculpture

preserved in the monastery (though pillar-bases in the gTsug-

lag-khan, Byam-pa'i Iha-khan and the 'Brom-ston Iha-khafi

chuh-ba have the carvings of the elephants and lions). The

right arm of the statue of Manjughosa is broken and left is

holding a book at the chest. The deity is shown sitting

cross-legged on a stone throne. The statue has been placed in

the sanctum on a mud altar near the statue of Avalokite^vara

(PI. XI).

Lo-tsa-ba Iha-khah, Hako

Clay sculptures

At Hako we noticed clay sculptures in three temples.

The two temples are in the Lo-tsa-ba'i Iha-khah monastic

180

P I . XI A BtiiHif- s t , : v tu i? o-f F1 . X n

Fr:M..ir"-'f-ie icltM..I I a y sii. l.: i-y t u t? c:) f V a .i, i'- o r: a n a „ q S c? r" -- k h a

complex and the other is Padmasambhava temple. There are six

clay statues cantilevered on the walls of the Lo-tsa-ba'i

Iha-khan and few other on a platform erected on the floor of

the hall. The gTsug-lag-khan has nine statues.

Six clay statues are fixed on to the walls of Lo-tsli-

ba'i Iha-khah, however, for other are placed on a platform in

front of the sanctum, five clay statues have been fixed on

the western, northern and eastern walls of the sanctum. These

statues belong to the family of TathS'gatas or five Buddhas

representing Vairocana, Ratnasambhava, Amoghasiddhi, Amifabha

and Aksobhya. They are fixed on the walls roughly at the

height of 230 cm from the floor. The central statues is that

of Vairocana (rNam-par snah-mdzad) white in colour sitting

_ o n

c r o s s - l e g g e d (padmasana) and hands a r e in bodhyangi-mudra^

His v e h i c l e s , t h e p a i r of l i o n s i s s u r v i v i n g below h i s s e a t ,

w h e r e a s t h e v a h a n a s of t h e fou r o t h e r T a t h a g a t a s a r e l o s t .

The l o t u s t h r o n e of V a i r o c a n a i s 70 cm wide and h e i g h t of t h e

s t a t u e i s 123 cm. The d e i t y i s w e a r i n g a f i v e - p o i n t e d crown.

Our u n d e r s t a n d i n g of c l a y s c u l p t u r e s from Nako becomes

c l e a r e r from t h e f o l l o w i n g t a b l e :

TABLE 2

Da ta on c l a y s c u l p t u r e s in L o - t s a - b a ' i I h a - k h a n Nako, Kinnaur

Sr.No. name location wall mudra height width

1. Vairocana sanctum central bhodhyangi 123 cm 70 cm 2. Ratnasambhava -do- -do- varada 12SS cm 70 cm 3. Amitabha -do- -do- dhyana 120 cm 70 cm 4. Amoghasiddhi -do- le f t abhaya 108 cm 62 cm 5. Aksobhya -do- r ight bhumispar^a 120 cm 70 cm 6. Prajfiaparamita mandapa central vyakhyaha 114 cm 65 cm

lef t

181

The crown of Vairocana is different from the type of

crowns seen at Tabo's gTsug-lag-khan. ^ Above the head of the

Vairocana there is a beautiful Garuda and makara frame. This

decorative motif was quite popular among the artists in the

l/Jestern Himalaya. This motif seems to be the substitute for

the stylized lion-head (kirtti-makha) motif •'•, but has been

partly modified in Tibet according to their religious and

artistic traditions. This type of the decorative motif is

found in many temples which are dedicated to the Rin-chen

bsari-po. This particular motif has been used thrice at Naka.

To the right of Vairocana is Ratnasambhava (Rin-chen

'byun-ldan) and on the left Amitabha ('Od-dpag-med).

Ratnasambhava has been painted in yellow colour and his right

hand is in vai-ada-madra. Whereas Amitabha is shown in red

colour and hands in dhyana-madra. On the southern and

northern walls of the sanctum there are fixed Amoghasiddhi

(ht. 120 cm) and Aksobhya (ht. 120 cm). Amoghasiddhi is

painted in green colour and is shown in abhaya-madra.

Aksobhya has been painted in blue colour and his hands are in

bhumisparsa-mudra. Thus the five Tathagatas are cantilevered

on the walls of the sanctum which itself is a mandapa showing

the supreme pentads.

There is another statue on the western wall of the

mandapa of the same temple on the southern side. Its height

is 114 cm and width 65 cm. It is painted in yellow colour

and hands are in vyakhyana-mudra. This statue has been

erroneously identified as Ratnasambhava by A.H. Francke.^*^ It

represents Prajnaparamita. It has similar motif above its

182

head as of Vairocana. This statue resembles in styles that

of five Tathagatas and belongs to the same period.

We can see from the Table 2 that width of four

statues is 70 cm each, whereas that of Amoghasiddhi is 62 cm.

The height of three statues is 120 cm each whereas that of

Vairocana and Amoghasiddhi is 123 cm and 108 cm respectively.

The crowns of five statues of TathSgatas have triple crecent

and lotus seats have also single petals in contrast to that

of double at Tabo. The halo painted on the walls behind the

statues is also different as compared to Tabo. Thus we see

a major deviations between the styles of the statues of Hako

and Tabo. All temples which are popularly known as the Lo-

tsa-ba's Iha-khan were constructed after his death.

In front of the sanctum on a platform there are few

small and larger clay statues. But these do not seem to

belong to the original foundation of the temple. From left

to right some of them can be identified as a Padmasambhava,

statue of a lama, two stupas, green Tara and Padmasambhava.

The chapel no. 3 is the gTsug-lag khan which has been

called Iha-khaft gon-ma by A.H. Francke but Tucci has used

gTsug-lag-khah. It has also nine statues cantilevered on the

central wall. The central figure is that of yellow TSra

(sGrol-gser) with the decorative frame of Garuda, makara and

elephants. Yellow Tara occupies the central position on the

wall. On the both sides of Tara are the statue of eight

medicine Buddhas (sMan-bla; Skt. Bhaisajyaguru) four on each

side of Tara. These medicine Buddhas are frequently

represented on the walls of the Western Himalayan temples.

183

The art and style of these statues is inferior as compared to

those in the Lo-tsa-ba'i Iha-khart's statues. There is much

possibility that these statues have been remade and

retouched. The traces of alteration and renovations are

clearly discernible. The precise identification of eight

medicine Buddhas is attempted Below:-

Four medicine Buddhas on the left side represent:

1. mTsan-legs-yons-grags-dpal

2. sGra-bdyans rgyal-po

3. mNon-mkhyen rgyal-po

4. Chos-sgrags rgyal-mtsho'i dbyans

On the right side are:-

1. Mya-nan med mchog-dpal

2. gSer-bzaii dri-med

3. sMan-gyi-bla vaidurya-'od

4. Sakya thub-pa

The identification offered earlier by Tucci does not

correspond with the one suggested by us. *

The depiction of central figure of Tara among the

medicine Buddhas is confusing. Tucci righty observed that

central figure of Tara would lead us to suppose series of

secondary divinities or subsidary manifestations of the

medicine Buddha's would seem to indicate Amitayus as the

central deity or Sakyamuni .'*

This small shrine now totally in a state of neglect,

enshrines a clay statue of Padmasambhava (called by the

locals as the Guru Rin-po-che). The clay statue and the

temple both need to be repaired immediately. Various murals

184

on the walls have suffered an irrepairable damage.

gSer-khah, Lha-Lung, Spiti

Clay sculpture

gSer-khan at Lha-lung preserves numerous clay

sculptures in the main temple as well as a later added bsTan-

'gyur room constructed in front of the main temple. The four

walls of the gSer-khan are dominated by the clay images fixed

to the walls with cantilevered timber studs. Here in this

temple three different mandalas are depicted on three

different walls. The central wall shows the mandala of

Sakyamuni surrounded by four other deities. Exact

identification of each deity around Sakyanmuni however

remains inconclusive but in the upper row there are two

goddesses at farther corners. Below SSkmuni are depicted

eight Buddhas. At the tomost section appear two seated

deities: Vajrasattva at the right side and Avalokitesvara on

the left in an architectural frame canopied by an aaalaka and

a kalasa. The different parts of these architectural frames

are decorated by wooden bobbins, which is one of the peculiar

feature of the Western Himalayan wooden architecture. The

one of the designs of these architectural frames around

Vajrasattva makes a half plan of a n'Sgara temple where as the

inner design of the other is finished like a trefoliated

gable.^^ Two small rectangular wooden frames on either side

of the each deity enshrines winged horses and two females.

Each deity of the mandala is encircled by a patralata.

