Thangka of Vajravarahi

Thangka of Vajravarahi

With inscription by Ratna Vijay
Tibet, 18th century
Painted cotton with silk brocade border

Our October Object of the Month is an 18th-century thangka, a type of Tibetan painting. This thangka depicts the female Buddhist deity Vajravarahi, a form of Vajrayogini. She can be identified from her dancing posture, her features, and the things she is carrying and wearing. Each element of the thangka has a symbolic meaning related to the teachings and beliefs of Tibetan Buddhism. The border is made from an elaborate embroidered silk brocade, with gold threads. The reverse of the border is lined with yellow silk.

Statue of dancing Vajravarahi, Tibet, ca 15th century, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number AC1996.4.1

Thangkas are paintings of Buddhist deities or important teachers. They are made to be hung up as part of an altar and they are rolled for storage and transport. They can be used as teaching aids or as a focus for worship and Buddhist practice. They are also commissioned to commemorate or celebrate an occasion. They usually consist of a central painting on cotton with a silk brocade border. They have two pole sleeves either end so that they can be hung on a wall or rolled up easily. A complete thangka would usually also have a silk curtain which can be lowered to cover the sacred image, but the thangkas in the Chiddingstone Castle collection no longer have their silk curtains.

Thangkas hanging above the altar at Ralang Monastery, Image by Prof Ranga Sai - Own work

Vajravarahi is believed to be a deity of wisdom. She is the wrathful persona of the popular goddess Vajrayogini. The flames surrounding her, her red skin, and the necklace of heads around her neck identify her as a wrathful deity. She is depicted stepping over a human body, representing her defeat of illusion and ego. She is said to have power over the five obstacles to enlightenment, or ultimate awareness and an escape from all suffering. The five obstacles are greed, hatred, delusion, envy, and pride. She is holding a skull cup in her left hand and a curved knife in her right which represents her ability to cut through ignorance. The knife is called a kartika and is an important symbol for wrathful deities in Tibetan Buddhism.

 Kartika knife in iron with gold and silver inlay, Sino-Tibetan, Derge School, Yongle period (1403 – 1427), The Cleveland Museum of Art, accession number 1978.9.3

Vajravarahi also holds a staff in the crook of her elbow which is tied with a flowing ribbon. The paint of the staff, which was mostly likely decorated in gold, has mostly faded and worn away. The staff is topped with three heads – one living, one decaying, and one skeletal. The staff represents the important Buddhist teaching that all things must eventually decay and fade. Vajravarahi wears a crown of skulls and a necklace of severed heads. She dances with her foot on a human below her. This imagery emphasises her power as a goddess and her ability to triumph over ignorance, attachment, and ego.

This thangka shows signs of many years of use and display. Areas of the paint have faded or flaked away. Traces of Vajravarahi’s jewellery can still be seen around her neck and hips. This thangka is very high-quality, with expensive woven brocade with gold threads and finely painted detail. It is likely that it would have originally been decorated all over with gold paint – thin lines of gold can still be seen on the blue area surrounding the dancing figure of Vajravarahi. The inscription on the reverse of the thangka confirms that it must have been made for someone very wealthy and important, who is described as a ‘lord’. It is the responsibility of the person commissioning the thangka to provide the materials, such as the paints and the silk for the border. We are grateful to Tashi Murik for the translation of the inscription on the reverse of the thangka. The translation has given us the rare opportunity to identify the name of the artist who painted the thangka.

Image that likens to a mountain made up of ruby particles, that is lit by a hundred thousand rays of sun. By the merit of commissioning this, all phenomenon of samsara (the cycle of rebirth) and nirvana (enlightenment) be instantly overpowered.

Thus, I, Ratna Vijay, scribed on the back of your lord’s thangka.

Reverse of the Vajravarahi thangka with Tibetan kyu yig script

The inscription on the reverse also includes the words ‘om’, ‘a’, and ‘hum’ over the head, throat, and heart of Vajrayogini. These words mean ‘body, speech, mind’ and indicate that the thangka has undergone a consecration ceremony, which makes it sacred. A consecration ceremony dedicates a painting or sculpture to the deity it depicts. Blessings and prayers are made by Lamas (Tibetan Buddhist teachers) and monks. The eyes are sometimes painted in, and an inscription is added to the reverse of the thangka. Once consecrated, a thangka is considered sacred and is treated with great respect and given offerings as if it were the deity themselves.

This thangka is currently displayed in the castle’s Buddhist Room, using magnets covered with Japanese paper and supported with art card to protect the fabric. This method ensures that the thangka can be displayed and removed safely, and the reverse of the thangka can still be accessed for study. The sacred importance of the objects has been taken into consideration for their display and interpretation. The displays in the Buddhist Room were created with the help of Tashi Murik, Pema Murik, and Tsering Passang, who are members of the Tibetan and Buddhist communities.

This object is just one of the many objects that form part of Denys Eyre Bower’s five impressive collections which include Ancient Egyptian, Japanese, Buddhist, Stuart and Jacobite, and Books. For more information on these objects, review our Object of the Month series, visit the Historic House and Collections or contact our Curator, Naomi Collick by email or by calling 01892 870347.