Skip to main content
Rahula, shown at the center of a fifteen deity assembly, is a wrathful protector of the “revealed treasure” (terma) tradition of the Nyingma School, which was eventually practiced in other Tibetan Buddhist traditions as well. The upper area of the painting illustrates the teaching’s transmission. At the top center is a triad of Buddha Shakyamuni, Padmasambhava, and Vajrapani, the source of the practice focused on Rahula depicted in this painting. The four teachers flanking the triad are, from left to right, the treasure revealers Padma Ledreltsel (b. 1248), Gya Zhangdrom, Ngagi Wangpo (1580–1639), and the Tenth Situ, Padma Kunzang (1854–1885).
BACK
On the painting’s reverse a victory banner topped by a sea monster (makara), the main attribute of the central deity depicted on the front, stands in for that deity, certainly a rare instance. In the center of it, mantras dedicated to Rahula are repeated in Lantsa script and in a Tibetan transliteration. The two longer lines in red ink include a prayer to the deity. The longer text at the bottom directly associates the deity with the tamer of spirits, Padmasambhava, who bound Rahula by oath to protect Buddhism. The text further extolls the beneficial powers of “this support for offering and contemplation.”
Rahula and His Assembly
OriginKham Province, Eastern Tibet
Date19th century
Dimensions40 1/4 x 32 1/4 x 2 1/4 in. (102.2 x 81.9 x 5.7 cm)
MediumPigments on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art
Object numberC2010.13
Himalayan Art Resources Number65864
DescriptionFRONTRahula, shown at the center of a fifteen deity assembly, is a wrathful protector of the “revealed treasure” (terma) tradition of the Nyingma School, which was eventually practiced in other Tibetan Buddhist traditions as well. The upper area of the painting illustrates the teaching’s transmission. At the top center is a triad of Buddha Shakyamuni, Padmasambhava, and Vajrapani, the source of the practice focused on Rahula depicted in this painting. The four teachers flanking the triad are, from left to right, the treasure revealers Padma Ledreltsel (b. 1248), Gya Zhangdrom, Ngagi Wangpo (1580–1639), and the Tenth Situ, Padma Kunzang (1854–1885).
BACK
On the painting’s reverse a victory banner topped by a sea monster (makara), the main attribute of the central deity depicted on the front, stands in for that deity, certainly a rare instance. In the center of it, mantras dedicated to Rahula are repeated in Lantsa script and in a Tibetan transliteration. The two longer lines in red ink include a prayer to the deity. The longer text at the bottom directly associates the deity with the tamer of spirits, Padmasambhava, who bound Rahula by oath to protect Buddhism. The text further extolls the beneficial powers of “this support for offering and contemplation.”
Not on view
15th century
late 19th century
1736–1795
19th century
19th century
18th - 19th century
18th century
15th century