185

The right hand side wall (south wall) shows the

mandala of Prajfiaparamita. The yellowish figure of

PraJ3."Sparainita is shown in vajraprayanka-mudra. Two hands

of the deity are in dharmacakra-mudrli. Her lotus throne is

supported by a pair of elephants. Four deities are arranged

on either side of PrajnapSramita. Out of them four are males

and four female. °

The largest number of sixteen deities arranged in two

rows are cantilevered on the north wall around the four-

headed statue of Vairocana (PI. XII). Immediately, on the

either side of the Vairocana appears Aksobhya and

Ratnasambhava on the left side and Amifabha and Amoghasiddhi

on right. The artist has succeeded in depicting four heads

of Vairocana on the wall. However, four bodies of Vairocana

shown in seated positions are represented in another temple

at Lha-lung and Tabo. Four heads, one above the other are

also depicted at Gumrang. But here four heads are shown in

four directions on the wall. The lotus throne is supported

by a bharaputra on his two hands and two lion statues are

shown on his either side. The Vairocana's eight hand shows

different mudras.' Here two hands, one raised at the level

of chest by pressing thumb with a finger whereas the another

hand's middle finger touches the thumb slightly below it. It

is not a b^odhyangl-mudra in strict sense. All sculptures

are beautifully adorned with jewellery and dhotis are

decorated with intricate design as seen in the sculpture of

the Vajradhatu mandala at Tabo. J *

186

The entrance wall has two Dharmapalas, Vajrapani in

the left side and Hayagriva on the right side. Vaorapani

stretches out his right arm but the vaj'ra is missing in it.

He has three eyes and his multipetai crown is beautifully

adorned. On his left side is 53 line Tibetan inscription.

The red statue of Hayagriva is easily identifiable by the

green horse head on the crown (PI. XIII). He wears a five

skull crown. They are depicted here as the protectors of the

monastery.

Dankhar Monastery, Spiti

Dankhar was the ancient capital of Spiti principality, is

situated on the left side of Spiti river on a strategic hill

top. The chapels are located on a sloping land one above the

other on both sides of the bridle path. Thre are six chapels

in the old complex. Of them five are located at a lower

place and the sixth is located at a higher place.

Monastery perhaps belongs to the post fifteenth

century. The five chapels of the complex are: 1. 'Du-khan,

2. mGon-khan, 3. Gyun-khan, 4. gzhim-chun chun-ba and 5.

gZhin-chuA. The sixth chapel is sNag chan. These chapels

have clay and metal statues. The clay statues are of Sakya

Pandita, Maitreya and Sakyamuni Buddha whereas metallic

statues include Sakyamuni, Vajradhara, Maitreya, rJe Rin-po-

che, Tson-kha-pa and Guru Rin-po-che (Padmasambhava).

There is another newly constructed monastery^" at

Dankhar on the opposite side of the complex across the

Nallah.

187

p \ . X i y X Pi SV.aridiiic.) v.: 1. ay ' - t a t u e o f HrT-c/aQr a v a ., gSt~'r-kh<.sn , l..ha--luipQ

P I . XI'v C i a y 5--tatLies o f AvaAok i tF?Bvar£i ^ B a k y a m u n i and Padmasai r ib f iava , Kur tgr i d q o n - p a , L a h a n i - S p i t i .

Ki Honastery

Ki is one of the important monasteries of dGe-lugs-pa sect in

the region on a old trade route. It is located on a

strategic height on a furrow of a hill. ^ This monastery

remained a centre of the political and military activities

during the hey days. Most of the statues in the main temple

at the top of the spur seem to be of very late period. The

monks did not allow us to examine the oldest chapel. Thus

the sculptural collection of Ki monastery remains yet to the

analysed.

The Kungri dgon-pa. Pin valley

The Pin valley is one of the most beautiful valleys of

Himachal Pradesh. Being devoid of vegetation, the valley's

beauty and grandeur are excellent. The Kungri dgon-pa

belongs to the rNin-ma-pa sect of Buddhism. This sect traces

its origin to the great Indian tantric master Padmasambhava,

as pointed out earlier in chapter II.

There are six huge clay sculptures, both in seated

and standing positions against the central wall of the

sanctum. Those on the left hand side can be identified from

left to right as four-armed white Avalokitesvara, Sakyamuni

and Padmasambhava (PI. XIV). This is a monastery dedicated

to the rNin-ma-pa sect but Padmasambhava, as usually appears

in the right hand side, a kind of arrangement seen at Namgya.

The five pointed crown of Avalokitesvara is quite

fascinating. Such types of crowns emerged during the

188

sixteenth-seventeenth century, highly influenced by the

Nepalese idioms. Sakyamuni holds his bowl in the lap. The

folds of the sanghati over the shoulders look quite

impressive. The statue of Padmasambhava is equally

impressive.

Three scultupres on the right hand side represent

Manjusri, Padmasambhava in yab-yum and Vajrasattva. The

crown of Manjus ri resembles that a Avalokitesvara and thus

must be of the same period. The central image is most

impressive. The local Buddhist community identifies it as the

Tantric form of Padmasambhava in yab-yum. This seems to be a

correct identification for the reasons that the male deity

holds a skull-staff in one of his hands. Vajrasattva is

shown seated on a raised lotus pedestal. He hods vajra in

his right hand against his chest, and a bell rested on the

left side. All clay, sculptures are impressive and can be

dated to the sixteenth-seventeenth century. There is a

definite influence of the Nepalese idiom on these sculptures.

Another chapel in this complex which has been built

about 50 years back houses statues of Sakyamuni,

Padmasambhava, Vajraplni and a small statue of Marijusri.

These statues have been made by the artists from Leo, Giu and

Sunam villages.^^ Statues are silver and gold plated.

rUih-na-pa Monasteries of Chango

There are at least four monasteries at Change. We could

record the sculptural wealth of only two monasteries.

Lhamo'i Lha-khan is situated in the centre of the village on

189

a huge boulder. This monastery houses three clay sculptures

of lamas or ordained monks. Each one is 72 cm high. There

is a small statue of stone in this monastery. This statue is

of Avalokite^vara.

Another monastery across the stream is situated on a

hillside. This monastery was damaged in the earthquake of

1975 and all the clay sculptures of the old monastery were

destroyed. The remains of the old monastery included the two

metal statues placed in front of the clay statue of

Padmasambhava. The monastery's other clay statues of

Sakyamuni, Padmasambhava and others are of recent origin.

Among the metal statues include those of TSra, Vajrapani and

Sa-chen Kun-dga' snih-po.

rNin-na-po nonastery of Leo

The rNin-ma-po monastery at Leo has in its collection clay

and metal sculptures (PI. XV>.

Clay Sculpture

Three main clay sculptures preserved in the monastery

are those of Padmasambhava, Sakyamuni and a Thousand - armed

Avalokitesvara. Sakyamuni is shown sitting on a lotus

throne, and painted in the yellow colour. He is wearing the

monastic robe. The left hand of the deity is in the lap

having a begging bowl, and right hand is in bhWmisparsa-mudra

(earth touching gesture). The statue of padmasambhava is

placed on the left side of Sakyamuni. He is holding a vajra

in his right hand and a bowl in the left. The most

interesting of all the clay statues is that of the standing

190

F" 1 . XV T h e r h-lin- ma p a m o n a s tc^r y ^ l . , eo , K i, r i n r-t i. 11"

Pi

Avalokitesvara, painted in white colour, having eleven heads

and one thousand arms, (sPyan-ras-gzigs Phyag-sTon). Out of

eleven heads four are painted in red colour, three in white,

three in green and one in blue colour. The folds of

Avalokitesvara's dhoti are quite fascinating and the folds

look like those seen on the lower garments of clay statues at

Tabo.

The outermost section of the aureole is decorated

with several symbols showing conch shell, rosettees and

leaves. The folds of the scarf on either side of the

shoulders remind us of similar designs seen in the wooden

sculptures of Tsarang. Could this be an art piece of the

twelfth-thirteenth century AD? The statue of Buddha

Sakyamuni and Padmsambhava are of recent period.

Metal sculpture

The monastery also preserves a few metallic

sculptures and a prayer wheel. The most prolific among the

metallic images include the brass statue of Padmaasmabhava.

On the copper sheet of prayer wheel there are beautiful

carvings. The figures and motifs carved on it makes it a

master piece. The delicate work shows the skill of

craftsmanship of the artist who had carved it. In the Sutlej

valley there are a few artists who are quite skilled in metal

and wood work. In a separate room has been kept a huge

prayer wheel showing beautiful images of gods and goddesses

of the Buddhist pantheon. A few of the deities are shown

dancing along with the musical instruments (PI. XVI).

191

Tengyud Monastery, Spiti

The Sa-skya-pa monastery is situated at the highest elevation

in the Spiti valley. There are two monasteries at Tengyud.

The new monastery is only about 20 years old. About 70 lamas

belonging to Sa-skya-pa sect are residing here. The daily

prayers are now being done in this complex. The old

monastery which faces south enshrines the clay statues of

Sakya-thub-pa and Hah'akala. All the three statues of

Mahakala have been covered with the clothes so their

iconographic features could not be studied thoroughly.

