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1. Panydzsara Mahákála és kísérete, Kelet-Tibet, XVIII. század 2. Panydzsara Mahákála Kámadhátvísvara, a jaksa és jaksí és a három „Mon-gyermek' 4. Vadzsradhara és a Szakja tanítók láncolata 4 5. A kép hátoldala a lança írásos magszótagokkal, a szöveggel és a kézlenyomattal BÉLA KELÉNYI P A N J A R A MAHÄKÄLA A T I B E T A N PAINTED S C R O L L F R O M T H E DELMÁR C O L L E C T I O N An interesting piece in the Tibetan collection of the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts, Budapest, is an eighteenth-century thangka, or painted scroll, depicting one of the forms of appearance taken by a protective deity known in Tibetan as mGon po chen po (Skt.: Mahäkäla). This thangka passed into the possession of the Ferenc Hopp Museum in 1949, from among the items assembled by the Budapest art collector Emil Delmár ( 1876-1959). Delmár, who as a young man had travelled in India and China, based his collection on works of art from the East. Later on he disposed of a large part of his Oriental collection and began to collect works of art from Europe. In 1939 he left Hungary for Switzerland, moving on from there to the United States. Before his departure, however, he handed over a part of his collection to the Museum of Fine Arts and to the Museum of Applied Arts, both in Budapest. Delmár 's Oriental items featured in a number of large-scale exhibitions in Hungary, including an amateur exhibition in 1907, the Oriental Arts Exhibition organized in 1929, and in the exhibition put on to commemorate Ferenc Hopp in 1933. The present scroll picture can be identified beyond any shadow of doubt on the basis of one of the object descriptions in the list of the items submitted for the 1907 exhibition (in which items loaned by Delmár were exceeded in number only by those lent by Ferenc Hopp, the subsequent founder of the Museum). 1 2 3 4 5 However, on the basis of the other documents available to us, it is probable that abovementioned thangka was not actually exhibited on this occasion, despite its very high quality. But since the thangka was already in the Delmár Collection in 1907, we may assume that it was acquired not through mediators, but by Delmár himself in the course of his travels in China. This rare type of thangka, painted in gold contours on a black background and with the use of an unusual artistic technique, is an example of a so-called „blackthangka" (Tib.: nag thang), which mostly depict the protective deities, the dharmapäla-s. The entire composition and some of the details (clothing, tongues of fire, scenery, etc.) are painted with especial fineness and great skill. The contours-swirling and at first sight almost chaotic-enhance the mobility of the picture. The main figure in the picture is Panjara Mahäkäla (Tib.: Gur gyi mGon po), one of the forms of appearance of Mahäkäla, one of the protective deities of the Sakya sect who appears surrounded by attendants in the socalled „eight-figurc group" (Tib.: Gur gyi mGon po lha brgyad). The origin of the deity is difficult to establish, since the name can be interpreted in many different ways. The T i betan word gur means „tent" but in Sanskrit the deity's name is pahjara, which means „cage, aviary, skeleton". In Tucci's interpretation it means „cage of bones" - in other words, a skeleton. According to Tucci, this form of Mahäkäla was originally an archaic. 6 7 8 khtonic deity, a funereal deity which helped break open the prison of the body wherein unconsciousness is preserved. One of the earliest known depictions of Pan j ara Mahäkäla is a statue fashioned at the end of the thirteenth century. In accordance with the Sakya tradition, this depicts him together with four attendants: to the right of him are two male deities, Bhütadämara Vajrapäni (Tib.: Phyag rdor 'byung po 'did byed) and Bhagavat Mahäkäla (Tib.: mGon po legs Idan), and to the left two female ones, Ekajad (Tib.: Rai gcig ma) and Kämadhätvisvara (Tib.: dPal Idan lha mo 'dod khams dbang phyug ma). This five-figure group also appears in later, fifteenth-century to seventeenth-century depictions, which reflect mainly Nepalese influence. " In later pictures depicting the Panjara Mahäkäla, Bhagavat Mahäkäla is generally replaced by Brahmanarupa Mahäkäla (Tib.: mGon po bram ze'i gzugs can), as in the picture currently under discussion. The system of figures depicted in the eighteenth-century thangka from the Delmár Collection is as follows: 9 1 11 mKha'spyod ma) (11). Above is the Vajradhara (Tib.: rDo rje 'chang) (12) proclaiming the tantric tradition of the Panjara Mahäkäla; below is the figure of a yogi receiving mystic instruction from him (13) and a row of Sakya lamas (14-17). Below and to the right