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Photograph by David De Armas, Rubin Museum of Art, 2017.
Sakya Pandita (1182-1251) and Chogyel Phakpa (1235-1280) with Mahakala Lineage Masters
Photograph by David De Armas, Rubin Museum of Art, 2017.
Photograph by David De Armas, Rubin Museum of Art, 2017.

Sakya Pandita (1182-1251) and Chogyel Phakpa (1235-1280) with Mahakala Lineage Masters

OriginCentral Tibet
Date17th - 18th century
Dimensions68 5/8 × 36 × 5/8 in.
MediumPigments on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin
Object numberC2006.66.23
Himalayan Art Resources Number695
DescriptionThis painting was part of a set and depicts Sakya Pandita (1182–1251), one of the forefathers of the Sakya tradition and throne-holders of Sakya Monastery. He was believed to be an emanation of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, and well known throughout Tibet, Mongolia, China, and India. Proficient in the five great sciences of Buddhist philosophy, medicine, grammar, dialectics, and Sanskrit literature as well as the minor sciences, he was considered the greatest Buddhist scholar of his time and was invited by a Mongol ruler to come to his court and instruct him in Buddhist teachings. Thus began the spiritual and temporal connection between Mongolia and Tibet. The relationship continued with the next generation with Sakya Pandita’s nephew Chogyal Pagpa (1235–1280), shown here at his right, and the Mongol and later Chinese emperor Kublai Khan (1215–1295). As a gift in exchange for religious services, Kublai Khan appointed Chogyal Pagpa as the first monastic ruler of Tibet.
Not on view