(B) MONASTERIES OF THE SUTLEJ VALLEY

The Lo-tsa-ba Iha-khan, Ropa

The architectural plan of this monastery clearly suggests

that his monastery was constructed during the life time of

Rin-chen bzah-po. It is one of the twenty-one establishments

mentioned in the biographies of Rin-chen bzaft-po. ^ Numerous

clay and wooden sculptures have been noticed by us in the

sanctum and mandapa of this monastery. • •

Clay sculpture

Eight clay sculptures belong to the temple proper

which are enshrined in the sanctum and the mandapa of the

temple. Those placed on the sanctum include Vairocana (ht.

145 cm) in dhySna-mudra. On his either side are Aksobhya (ht.

130 cm) and Amitabha (ht. 124 cm). On the right of Aksobhya

192

is Ratnasambhava (ht, 132 cm) and on the left of Amitabha is

Amoghasiddhi (ht. 132 cm). Two Bodhisattvas both in

lalitasana are shown on the lotus thrones at the entry point

to the sanctum. Vajrapani (ht. 155 cm) and Hayagriva (ht.

180 cm) are shown on the left and right side of the entrance.

The arrangement of the five Tathagatas corresponds to the one

shown at Tabo and Tsarang respectively but we do not find

depiction of their families. Two variations occur in the

iconography of Vairocana and Amoghasiddhi. Amoghasiddhi

(green in colour) is depicted here in bhumisparsa-madra

instead of abhaya-mudra and Vairocana has been depicted in

dhyana-mudra as shown in a mural painting in gSer-khan (north

wall) and dKyil-khah (western wall) at Tabo. Two clay

statues placed at the entrance of the Lo-tsa-ba'i Iha-khah at

Ropa possibly represent Maitreya and Manjusri.*^^

Five clay sculptures are placed on a altar in the

mandapa of the temple (PI. XVII ). Some of them are of later

period. they represent.

1. Buddha, 29 cm by 20 cm yellow in colour.

2. Vajrasattva, 35 cm by 23 cm white in colour.

3. Usnisavijaya, 51:5 cm by 30 cm yellow in colour (one

right arm broken).

4. Amitabha, 47 cm by 28 cm red in colour and

5. One small statue measuring 31.5 cm by 22 cm remains

unidentified.

A huge statue of Padmasambhava accompained by his two

wives is shown seated on a lotus throne at the mukha-mandapa

of the temple. This is one of the most impressive statues of

193

P^- X V I I C l a y a n d wooden s r u l p t u r e ^ on ciin a l t ^ i r , , L o - t s a * b a J i, i h a -1-; h a f), i-" ; (.5 p a ,, K i f i n c: (.\ r

F'l . X 'v 'J I I V a j ra^?.a t t v a , p o l y c |-jrofiie wood ^ Ropa

Padmasambhava seen by us in western Himalaya but it belongs

to a much later period.

Mooden statues

Five wooden statues (ht. 170 cm each) have been

noticed by us at Ropa. Two standing Bodhisattvas Padmapani

Avalokitesvara and Vajrasattva of polychrome wood are placed

on the lotus thrones on the left and right side of the

mandapa. Vajrasattva holds a vajra in right hand at the

chest and the left hand rests at the hip and holds a bell

(PI. XVIII>. He wears a long vanamala slung over his

shoulder. He is fully adorned with ear-rings, armlets and

wristlets. He wears a triple-pointed crown and Aksobhya is

also shown in his crown. On the opposite side appears

Padmapani Avalokitesvara, who holds the branch of a full

blossomed lotus flower which rests on his left foot. His

right hand is in varada-mudra. His triple pointed crown also

shows an e-ffigy of Buddha in the central part.

Four wooden statues are mixed up with the five clay

statues in the mandapa. They are also made up of polychrome

wood representing Vajadharma (a form of Avolokitesvara)

measuring 84 cm by 41.5 cm. He holds the lotus flower

against the chest in the right hand and with the left hand

touching the blossomed flower. According to SadhanamSlsr^ he

should ride on peacock but here he is shown on lotus flower.

The second statue is seated in the lalitasana with the left

leg pendant. He rides a peacock. The entire statue is

painted blue but a part of the stomach between the chest a.nd

194

mekhala is yellow. An exact identification of the statue

poses a problem. In the right.hand he holds a mala and with

the left which rests on the knee of the pendant leg, he holds

a noose (pasa) or snake, could this represent Vajrapani as a

spell deity, the protecter against snake bites.^ The third

statue is of Usnisavijaya. She is shown in standing position

with three heads and six arms. She holds a visvavaj'ra and an

arrow in the two upper arms whereas one of the lower right

hand is in varada-mudra. In left hands she holds a flower, a

pot and a bow. Five figures are carved on its pedestal. Two

figures are shown on its either side which may represent

Avalokitesvara and Vajrapani. The fourth statue is that of

Avalokitesvara seated on a raised cushion in latifasana. The

six armed statue is finest example of the wood carving

traditions of Western Himalaya. Similar statue of marble

has been noticed at Triloknath (Tunde). In one of the right

hands he has a mala and the other is in varada-mudra what he

holds in the third hand is not clear. He holds in the left

hands a lotus flower, snake and kalasa. All these attributes

are noticed at the Avalokitesvara image at Triloknatha. What

is interesting to note that the crisscross designs below its

cushion are also repeated below the seat of Vajrapani. The

effigy of Amitabha is clearly seen in the crown.

Dharmavajra, VajrapSni and Usnisavijaya have triple pointed

crowns. 'These wooden statues are of slightly later period

than the two discussed earlier. But their date cannot be

pushed to the twelfth century.

195

With the exception of a few clay sculptures,

Usnisavijaya, Sakyamani and Vajrasattva all clay and wooden

statues belong to the eleventh century artistic mileau. We do

not think that any one of them can be predated to the

foundation of the monastery.

The Rang-rig-rtse dgon-pa, Tsarang

The monastery as pointed out earlier was constructed by Rin-

chen bzan-po^^ sometimes in the first half of the eleventh

century.

The monastery has in its collection beautiful clay

and wooden sculptures and many of them belong to the

foundation of the monastery.

Clay sculptures

There are many clay sculptures studded on the four

walls of the sanctum. The central statue of Vairocana along

with kulas (families) of Aksobhya and Amitabha

(Lokesvararaja) are fully preserved. The families of

Amoghasiddhi (right wall) and Ratnasambhava (left wall) are

disturbed, possibly by an avalanche. Two clay goddesses

survive on the right and left walls. Actually there should

have been four goddesses of the inner circle of the

Vajradhatumandala. The scheme conceived at Tsarang is one

earlier used most efficiently at Tabo. It is not very clear

whether all the thirty-seven deities were depicted at Tsarang

but, what seems likely is that the five Tathagatas and their

196

TABLE 3

Measurement data of wooden sculptures, Rang-rig-rtse dgon-pa Tsarang.

sr.no. name

1. Dharmavajra

2. Maitreya 3. Mafiju^ri 4 . Vajrasattva 5. ^SQcyaitaini 6. Sakyamuni

height width colour material Remarks

87 cm 30 cm bluish Polychrome Stylized vajra wood

67 cm 31 cm brownish -do-86 cm 36 cm reddish -do-59.2 cm 31 cm red -do-52 cm 22 cm yellowish -do-71 cm 37.5 cm light blue -do-

Tara 58.5 cm 28 cm 8. Avalokitesvara 95 cm 40 cm light

whitish -do-

in one hand

-do-

U^isa blue begging bowl in both hands.

seat broken.

Dharmavajra

The blue-coloured Bodhisattva can be identified as

Dharmavajra because he holds a stylized vajra in his right

hand against the chest. The left hand rests on the thigh of

the left leg. He should normally carry the bell in it but it

is missing in this case. The flowing streamers remind us of

similar features noticed at Tabo.

Maitreya

The two-armed statue of Maitreya is seated on the

lotus throne. The lotus throne of five deities is almost

identical. The right hand of Maitreya is in abhaya-mvdr'a and

the left is in varada-mudra. The blooming plant tree is

carved on the left side on which rests a vase. A miniature

sfupa is shown on the centre of the crown. This seems to be

the statue of Maitreya.

198

TABLE 3

Measurement data of wooden sculptures, Rang-rig-rtse dgon-pa Tsarang.

sr.no. name

1. Dharmavajra

2. Maitreya 3. Manju^ri 4 . Vajrasattva 5. ^aQcyamuni 6. Sakyamuni

7. Tara

height width colour material Remarks

30 cm bluish Polychrome Stylized vajra wood in one hand

-do-

8l cm

6' cm 31 cm brownish -do-86 cm 38 cm reddish -do-551.2 cm 31 cm red -do-5 cm 22 cm yellowish -do-7;. cm 37.5 cm light blue -do-

55.5 cm 28 cm 8. Avalokitesvara 9$ cm 40 cm light -do-

whitish

U^nisa blue begging bowl in both hands.

seat broken.