can be seen Citipati, „Lord of the Cemetery, Brother and Sister" (Tib.: Dur khrod bdag po learn drat) (18), often accompanying Mahäkälas; underneath them is the Sridevi (Tib.: dPal Idan lha mo) (19): on the left-hand side is another dharmapäla, one form of appearance of Vaisravana (Tib.: rNam thos sras) (20) This group-of-eight form of appearance for Panjara Mahäkäla was described by Tucci in connection with the depiction at the Dregun monastery in the village of Samada (Gyantse),' and later, on the basis of a T i betan text, by Nebesky Wojkowitz. This form of the Mahäkäla is known as bsTan srung kun gyi sde dpon rdo rje gur, or as rDo rje nag po chen po. The Mahäkäla, above his defeated enemies and surrounded by the fire tongues of Wisdom, lives actually in the middle of a great cemetery. Following the order in the Tibetan text, the colour of the deity introducing leading in the eight-figure grouping is dark blue (in the text it is said to be black), in his hands are the Mahäkäla's usual symbols: in his right hand there is a hatchet and in his left hand a skull cup filled with blood. In his crossed arms is his characteristic attribute, the magic staff, or gandi (Tib.: 'phrul gyi gandi), which was originally used to indicate the time in the monasteries and in which the Mahäkäla's secret army (Tib.: ru 'dren sde bzhi) is concealed.' The yellow hair of the Panjara Mahäkäla stands on end and his fangs gleam; his three eyes refer to knowledge of the past, the present and the future. His attire is a tiger-skin loincloth and a black silk cloak, and he is ornamented with the characteristic embellishments of fierce deities: a crown of five skulls, a garland of fifty blood-dripping heads, six kinds of bone ornaments, and a snake necklace. Above his head, on his right side, flies 2 14 13 15 16 12 14 16 15 13 9 17 1 I I 10 3 6 20 7 19 The eight-figure group already mentioned is put together with the main figure, Panjara Mahäkäla (1) and the seven attendants surrounding him (2-8). In addition to them, on his right are two deities, Bhütadämara Vajrapäni (9) and Brähmanarüpa Mahäkäla (10); on his left are the already-mentioned Ekajati (2) and Sarvabuddhadäkinf (Tib.: Na ro one of his messengers (a further three are mentioned in the text): a garuda bird (Tib.: khyung) holding a snake in its mouth. The first member of his entourage {parivara) is Ekajati („With one strand of hair") (2); stemming from the seed syllable T A K . she sits on his left side, beside his leg. In her hand there is a vase (kalasa) full of nectar (amrta). Her blue body is covered on top by a white silk cloak; she has a tiger-skin loincloth. From the goddess's vagina, from the seed syllable T R A G , there flows a sea of blood, across which Kämadhätvisvara (3), one of the forms of appearance of Sridevi, is riding on a mule. The body of the four-armed goddess, who stems from the seed syllable B H Y O M , is blue. In her right upper hand she waves a flaming sword and holds a string of prayer beads; in her lower right hand there is a skull-cup filled with blood. In her left upper hand she holds a trisüla, a trident; and in her lower left hand there is a lance. She wears a crown with five skulls, and a garland consisting of fifty bloody heads. She has three eyes, from her mouth there hangs a human corpse, and she is bearing her fangs. On her two sides are the „black"yaksa (Tib.: Nag po gnod sbyin) (4) andyaksi (Tib.: Nag mo gnod sbyin) (5). On her right side, the yaksa, originating in the seed syllable Y A , which derives from Mahäkäla, is dressed in a human skin; in his raised right hand there is a hatchet, and in the palm of his left-hand he holds the Orb of the Sun. The attire of his companion on the left hand side (who derives from the seed syllable M A M stemming from Sridevi) is of black silk; with his right hand he waves a gold blade, and in his left hand he holds the Moon. From them there derive the three ,jvIon children" (Tib.: Mon bu putra) (6-8). The dark-blue ,,brothers and sisters" (Tib.: Putra ming sring gsum) similarly denote an ancient form of Panjara Mahäkäla. In the middle is Putra nag po (6), stemming from the seed syllable TRI; his attire is of black silk and in his right hand he holds up a long sabre (Tib.: shang lang); in his left hand he holds a skull-cup, filled with hot 18 brains and blood. On his right is Bhadra nag po (7), also stemming from the seed syllable TRI; he is dressed in a tiger skin, black silk and breast-plate. With his right hand he raises a staff above wrongdoers; with his left he lifts up the heart, dripping with blood, of a man who has broken his word. On the left side is their sister Sri« mo ral gcig ma (8), stemming from the seed syllable B H Y O , who holds a golden blade