Skip to main content
This form of Drenpa Namkha, depicted in the father-mother (yab-yum) posture with his consort, Oden Barma, is used in longevity rituals. Drenpa Namkha shares many features with the Buddhist tantric master Padmasambhava: both lived in the eighth century, wielded magical powers, and hid texts known as treasures (terma) to be discovered at appropriate times in the future. The round rainbow at bottom center encircles Machen Pomra, the main mountain god of Amdo in Northeastern Tibet.
The distinctive palette with deep, flat, blue and grey hues is found in paintings from Ngawa, in southeastern Amdo. The Bon religion flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in southern Amdo, Gyelrong, and the neighboring northern Kham Province.
Drenpa Namkha (ca. 8th century)
OriginAmdo Province, Eastern Tibet
Date19th century
Dimensions46 1/4 × 33 3/8 in. (estimated)
MediumPigments on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art
Object numberC2005.4.8
Himalayan Art Resources Number65401
Project Himalayan Arthttps://projecthimalayanart.rubinmuseum.org/related/drenpa-namkha-ca-8th-century/
DescriptionDrenpa Namkha is credited with saving the teachings of Bon, a religion indigenous to Tibet, from total eradication when Buddhism became the state religion of Tibet in the eighth century. According to legend, to save his own religion, Drenpa Namkha adopted Buddhism. This ability to adapt to any religious situation to preserve Bon made him a hero to Bon practitioners. Drenpa Namkha is therefore a personification of the nonsectarian movement in Tibet, representing the inseparability of certain Bon and Buddhist teachings. This form of Drenpa Namkha, depicted in the father-mother (yab-yum) posture with his consort, Oden Barma, is used in longevity rituals. Drenpa Namkha shares many features with the Buddhist tantric master Padmasambhava: both lived in the eighth century, wielded magical powers, and hid texts known as treasures (terma) to be discovered at appropriate times in the future. The round rainbow at bottom center encircles Machen Pomra, the main mountain god of Amdo in Northeastern Tibet.
The distinctive palette with deep, flat, blue and grey hues is found in paintings from Ngawa, in southeastern Amdo. The Bon religion flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in southern Amdo, Gyelrong, and the neighboring northern Kham Province.
Not on view
15th century
19th century
19th century
18th - 19th century
18th century
20th century
19th century
19th century