Dharma vaj'ra

The blue-coloured Bodhisattva can be identified as

Dharmavajra because he holds a stylized vajra in his right

hand against the chest. The left hand rests on the thigh of

the left leg. He should normally carry the bell in it but it

is missing in this case. The flowing streamers remind us of

similar features noticed at Tabo.

Mai treya

The two-armed statue of Maitreya is seated on the

lotus throne. The lotus throne of five deities is almost

identical. The right hand of Maitreya is in abhaya-mudra and

the left is in varada-mudra. The blooming plant tree is

carved on the left side on which rests a vase. A miniature

stUpa is shown on the centre of the crown. This seems to be

the statue of Maitreya.

198

Manjusri

This is one of the finest example of wooden

craftsmanship. The deity is seated in the vajrapryankasana

with both hands in dhyana-madra. The seat is supported by

two lions and a bharaputra. His makara torana is unique and

capped by an "amalaka. He wears a necklace with a suspended

locket, ear-rings and a three-pointed crown. The seated

figure of Aksobhya in bhumisparsa-mudra appears is the crown.

This makes the identification possible that the deity

represents Manjusri.

Vajrasattva

A seated figure possibly represents Vajrasattva. One

of his hands holds the bell on the hip and the attribute in

the right hand is missing. He is dressed in the style as has

been ornamented in the statues of Maitreya and Manjusri. He

also wears yajnopavita like those of Dharmavajra and

Maitreya.

Sakyamuni

There are two statues of Buddha Sakyamuni, one in

cedar wood another in walnut. The larger (see Table 3) is

shown seated on the raised pedestal in vajraprayaiikasana.

His both hands are in dhyana-mudra and holding a begging

bowl. There is a distinct mark of urna on the forehead which

is missing in the smaller statue. The smaller statue is also

seated cross-legged with hands in dharmacakra-mudra. The

usnisa has been painted in blue colour.

199

Tara

This is a statue of a female deity whose

identification has been possible from the full-blossomed

lotus flower on the left side. She holds the stalk of the

flower in her left hand, and the right hand is broken. Of

particular interest is the ear-rosettee and a long mala

suspended down the breasts. Similar design has been noticed

earlier at Tabo.

Avalokitesvara

The statue of Avalokitesvara is having elongated ears

and wearing ear-rings. His eyes are half closed, shown in

meditation, and concentrating at the tip of the nose. His

hair are curled upwards and Amitabha in dhyana-mudra has been

shown seated on the forehead. Avalokitesvara is shown wearing

a beded necklace and a pendant at the centre of the and

mekhala. The deity is shown seated on a pedestal. His right

hand is in varada-mudra, whereas the left hand is placed on

the knee. A lone devotee in namaskara-mudra is shown on the

right side of the deity.

Metal statue

There are half dozen metal statues in the collection

of the monastery. The oldest statue is that of Byams-pa

(Maitreya) donated to the monastery by an unnamed donar.

Many silver statues were cast by an artist named Hira Bag of

Sunnam.

What is significant to note is that most of the

wooden statues are made of the deodar and walnut wood, both

200

are available locally. Artistically, all statues belong to

the eleventh century.

Mone Iha-khan, Kanru

The Mone-lha-khaii at Kamru enshrines over a dozen metal and

clay sculptures. Not many of them are of great age. This

temple came into prominence in June 1992, when several

bronzes were stolen from the temple, and subsequently

recovered by the police in September 1993. It is however not

known how many sculptures were stolen from the sanctum of the

temple but the police officials at RekongPeo informed us (we

greatfully acknowledge the help of A. P. Siddhiqui and his

junior colleagues at Rekong Peo) that three of them were

placed in a huge attache, including the famous

Avalokitesvara. Thus we are presenting a study of three

stolen sculptures along with a host of others which adorn the

sanctum of the temple.

Metal sculpture

This statue once adorned the left corner of the 400

cm by 281 cm sanctum. The same statue of Avalokitesvara was

seen in situ by Rahul Sankrityayana in 1948. This

magnificent statue (78 cm by 27.5 cm) is broken at the top of

the nimbus. The Bodhisattva wears a dhoti. An antelope's

skin is hanging along with the animal's head from the left

shoulder. Two left hands carry a book and a stem of a lotus.

Whereas the right upper hand holds an aksamala and the lower

hand is in varada-mudra. The deity is crowned with a triple

201

pointed tiara. This standing statue of Avalokitesvara is

slightly turned to the right. It has a frontal dimensions

and the deity is brought under the etched flamed backstep.

It carries an inscription in two lines. The inscription has

been translated by Thakur. It reads:

Successfully gained admiration or glorious invocation

the Chief Minister of sMer, brother Klu-mgon (Naganatha),

mother (and) son offered alms (food) for the merits of the

expired Chief Minister of sMer, Ses-can (Prajnavana) and

after offering prayers, set up the statues of Trigotranatha

(i.e., Manjusri, Avolokitesvara, and Vajrapani) for purifying

the mental and moral defilements of a departed soul and all

infinite sentient being.'

On the basis of its style and the palaeographic

features of the inscription it can safely be assigned to the

eleventh century. However, two other statues seem to have

been manufactured slightly later.

Sometimes there is a great confusion in identifying

the statues of Tara and Prajnapararaita, however, the later

goddess normally holds a book in one of her hands. The

copper statue of Tara (ht. 14.2 cm and width at the base of

the pedestal 10.6 cm) is shown in standing position the right

leg pendant with the foot supported by a lotus. She wears a

five pointed crown which is a characteristic of the medieval

iconography. Her right hand is in varada-mudrS and the left

hand in dharmacakra-mudra. The goddess is beautifully

ornamented with several ornaments. This seems to be the work

of fifteenth-sixteenth century.

202

Six-armed Mahakala

The six-armed Mahlikala's height is 12.7 cm and width

at the base of the pedestal is 9 cm. The iconographic

details of this statue have been worked out by the artists

exquisitely. His right hand holds drum, chopper and the

flaming jewel, whereas the left hands have elephants' tooth

trident, lance and the skull cup, filled with jewels. Its

crown share many features with that of Tara discussed above

and therefore it may have been manufactured also in the

fifteenth-sixteenth century.

Brass Avalokitesvara

The local artist has tried to make a copy of the

inscribed Avalokitesvara after 1948. Rahul Sankrityayana is

silent about it, thus it seems quite possible that the

present statue was installed after 1948. Its total height is

55.2 cm and width at the level of the inscribed pedestal is

16 cm. The inscription has been engraved in Takari script.

Three more inscribed statues in the collection of the

temple deserve notice. One of them looks like a dGe-lugs-pa

adherent. With his right hand he holds a book and left is in

vyakhyana- mudrS.. The second represents some lama with the

beginning of the inscription reading rgyal-ba (Victorious or

Jina). The last to our estimate, represents Vajrasattva

(rDo-rje sems-dpa) holding vajra and bell in two hands. It

seems to be a work of the eleventh or twelfth century AD.

The three artistic phases clearly distinguishable at

the Mone Iha-khan:- (i) eleventh-twelfth century, (ii)

203

fifteenth-sixteenth, and (iii) recent additions in the

present century. All periods of its artistic history are

important to know the artistic trends which influenced the

Kinnaur region in general and the Sangla valley in

particular.

Dungyur Iha-khan, Thangi

The Dungyur Iha-khaft which was re-constructed in 1989, stands

on the site where an earlier temple referred to in the

biography of Rin-chen bzah-po existed. ° The old name of

Thangi is Safis. The decoration of the temple was completed as

early as in 1992 AD. ^ The only remnant of the old temple in

Dungyur Iha-khah is a clay statue of Avalokites'vara (PI.

XIX). His right hand is in varda-mudra and left arm is

raised as he is holding a lotus flower. He wears a crown

which consists of a triple-crescent and triple-pointed, which

is a characteristics of Tabo sculpture. The design of

KarnaphUla and rosette reminds us the designs found in the

eleventh century from Spiti and Kinnaur. He wears a necklace

with a large pendent suspending down and also a large beaded

vanamSla which comes down below the knee. The statue has

been re-painted including his dhoti.

Also there is a clay statue of eleven-headed

Avalokitesvara possibly of later period. However the

villagers have installed a statue of Haitreya in 1989. On

the entrance wall there are statues of Vajrapani and

Hayagriva.

204

F' .1. . Xi:X Cl. ay f ^ t a t u e o f FI . XX

X AVa \ ok.11eE;Vt>i-fs , VI)ang i ^ K:inr")i\v.r i )r--,L:>cier-i F rvu 1 r't-1-'.r r. f i f Ava ] c:.k; i t . e s v a r a

( D i i a r m a v a j r.?.) . i.-0 t s a b a , .1 1 l i a - k h a n ,

P o o h .

Lo-tsa-ba'i Iha-khan, Pooh

This monastery has in its collection several sculptures of

clay, wood and stone.