in her right hang; from her left hand and from her mouth hand the entrails of sinful people. From the eyes of the three figures blood flows; their mouths vomit flame, and their bodies are ornamented with human heads. In the bottom left-hand edge of the picture, among other things, dogs and an eagle pecking a corpse-probably details of a cemetery-can be seen. On the right side of Panjara Mahäkäla is located Bhütadämara Vajrapäni (9), one of the tantric forms of appearance of Vajrapäni. He stands on a lotus throne, his body is blue, and there is a vajra in his hair, which is standing upright. With his right leg he treads on a man with four arms, his hands in the middle are in a ,,fear-arousing" pose (Skt.: bhütadämaramudrä), in his raised right hand there is a vajra, his left hand is in threatening" pose (Skt.: tarjanîmudra), in it is a lasso (Skt.: päsa). His loin-cloth is a tiger skin, and on his neck there is a garland of snakes. Beneath him is Bráhmanarúpa, the Brähmana-shaped Mahäkäla (10), who is depicted in the form of an aged ascetic with white hair and white beard. In his right hand he holds a skull-cup filled with blood; on his right shoulder there rests a trident, or trisüla. In his raised left hand there is a shin-bone (Tib.: rkang gling), in front of him is a gold vase, which belongs among the symbols of the deity. Beneath him the four däkini, his attendees, can be seen. Their colours are green, red, blue and yellow; in their hands are hatchets and skull-cups. On the left side of Panjara Mahäkäla one of the protective goddesses of the Sakya sect, Sarvabuddhadákiní (11) can be seen, standing among tongues of fire. The colour of the goddess's body, who is on a lotus throne in an attitude of stepping leftwards, is red; she is treading on two four-armed men, one of whom is red and the other white. In her left hand there is a hatchet, with her left hand she raises to her mouth a skull-cup filled with blood; on her shoulder is a ceremonial staff (Skt.: khan'ähga). Beneath Ekajati (2) there are two skeletons dancing on corpses, in the form of „Lord of the Cemetery, Brother and Sister" (18). Their loin-cloths are silk, in their raised right hands there are skull-topped staffs (Tib.: thod s kam gyi dbyug pa); in their left hands they hold skull-cups filled with blood. At the lower right-hand edge of the picture is depicted another form of appearance of dharmapäla Sridevi (Tib.: dPal Idan dmag zor rgyal mo) (19); at the bottom left-hand edge, however, can be seen a rare form of depiction of the dharmapäla Vaisravana: probably „The Vaisravana possessing a red lance and a blue horse" (Tib.: rNam sras mdung dmar rta sngon can) (20). The lance is in his raised right hand, in his left hand is his attribute, a mongoose spewing treasure (Tib.: ne'u le). In the picture can also be found those black animals which are depicted in the so-called sacrificial pictures (Tib.: hskang rdzas). They take the different human organs for sacrifice to the angry gods. Such is the vulture flying on the left side of Panjara Mahäkäla, beside his head with a human heart in its beak; in the lower right-hand part, in front of Sridevi there is a dog wearing a red collar. One of the important issues of the picture is the identity of the monks depicted in it. It is clear that they are those Sakya lamas (Skt.: guruparamparä) who have been initiated into the teachings of Panjara Mahäkäla, and who played a crucial role in the passing on of these teachings. Identification of the figures depicted is made especially difficult by the fact that they have no inscriptions beneath them; consequently, their identities can only be deduced by establishing the order in which the teachers appear. In one of the volumes of the Sa sky a hkd 'bum series which sum19 marizes the Sakya tradition, one of the texts dealing with the Panjara Mahäkäla gives essentially the same order of pupils as the Ngor chen series published by Jackson, with the difference that earlier it also gives a „nonordinary" series (Tib.: thun mong mayin pa' i brgyud pa). The ,,ordinary" series is the following: 20 21 1. rDo rje 'chang (Skt.: Vajradhara) 2. mkhd gro ma rDo rje gur (Skt.: Vajrapanjara däkini) 3. bram ze mChog sred (Skt.: Vararüci brähmana) 4. bDe bai rdo rje (Skt.: Sukhavajra) 5. Sraddha kara va rma (Skt.: Samkaravarman) 6. jo bo Rin chen bzang po 7. Brag steng pa Yon tan tshul khrims 8. Mai lo (Mai gyo lo tsa ba) 9. Sa chen (Sa chen Kun dgd snying po) 10. rTse mo (bSod nams rtse mo) 11. Grags pa ( G rags pa rgyal mtshan ) 12. Chos rje pa 13. Phags pa 14. zhang dKon mchog dpal 15. Na bzd pa 16. rje bSod nams rgyal mtshan l From among the figures depicted on the picture, only the Vajradhara surrounded by the Sun and Moon (12) can be