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Shakyamuni Buddha, Jataka (Previous Lives); eastern Tibet; 19th century; pigments on cloth; Rub…
Past Lives of Shakyamuni Buddha After Situ’s set of the Past Lives of Shakyamuni Buddha
Shakyamuni Buddha, Jataka (Previous Lives); eastern Tibet; 19th century; pigments on cloth; Rub…
Shakyamuni Buddha, Jataka (Previous Lives); eastern Tibet; 19th century; pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Art, gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2006.66.21 (HAR 680); photograph by Bruce M. White, Rubin Museum of Art, 2008

Past Lives of Shakyamuni Buddha
After Situ’s set of the Past Lives of Shakyamuni Buddha

OriginKham Region, Eastern Tibet
Date19th century
Dimensions35 1/4 × 22 1/8 in. (estimated)
MediumPigments on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin
Object numberC2006.66.21
Himalayan Art Resources Number680
Project Himalayan Arthttps://projecthimalayanart.rubinmuseum.org/related/the-previous-lives-of-buddha-shakyamuni/
DescriptionIn late 1726, before building Pelpung Monastery, Situ Panchen (1700-1774) began sketching a major set of paintings depicting the stories of Shakyamuni Buddha’s previous lives (jataka). It was presumably based on a painting from the “Hundred Jatakas” cycle associated with the Third Karmapa, though Tibetan sources do not specify which model he followed. Some nineteen years later Situ gave the text transmission for the “Hundred Jatakas” to the young Thirteenth Karmapa as one of his first teachings.

The painting shows episodes 11 through 19, which are arranged as below:

11. Shakra: A Tale of Bravery
12. The Brahman: A Tale of Conscience
13. She Who Drives Men Mad: A Tale of Self-Control
14. Suparaga: Depending on the Virtuous as Friends
15. The Fish: The Rewards of Virtue
16. The Baby Quail: The Power of Honesty
17. The Jar of Liquor: The Virtuous Turning Others from Evil
18. The Wealthy Prince: The Virtue of Detachment from Worldly Concerns
19. The Lotus Roots: A Tale of Understanding
Not on view