Clay sculpture

This monastery has six clay sculptures. These

sculptures are placed on a platform on the floor of the

sanctum. The main statue is that of Sakyamuni, sitting

cross-legged, on a lotus seat. Below the lotus seat, two

white lions have also been engraved. SSkyamuni is painted in

-yellow colour. His left hand is placed in the lap on which a

begging bowl has been placed. The right hand is in

bhumisparsa-mudra. He is flanked by his two disciples,

Sariputra and Maudgalyayana. Both are standing (ht. 105 cm

each) and painted in red colour. The assembly hall of the

monastery seems to be of the later period but the sanctum

seems to be the original. So the above mentioned three

sculptures belong to the original period of foundation. It

is evident from the Koro stone inscription that king of Guge,

Ye-ses-'od sent his sons for the propagation of faith to this

region during his lifetime.°^ This monastery has three more

clay sculptures of later period which can be indentified as

Sakyamuni in bhumisparsa-mudra, Padmasambhava and Vajrapani.

Wooden sculpture

The monastery has three wooden sculptures in its

collection. Two life size standing statues are placed in the

sanctum in front of the principal deity, on the left and

right sides, like the sanctum of gTsug-lag-khan at Tabo. On

205

" X

the right side of the Sakyamuni is Padmapani Avalokitesvara

CDharmavajra) painted in white-colour holding a lotus flower

along with a stalk in the left hand (PI. XX). He is wearing

four garlands of beads and armlets. Another garland has been

shown hanging over the arms of the statue and almost touching

the feet. he is wearing a red coloured dhoti with

multicoloured border. Four Buddhas are depicted in his

crown. On the left side of Sakyamuni and in front of

Avalokitesvara there is a statue of Mahasthamaprapta. He is

painted in blue colour and wearing an antelope skin whose

tail is hanging between his legs. A wooden fragment of a

ruined doorframe showing a standing figure on the innerside

is also preserved in the monastery.

Stone sculptures

The monastery has two carved stone sculptures. One

is in the sanctum of the monastery whereas the other is

outside the monastery. A fine stone carving in the sanctum

is that of Padmasambhava shown sitting on a lotus throne,

the stone carving outside the monastic complex is that of the

three main Bodhisattvas— MaTiousri, Maitraya and Vaorapani^

protectors of the three worlds. They are also depicted at

Tabo.

Lha-khan chen-no, Ribba

As mentioned earlier in chapter III that this monastery is

dedicated to the goddess Tara. The monastery enshrines many

clay, metal and wood sculptures of earlier and later periods.

Several clay statues are cantilevered on the walls, some of

206

them are placed in an almirah and some on the raised platforn

in the sanctum.

Clay sculpture

On the walls of this monastery there are seven clay

statues. On the central wall, there are three statues. The

principal figure is placed in the window and the two other

are cantilevered in the wall with the help of wooden studs.

All these sculptures belong to the cycle of Tara. The colour

of central TS"ra is yellow (PI. XXI). Those on the left and

right side are white and green respectively. The left hand

of yellow Tara is in abhaya-mudra and the right hand is in

varada-mudra. She is shown seated with right leg pendant and

her foot rests on a specially designed lotus-asa/7a. She

wears a large ear pendants and a mala. Her crown is

fascinating. The artists have borrowed the triple-crescent

and triple-pointed designs from the sculptures of Tabo. The

facial expression is serene and eyes are half-closed. The

mudras of green and white Taras are almost identical. It

seems likely that the artists have used the same mould for

the crown and the ear-rosettees of the white Tara which he

used earlier for the principal image.

On the left wall are placed two clay statues,

MafTjusri and Hyagriva. Manjusri in a specially designed

place, holding sword in the right hand and book in the left

hand. HayagrTva stands on a wooden pedestal in his usual

mudra as seen also at Ropa, Tsarang and Chitkul respectively.

On the other side are placed high up on the wall Vajrasattva,

207

p \ - >' X \ C} i^ y ?r. t £i t u f?.? L. f P\ . XXII

y e A 1 (jw Tc\ t-a ^ R i b b a , K' i n v\ au r" El, e v e n - hpaden'i and o n e t h o u s a n d - a r m e d A Va I ak i ter-- va r- a „ i a s h i Qan t:), K: i n n a u r

Holding bell and Va.jra. however his colour is blue indicating

the colours of Vajradhara. Vajradhara 's mudrsT is

Vajrahunkara-mudra. holding Vajra and bell in crossed position

in fornt of the chest but this statue holds vajra and bell in

a style normally attributed to Vajrasattva. Towards the

entrance on the wall is shown VajrapSni in blue colour.

Some statues are also placed on the floor of the

sanctum. Soaie are of life-size while some are small in size.

The three life-size statues are of clay. They are placed in

sitting position. From left to right they represent

Sakyamuni, red in colour with hands in dhyana-mudr'a (with a

bowl placed on the hands in the lap). The second statue is

that of four-armed Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, whose

principal pair of hands is in namaskara-jnudra. The third

statue is of Padmasambhava. In front of these clay statues

there are three stupas. Six clay and metal statues of later

and recent periods have been placed on the table. Out of

these six are of clay and twenty metallic. The position,

location, name, colour, height and width of the statues

discussed above will become clearer from the following table

given below:

TABLE 4

Clay sculptures, Lha-khan chen-mo, Ribba

sr.no. name location colour position height width

1. Tara west wall yellow 136 cm 120 cm 56 cm

2. Tara -do- white 144.5 cm 90 cm 45 cm

3. Tara -do- green 118 cm 90 cm 47 cm

208

126 cm 90 cm 36 cm

145 cm - 82 cm

123 cm 105 cm 80 cm

118 cm 90 cm 36 cm

4. Manjusri south wall yellow

5. Hayagriva -do- red

6. Vajrasatta north wall blue

7. Vajrapini -do- blue

/fetal sculpture

Three metal sculptures deserve notice. All of them

are shown in bhumisparsa-mudra, eyes are closed and the

usnisa shown prominently. Their age cannot be determined in

the absence of any inscription.

Wooden sculpture

Two small wooden sculptures of Maitreya and Tsofi-kha-

pa are also noticed. They are sculptured by the local artists

and are of recent date.

Kha-che Iha-khan, Ranan

Clay sculpture

Kha-che Iha-khan at Kanam has in its collection a few

olay sculptures. This monastery was reconstructed about 84

years ago (c.1931-32). But statues preserved in the

monastery are new ones. However, we noticed some old wooden

stupas on the altar. In front of the right hand side wall, on

the floor there is a clay sculpture of Sakysamuni in a glass

case flanked by Sariputra on the right side and Maudgalyayana

on the left side.

209

In front of the central wall facing the door, there

are three clay sculptures. The sculptures are preserved in

the glass almirahs. These three sculptures are of Sakyamuni,

Tson-kha-pa and Avalokitesvara (sPyan-ras-gzigs). They are

displayed in their traditional colours and postures.

bKa'-'gyur 1ha-khan, Kanan

The bKa'-gyur Iha-khan is situated at the lower part of the

Kanam village. The rectangular .wood and stone masonry

structure is flat-roofed. It is a two-storyed structuKe.

Four chortens of different lamas were noticed by us in the

upper storey. Also we noticed two sculptures of stone and

clay. The clay sculpture can be identified that of Sadksari

Lokesvara making the namaskara-mudra yi\\M the two hands.

There is nothing spectacular about this sculpture. It belongs

to the medieval times.

La-tsa-ba Iha-khan, Kanan

Metal sculpture

The temple was completed only 17 years ago. The

metal statues in the temple are of very recent date. The

main deity is Maitreya having both legs pendant on the lotus

cushion. The other statues are those of Sakyamuni, Tshe-dpag

med and Tson-khan-pa. The brass statue of Tsoh-kha-pa

deserve notice. The lama of the monastery informed us that

the statue actually was manufactured at Gyabang in the Ropa

valley, but was lost thereafter and subsequently found on the

bank of river Sutlej near Spillo. The locals found it there

210

and installed in the temple of the Lo chen Rin-chen bzan-po.

Tson-khan-pa (65 cm by 44 cm) is shown seated in

vajraparyaAka-mudra. His both hands are in dbarmacakra-

mudra. The statue is little damaged at the back. His

monastric robe is beautifully decorated with scrolls and

flower rosettee. For showing his two symbols sword and a

book- two vertical metal stups are arranged along the left

and the right arms. The one on the right side is broken

however on the left shows a book on blossomed flower. The

most interesting part of the statue is its yellow hat. The

urna is shown prominently on the forehead. Lips, eye-lids

and eye-brows are painted. The face is almost round. This

seems to be the work of the fifteenth century AD.