identified. In the pictures depicting Panjara Mahäkäla, the yogi initiated into the teachings is generally shown as VirDpa, one of the eighty-four mahäsiddhas. The mahäsiddha, or yogi, ( 13) with matted hair beneath the Vajradhara cannot be identified on the basis of his attributes, but it is possible that he is a depiction of bram ze mChog sred. In his right hand is a string of prayer beads, and next to his right shoulder is a staff ending in a strange vase shaped like a bird's head. In his left hand a mongoose spewing treasure can be seen. The upper right-hand figure is a monk holding a flower between his hands (15); this is probably Sa chen ( 1092-1158), the famous abbot of the Sakya order. The upper 22 23 left-hand figure, a monk holding a skull-cup in his left hand (14), is perhaps Mai lo, or bSod nams rtse we;; the other two (16-17) however, are either two other members of the series, or are Sakya monks who cannot be identified. A special feature of the reverse side of the picture are two imprints of the right hand of a high-ranking lama performing sanctification. In the appropriate centers (cakra-s) (fore24 heads, throats and hearts) on the bodies of individual deities, the Body, Speech and Mind of the enlightened personality are indicated by lantsa written syllables (OM ÄH H U M ) , which facilitate the summoning of the individual deities. The text itself contains the Sanskrit mantras of various deites, followed by a brief Tibetan prayer. The transcription of the Sanskrit text is as follows: 25 O M HÜM T R A M HRÏH ÄH / (mantras of the five-strong „Buddha family") O M D E V A PICU V A R J A HÜM HÜM HÜM P H A T SVÄHÄ / (mantra of Hevajra) H A M K S A M A L A V A R A Y A / (mantra of the ..Powerful Ten") O M YAMÄNTAKA HÜM P H A T / (mantra of Yamäntaka) O M VAJRAKÏLlKlLAYA S A R V A VIGHNÄN B A M HÜM P H A T / (mantra of Vajrakïla) O M O M O M SARVABUDDHADÄKINTYE / V A J R A V A R N A N I Y E / VÁJRÁVAIROCANIYE H U M H U M H U M P H A T P H A T P H A T S V A H A / (mantra of Vajrayogini) 26 O M BHÜTADÄMARA BHÜTAADHIPATI A K S O B H Y A KIRITRINA S A R V A BHÜTA PRETA P I S A C A N A S A D H A Y A H U M P H A T / H U M V A J R A PHAT / (mantra of Bhütadämara Vajrapäni) O M MAHÄKÄLA HÜM P H A T / (mantra of Mahäkäla) O M SRÏ MAHÄKÄLAYA HÜM PHAT / O M R O R U RORU VITISTHA / VATOSI KÁMALARAKSASI H U M B H Y O H U M / (mantra of Panjara Mahäkäla) O M MAHÄKÄLA K A L A VIKÄLARATRITA /DOMBINI/ CANDALT / RAKSASI / SINGALI / DEVI H U M B H Y O H U M (mantra of another form of appearance of Mahäkäla) 27 TADHYATHÄ / Otyl R O R U VITISTHA / VATOSI / M A M A R A K M O CITTA K H A R A M O B H Y O B H Y O S V A H A (one form of appearance of Rematï has a similar mantra) * 2 O M V A I S R A V A N A Y E SVÄHÄ / (mantra of Vaisravana) Y E DHARMÄ HETUPRABHAVÄ H E T U M T E S A M TATHÄGATO H Y A V A D A T T E S A M C A Y O NIRODHA E V A M V A D I M A H A S R A M A N A H (/) " 2 O M SUPRATISTHA V A J R A Y E SVÄHÄ / The Tibetan text is as follows: sngon che rgyal ha'i spyan sugar zhal bzhes Itar I sangs rgyas bstan bsrung bstan 'dzin dbu 'phang bstod I dge('d)un sde skyong 'gro la bde skyid spei I mal by or bcol ba'i phrin las bsgrub par mdzod I sarba manggaiam II A translation of this is as follows: „As was earlier revealed to the Victorious ones, Glorify the Buddha, the protector and keeper of the Law, and his authority; Watch over the community of monks, increase the well-being of living creatures, And perform the deeds entrusted to you by the yogi!" Sarva mangalam (Happiness to all!) The picture itself is surrounded by a double red-and-yellow border, a ,,rainbow" (Tib.: 'dza) evoking the emanation of the deity. The lower part of the dark blue damask silk is finely shot with gold and silk thread. On it can be seen a flaming pearl, around which are chasing two dragons, representing the eternal struggle of duality. Beneath them, beside a picture of a mountain emerging from the waves, are symbols of good fortune offered up to the deities and expressing well-being: a sprig of coral, precious stones, and precious metals. NOTES 1. Inv. No.: L . 63, size: 126x75 cm (outer), 64x45 cm (inner). 2. In 1944, among a number of items from Emil Delmár's collection, seven Oriental pictures were transferred to Budapest's Museum of Fine Arts (Document No.: 159/1944, Museum of Fine Arts). Later, in March 1949, these Oriental pictures were given over to the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest (Acta ad 38/1949, Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiastic Arts). 3. Szmodisné Eszlári, Eva: Európai szobrászat, szerzemények Delmár Emil gyűjteményéből. (European sculpture, acquisitions from the Emil Delmár Collection). Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 1986. