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This section of the manuscript depicts five circles that serve as a mnemonic symbol of the five elements that constitute our psychophysical individuality: earth (yellow), water (white), fire (red), air (green), and space or quintessence (blue). They dissolve in succession at the time of death, thus propelling the mental principle of the deceased into the bardo of the afterlife.
Five Cosmogenic Elements; Text and Illuminations of the Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Intermediate State (Bardo)
OriginTibet
Dateca. 15th century
Dimensions2 5/8 x 12 in. (6.7 x 30.5 cm)
MediumPigments on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art, Gift of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation
Object numberF1998.16.5.2
Himalayan Art Resources Number68878 (Part of HAR 778)
DescriptionThis is the uppermost page of a manuscript that illustrates the contents of the Bardo Thodrol known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead in the West—a teaching revealed by treasure revealer Karma Lingpa (14th century), which describes the intermediate state between death and rebirth, known as the bardo. This section of the manuscript depicts five circles that serve as a mnemonic symbol of the five elements that constitute our psychophysical individuality: earth (yellow), water (white), fire (red), air (green), and space or quintessence (blue). They dissolve in succession at the time of death, thus propelling the mental principle of the deceased into the bardo of the afterlife.
Not on view
19th century
18th century
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