The Avalokitesvara tenple, Tashigang

Clay sculpture

Two-storeyed monastery has two rooms. The room on

right hand side enshrined a huge statue of one-thousand armed

Avalokitesvara. This is one of the finest surviving statues

of one-thousand armed Avalokitesvara (PI. XXII). However, it

is not the grandeur of Avalokitesvara which brought every

year innumerable people from Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur to the

Tashigang dgon-pa but the much venerated statue of Mila ras-

pa fitted safely into the chest of SSkyamuni. Some pilgrims

at Tashigang informed us that in former days it was in the

open but people started plucking the hairs of the statue,"^

thus it has now been kept at a safer place, fully covered by

a glass. Two other statues of Mila ras-pa are in Gyabang

211

(Ropa valley) and Lahaul. Five other statues placed on the

altar are those of SS.kyainuni, Maitreya, Vajrasattva in yab-

yum and Guru Rin-po-che (Padmasambhava). All belong to the

seventeenth-eighteenth century.

Metal sculpture

The temple possessess an invaluable collection of

bronze and brass statues. Many of them belong to the

eleventh century, however some of them are of the fourteenth

and fifteenth centuries. Four bronz^es (three of them are

inscribed) deserve a detailed study. Three of them can be

identified as Avalokitesvara (ht. 37.5 cm, width 9 cm),

Amitabha (ht. 31.5 cm, width 9.5 cm) and Gautama Buddha (ht.

30.8 cm, width 9.4 cm) (PI. XXIII). Fourth statue remains

unidentified but it belongs to the same group. The two-armed

image of Padmpani Avalokites'vara is the largest, his right

hand is in varada-mudra, whereas the left holds the stalk of

a fully blossomed lotus. An effigy of Amitabha Buddha is

distinctly represented in the crown. An inscription incised

on the central section of the rectangular pedestal reads Iha

na-ga-ra-dza (the Divine Na-ga-ra-dza). The same inscription

appears on the pedestal of the other two images.

Amitabha appears in a four-armed tantic manifestation

on a lotus throne. His two left hands hold the stem of a

flower and begging bowl ipStra) and the upper right hand

visva-vajra (staff) while lower is in the varada-mudra. His

vahana, peacock is also shown.

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PI. X X I l i o e v e r . d i fnrjtal and B hone s c u \ p t u r e = i , T a s h i g a n g

P I . XXIV FoLif " h e t i d e d clii\y B t a t u e of V^ r i i r ocana , BLAnirangj, L.shau 1 Spi. t i •

The standing Buddha is in his most familiar posture,

holding the end of the transparent monastic robe with the

left hand, the right hand is in abhaya-mudra. All these

images were cast at the same time along with those found at

Chitkul. The divine Na-ga-ra-dza is the son of Ye-ses-'od,

who was actively engaged in the propagation of the religion

of the Buddha along with his father and a brother, in the

three ciNa'-ris, during the late tenth and early eleventh

centuries.

There is one copper statue in the sanctum. Its width

at the base is 16.2 cm and height from the pedestal to the

cap is 22.6 cm. This is the statue of some lama. Its oval-

shaped base has lotus flower design.

Another bronze statue of Sakyamuni belongs to the

later period. It is 14 cm wide at the base and its height

from base to the top knot is 23.5 cm. Sakyamuni is sitting

cross legged on a lotus seat. His right hand is in earth

touching posture, symbolysing the historic moment of

enlightenment of Sakyamuni. Ears of Sakyamuni are elongated.

Eyes are focussed at the tip of the nose. There is a mark of

urjja" between the eyebrows. The hair of the statue are shown

matted and there is a topknot of hair. The statue is wearing

a beautiful dhoti.

Wooden sculpture

There are two wooden panles on which are engraved the

Buddhist images. One of them shows the white Avalokitesvara

in the centre. On his either side are Manjusri and

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Vajarapani, Immediately below the Avalokistesvara seat is

shown Vajradhara (blue in colour) holding his hands in

Vajrabumkara-mudra. On the top is shown Sakyamuni in

bhumisparsa-mudra. In the centre of the second panel appears

Padmasambhava alongwith his two wives. Around the central

figure of Padmasambhava are carved his eight manifestations.

All these statues have been carved with utmost care.

There is also another wooden statue which is 5 cm

wide and its height is 10.7 cm. This statue is broken and

cannot be identified conclusively.

Stone statue

An interesting stone statue of Manjusri is also

preserved in this monastery. Two-armed Manjusri is seated in

Vajraprayahka-mudra. His right hand holds a sword, with the

left he holds the stalk of the flower on which rests a book.

Triple pointed and triple crescent crown is most, interesting

from stylystic point of view. This style bears close

resemblance with the style practised by the artists at Tabo

in AD 996. The statue can safely be dated to the early

eleventh century AD.

The Sonang dgon-pa

There are many metal and wooden sculptures in the collection

of this monastery. All metallic sculptures are not very old

but added in the present century. But one piece of marble

Khar-sa-pani (Sk. Khasarpani) Avalokitesvara deserve notice.

The deity measuring 11.6 cm by 18.5 cm is four-armed.

An upper right hand is holding a rosary and the lower right

214

hand is broken. The upper left hand is holding a snake. The

snake is curling over the left shoulder and the head of the

snake is placed on the palm of the left hand. The other left

hand is holding a kalasa placed on the seat. Avalokitesvara

is wearing big ear rings, which are resting on the shoulders.

He is also wearing a necklace and a two-beaded garland which

is touching the seat. He is wearing armlets and waistlets.

The eyes of the deity are half open and focussed at the nose

tip. On the back of the statue is engraved khar-sa-pa-ni.

The principal figure preserved in the Donastery is

also of Avalokites'vara. He is eleven-headed. There are

several other clay statues: Avalokitesvara, Sakyamuni,

Vajradhara, Padmasambhava, and also many metal statues

offered to the monastery very recently.

The Chitkul dgon-pa, Kinnaur

The present structure of Chitkul monastery does not seem to

be very ancient but it possesses numerous clay and metal

sculptures. While documenting the art remains of this

monastery Sh.Dharmanand, the head of the monastery informed

us that monastery has the clay statues of five Pandava

brothers. After examining the entire collection, the

monastery has five Tathagates and two guardian deities as we

noticed earlier at Tabo, Ropa and Tsarang.

Clay sculpture

Five Tathagatas are shown seated on the raised

platform constructed in front of the central wall. From left

to right they represent. Amifabha, Vairocana, Aksobhya,

215

Ratnasambhava and Amoghasiddhi in red, white, blue, yellow

and green colours. Of particular significance among the clay

statues is the five diedem crown of the five Tath"&gatas with

a crescent design of the lowermost section. Three-beaded

tassels used for the first time at Tabo, have been retained,

which suspend down the forehead of each deity. A single mould

seems to have been used for fashioning them on the head. On

the left hand corner is shown an eleven-headed

Avalokitesvara. On the right hand side is shown Sakyamuni in

bhSmisparsa-mudra. All these clay statues may be 100 or 150

years old. However there are several ancient, and modern

metal sculptures in the monastery as discussed below.

Metal sculpture

A total number of 30 metal sculptures have been noticed by us

at Chitkul. Three of them are placed on an platform

constructed in front of Sakyamuni. The main statue of

Sakyamuni seems to be interesting but we could not see it

entirely. The head priest did not allow us to remove the

cloths. The facial expressions are impressive and Buddha's

urna and usnisa are prominently modelled. Immediately in

front of Buddha are Tson-kha-pa, Buddha and Vajradhara.

Among the group of forty sculptures placed on the

table on the right hand side, twenty-six are of copper, brass

and bronze. A group of four belongs to the eleventh century

AD, three of them are inscribed.

Sakyamuni Buddha (ht. 6.2 cm) is a beautiful example

of metal casting technique. His right hand is in abhaya-

216

mudra, whereas with the left he holds the corner of his

monastic robe. On the rear side appears an inscription in the

Sarada script. It reads: ye dharma hetu prabhaba hetum tesa

tathagato hayavodat tesama ca yo nirodho evam vadi

maiasramanah\ ] This is the famous pratitysmutapadagatha.

Similar extract also occurs at Tabo. Slightly smaller in size

but shown in the same posture, as has been depicted the

inscribed Buddha, is another statue of Sakyamuni (ht. 4 cm).

Two other inscribed Pancaraksa goddesses represent MahSmayuri

(ht. 19.5 cm) and Mahasitavati (ht. 18.8 cm). Both goddesses

are sitting in vajraprayanka-mudra. Both are inscribed. The

inscription reads: Iha na-ga-ra-dza 'the divine Na-ga-ra-

dza'. Na-ga-ra-dza was one of the sons of Ye-ses-'od who

lived in the late tenth and early eleventh century AD. His

name has been found on the wall inscriptions at Tabo and also

on the three Tashigang bronzes.

Majority of other bronzes are of the Buddha, all

shown in bhumisparsa-mudra, Avalokitesvara shown in

namaskara-mudra, and two of Vajradhara in vajrahamkara-mudra.

The age of these statues varies from late tenth to the recent

period. Many of them are sculpted very recently by the local

craftsmen.

Marble Statue

We noticed a small marble statue at Chitkul. He is

shown seated in latitasana. The identification of the statue

remains inconclusive.

A small statue of Tsori-kha pa in wood has been found

in the monastery.

217

Tokhto dgon-pa, Kinnaur

Clay sculpture

This monastery has several clay sculptures in its

possession but four of them are the important ones placed in

front of the central wall. They represent Maitreya,

Sakyamuni, Sadaksari Avalokitesvara and Padmasambhava. In

modern times Padmasambhava has been seen by us not only in

the monasteries associated with the rNin-ma-pa sect, but also

in the dGe-lugs-pa, bKa-rgyud-pa and the 'Brug-pa

monasteries. However, we could not trace his image in ""the Sa-

skya-pa monastery at Tengyud near Kaza. Maitreya is painted

in yellow colour and shown sitted in the pralambapada-mudrS.

His both hands are near the chest in dharmacakra - mudra.

Second statue is that of Sakyamuni. His face is painted in

yellow colour and rest of his body is painted in red colour.

He is sitting cross-legged with hands in dhyana-mudra-. A

blue-coloured begging bowl is placed on his hands. On his

left is a four-armed Avalokitesvara also sitting cross-

legged. His principal pair of hands are in namaskara •. mudra,

the other two holding a flower and a mala. The last statue

on the altar is that of Padmasambhava. There are over a

dozen of small clay sculptures placed in front of these main

statues. One of the finest sculptures is that of eleven-

headed, eight-armed standing statue of Avalokitesvara. All

the sculptures belong to late nineteenth century as an

inscription in the monastery informs us that it was built by

Tsho-ran bdas in the me-pho-byi (fire-male rat-year)

218

corresponding to 1876. The inscription records the names of

the painters who decorated the temple and made sculptures.

Metal sculptures

Among the interesting metal sculptures, we noticed a /_

brass statue of Sakyamuni seated on the lotus pedestal. He

is shown in bhumisparsa-mudra with a circular halo around

him. Several animals are engraved on the halo. The M-type

design below his lotus asana, remind us of similar designs

shown on the mural paintings of Tabo dated sixteenth

seventeenl h and eighteenth centuries. There are also two

later statues of Sakyamuni in the collection of the

monastery.

The Nasgya dgon-pa, Kinnaur

The 'Brug-pa monastery is situated in the centre of the

village. There are only three, clay sculptures, which are

placed in front of the central wall on a 90 cm wide platform.

The central statue (ht. 153 cm, width 130 cm) is that

of Sakyamuni shown seated in bhumisparsa-mudra. On his right

side is a four-armed white Avalokitesvara (ht.l32 cm), his

two hands are in namaskara-mudra. He wears a five-jewelled

crown which emerged in medieval times, i.e. fifteenth-

sixteenth century A.D. This form of Avalokitesvara is much

popular in Kinnaur.

On the left side of Sakyamuni is placed Padmasambhava

(ht. 135 cm). There is a huge collection of ancient

manuscript in the monastery including the copies of an

illustrated Durgatiparisodhanatejoraja, Astasahasrika

219

Prajnaparamita and AryaMahasannipataratna-ketudharni

mahayanasUtra.

(C) MOHASTERIES OF THE LAHAUL VALLEY

Zholing dgon-pa

The ruined temple of Zholing is situated on the left bank of

Bhaga river, is now a heap of ruins. " There are traces of

the ruined wooden stupas against the western, northern and

southern walls of the monastery. But two wooden statues from

this monastery has been preserved one each in British Museum,

London, and Bhuri Singh Museum Chamba. The Amitabha Buddha

is preserved in British Museum,London.

AmifSibha is shown seated in vajraprayankasana. Both

hands are in dhyana-mudra. He has a serene facial

expression. He wears a monastic robe showing V-shaped

designs on the chest. For how many years it remained

neglected in the ruined temple is clear from several pin

holes in the body of the statue. He wears karnapHula, and a

flower rosettee, is shown above his ear. These features

associate this statue with those of Tabo group of sculptures.

The design of his crown is quite similar with the wooden

sculptures of Tsarang."^

The stock register of Bhuri Singh Museum records that

they secured this statue of Sakyamuni from Lahaul. Whether

this statue belongs to the temple of Zholing is not certain.

The Sakyamuni is also shown in the same posture as Amitlibha

but his right arm is broken whereas left arm rests on the

crossed legs. Two female figures are carved on either side.

220

What is important to note that the Bodhi tree with branches

turned downwards have been shown above his head. A figure in

namaskara-mudra is shown in the same manner as shown at the

pedestal of an Avalokitesvara image from Tsarang. This statue

seems to be of eleventh or twelfth century AD.

The Vairocana tenple, Gunrang, Lahaul

The monastery houses fourteen clay sculptures, one wooden

prayer wheel and eight stupas. Iheve is an altar in the

entire central wall on which eleven clay sculptures are

placed and three are placed below it on the floor and a

platform. There is another altar in front of the right side

wall on which eight stupas have been placed (hts. 70 cm, 60

cm, 58 cm, 60 cm, 60 cm, 50 cm, 56 cm and 55 cm). At the

left hand corner of the central wall and in front of the

altar there is a small wooden prayer wheel.

The statues preserved in the monastery are in a very

bad state of preservation. Many cracks have developed in

them. Many of their parts and attributes held by them are

broken and their colour had also disappeared. The state of

utter neglect poses a great problem for their identification.

Most of them are shown wearing triple-pointed crowns also

found at Ropa and Pooh. They are also shown wearing various

ornaments. Twelve of these statues can be classified into

following groups.

1. four-headed Vairocana (PI. XXIV),

2. three celestial Buddhas,

3. four goddesses.

221

4 . one Buddha SsTkyainuni and

5. a torso of an image.

At present we have four female deities on the upper

altar and one on the ground. What was the original position

of these statues cannot be stated with certainity. The

construction of an altar along the entire rear wall makes us

to presume that certain number of these statues were placed

on it, otherwise the purpose of the altar along the central

wall becomes meaningless. So it is possible that five

celestial Buddhas and four main goddesses associated with

them might have been placed on the wall.

These broken statues provide a good material for the

techniques of the clay sculptures. These statues can be

dated to the end of the eleventh or the beginning of the

twelfth century AD. We can notice from their study that a

wooden armature of specific design and size was prepared. To

this armature locally available straw and hair are tied with

the help of the strings and covered with the layers of clay.

Guru Ghantal Monastery, Lahaul

Several clay sculptures have been noticed in the sanctum of

Guru Ghantal monastery. They include from left to right

elevan-headed Avalokitesvara, Padmasambhava Zhabs-druh nag-

dbari rNamgyal and bKra-sis gdam-'phel. The prominent place

is given to Zhabs druii riag-dbaii rNamgyail, who unified Bhutan

in the seventeenth century. The most interesting sculpture

on the left of the bKra-sis gdam-'phel is of six-armed

Avalokitesvara, an exact copy of marble statue of

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Trilokanath. He holds a pot, snake and lotus stalk in the

left hands whereas the two right upper hands are broken and

third is in varada-mudra. Amitabha appears above his crown.

Some of the clay, metal and wooden statues has been

brought down to Tupchiling dgon-pa. Two wooden statues

deserve notice.

Shashur dgon-pa, Lahaul

The Shashur dgon-pa has in its collection a total number of

thirty-seven sculptures. Thirty-one sculptures in the

sanctum of the ground floor, three in the sanctum of first

floor, and three in the sanctum of top floor. The dgon-pa

was founded in last decade of the sixteenth century by the

lama Deba rgya-mtsho of Zangskar, who had come to propagate

'Brug-pa sect of Buddhism in Lahaul.

Clay sculpture

Majority of the metal sculptures are of very recent

origin, however, some clay sculptures belong to the period of

the foundation of the monastery. In the ground floor, just

in front of the central wall facing the door there are

thirty-one sculptures. The principal figure is that of

Sakyamuni who is shown in yellow colour with elongated ears.

Among other statues preserved in this floor include that of

De-ba rgya-mtsho, the founder of the monastery and Zon-'khul

lama both from Ladakh.

In the first floor, there are three clay sculptures

of Sakyamuni, Padmasambhava and some unidentified lama. The

sanctum of the top floor is adorned by three sculptures. The

223

central statue of Vajradhara is flanked by Sri Cakrasamvara

(bde-mchog 'khor-lo sdom-pa) and Samvara (bde-mchog yab-yum-

pa). The yellow coloured Vajradhara is shown seated

crosslegged and hands are crossed at the chest holding

vajras. The five petalled crown of the deity is interesting.

Such crowns are influenced by the Hepalese art and such a

style was in vogue in Ladakh from the fifteenth century

onwards. Sixteen pothis are arranged on the wooden racks

around him. On the left side of Vajradhara is Sri

Cakrasamvara shown in the standing position holding his

counterpart with his two hands (PI. XXV). The principal pair

of hands is crossed at the back of the female partner and

other hands are holding his traditional attributes. He is

shown standing on two human figures and is wearing a crown of

white skulls and long mala of skulls. The female partner is

also wearing garland of skulls. He is surrounded by a toraija

with foliated designs. On the right side of Vajradhara is

shown another coloured sculpture of the same deity in

different form. The figure of Samvara is red, while and his

counterpart is of the" whitish complexion. Samvara is two-

armed, crossed at the back of the female counterpart. The

scarfs of the both deities are fluttering in the air. Over

the five-skull crown of Samvara is shown crescent which makes

his identification as Samvara confirmed. All these

sculptures, to our estimate, belong to the seventeenth

century AD. The craftsmen who fashioned these sculptures

seem to be well familiar with the Nepali and Ladakhi art

styles.

224

P I , XXV Sr i t : a k r i H B a f i i v a r a , Sha^•;-^"tl.^^ d g o n - p i s , S h s s h u r

'Grag-rgyas chos-glin dgon-pa, Kardang

The 'Brug-pa (a sub-sect of the bKa'-brgyud-pa) monastery at

Kardang was rebuilt in 1912 by a local lama named Norbu born

in AD 1881, when old monastery was almost in a state of

collapse. The monastery is one of the best preserved

monasteries in the region. In front of the central wall,

facing the door, there is a platform on which twelve (small

and large) clay sculptures and two stUpas are placed in two

rows. The frontal rot* has eight statues. Green Tara,

Avalokitesvara and Sakyarouni Buddha are clearly identifiable.

Whereas on elevfen-headed and one thousand-armed

Avalokitesvara, a gelong. Guru Rin-po-che and Sakyamuni in

the second row.

On the first floor there are also three clay sculptures.

They are of Padmasambhava, yellow coloured Vajradhara (?) and

Norbu Rin po-che, who founded this temple in 1912. The top

floor of the monastery has a statue of Sakyamuni in

bhumisparsa-mudra.

We have noticed only three small metallic sculptures

on the first floor of the monastery. These are of Sakyamuni,

Tara and Vajrasttva. We could notice a few metallic

sculptures preserved in the monasteries of Lahaul. All the

sculptures in the monastery belong to the beginning of the

present century.

225

Zhabs-rje Iha-khan, Kardang

No prominent clay or metal sculpture has ben noticed by us at

Zhabs-rje Iha-khan, Kardang. There is a huge boulder in the

sanctum with the knee mark of rGod-tshan-pa (1189-1258 AD),

who visited Lahaul is confirmed from his biography. The

central statue is of Sakyamuni flanked by eight other

statues. Recently, the villagers have found a stone

sculpture while digging in the agricultural field. It

measures 35 cm by 26 cm. The deity is shown seated in the

latita-asana the right leg slightly pendant. The facial

details are not clear. The exact identification remains

unconclusive. The position of his legs indicates that the

deity may represent Avalokitesvara.

Three huge Bodhisattvas are carved in the rock at the

site. They represent Padmpani Avalokitesvara (ht. 173 cm),

Maitreya (ht. 185 cm) and Vajrap'ani (ht. 170 cm). These

carvings are of pre-Rin-chen bsan-po period.

226

HOTES

1. Idol worship is now very much accepted in the Buddhist realm.

2. P. V. Bapal ed., 2500 Years of Buddhism, p. 25 S. Dutt., Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India, rpt., Delhi, 1988, p. 54.

3. Such symbols can be seen in numerous pillars and decorative panels from the Asokan to the Kusana period.

4. A. K. Coomaraswamy, The Origin of Buddha Image^ New Delhi, 2nd edn., 1980, p. 11.

5. V.S. Agarwala, Indian ^rt,,Varanasi, 1965, p. 232.

6. D. L. Sneligrove, The Image of Buddha, New Delhi, 1978, p. 74.

7. Ibid., p. 48.

8. V.S. Agarwala, op. cit., p. 237.

9. A. K. Commaraswamy, op. cit., p. 15.

10. D.L. Sneligrove, op. cit., p. 48.

11. A.K. Commaraswamy, op. cit., p. 1.

12. D.L. Sneligrove, op. cit., p. 61.

13. A.K. Commaraswamy, op. cit., p. 2.

14. Ibid., pp. 20-3. The statues of Buddhas preserved in the National Museum at Delhi clearly show these features.

15. Ibid., pp. 20-3. These features can be seen in the statue preserved in the Museum at Mathura.

16. Ibid., p. 27.

17. D.L.Sneligrove, op. cit., p. 22.

18. D.L.Sneligrove, Buddhist Himalaya, Oxford, 1957, p. 61.

19. A.K.Coomaraswamy, op. cit., p. 4.

20. These Buddhas have been found painted on the walls of rJe-bla-ma Iha-khan at Tabo.

227

21. B.Bhattacharyya, Indian Buddhist Iconography, Calcutta, 1958, p. 17.

22. Shashi Bhusan Dasgupta, An Introduction to Tantric Buddhism, Berkeley, 1974, p. 85.

23. D.L.Snellgrove, op. cit., p. 85.

24. S.B.Dasgupta, op. cit., p. 84.

25. Lokesh Chandra, ed., Sarvatathagatatattvasahgraha, New Delhi, 1987, pp. 6-7. Lokesh Chandra in The Temples of Western Tibet and their Artistic Symbolism (Indo-Tibetica III.l).

28. Ibid., preface, p. xix.

27. L.M. Joshi, Studies in Buddhist Culture of India. New Delhi, 1977, p. 281.

28. D.L.Snellgrove and T.Skorupski, The Cultural Heritage of Ladakh, New Delhi, vol.11, p. 30.

29. K.H.Verma, The Indian Technique of clay Modelling, Shantiniketan, 1970, p. 7.

30. Ibid., p. 19.

31. Gumrang is a small village on the right bank of Bhaga river. In the personal temple of the local thakur there are broken clay sculptures, which provide a good material for the study of clay sculptures.

32. This local grass grows wild on the bank of streams in the Spiti valley.

33. A.H. Francke, Antiquities of Indian Tibet, pt. i, p.38, Romi Khosla, Buddhist Monasteries in the Western Himalaya, Kathmandu, p. 43, O.C.Handa Buddhist Monasteries in Himachal Pradesh, 1987, p. 92.

34. During our field study we noticed inscribed metallic statues at Tashigang, Kamru and Chitkul.

35. Romi Khosla, op. cit., p. 35, G.Tucci, The Temples of Western Tibet and their Artistic Symbolism, Indo-Tibetica, pt. III.l, New Delhi, 1988, p. 64.

36. The space leading to the sanctum is not sufficient to accommodate four statues.

228

37. Thomas J. Pritzker, 'The Wall Paintings of Tabo', Orientations, vol. 20, no. 2, February 1989, pp. 38-47; Deborah Kliwiburg Salter, ed. , Tabo: A Lamp for the Kingdom, Milan, 1997.

38. Vairocana is in bodhyangi-mudra and not in dharmacakra-mudra as pointed out by G.Tucci, op. cit., p. 40.

39. The mudra of, Vairocana is referred to in the Sarva-tathagata^al^va-sahgraha. chapter I, p . 30 .

40. The crowns of the statues in Tabo's gTsug-lag-khan are triple pointed also having a tripple crescent.

41. G.Tucci, op. cit., p.183.

42. A.H.Francke, op. cit., p.32.

43. G. Tucci , op. cit., p.168-72.

44. Ibid., pp. 168-72.

45. Trefoliated arch and triangular gable was the speciality of Kashmiri art.

46. These deities possibly belong to the mandala of Prajnaparamita.

47. Here Vairocana is single bodied and four-headed but eight arms with different attributes or postures are shown, whereas at Tabo it is four-bodied and each having two arms.

48. No help was provided by the monastic community of Dankhar.

49. The lamas of the monastery did not show us all the chapels of the complex. They were demanding permission from the incarnate lama of the monastery, who was residing at Delhi at that time.

50. This information was provided by the lamas of the monastery.

51. D.L.Snellgrove and T.Skoruprki, The Cultural Heritage of Ladakh, vol. II, p. 95.

52. Because they are depicted in The lalita-asana in the gSer-khan at Tabo.

53. B.Bhattacharyya, op. cit., p. 142.

54. A. Getty, Gods of Northern Buddhism, p. 53.

229

55. D.L.Snellgrove and T.Skorupski, op. cit., p. 95.

56. According to a local informer they were made at Tsarang in 1971.

57. Laxman S.Thakur, 'A Magnificent Bronze Statue of Avalokitesvara from Kamru and Its Himalayan Legacy, OA, vol. XLIV, no. 3, 1998, pp. 57-61.

58. Snellgrove and Skorupski, op. cit., p. 95 at sr. no. XVIII.

59. A local resident Sh.Ramesh Negi and the incharge of the monastery provided us this information.

60. The stone inscription lies in an agricultural field in the Koro village near Pooh.

61. Inf ormation was provided by the lamas of the monastery.

62. This statue is one of the most popular of the three statues of Mila ras-pa, the other two are at Gyabang in (Kinnaur) and Gemur in Lahaul.

64. The present researcher is thankful to the Trustees of British Museum, London, for supplying this photograph for analysis.

230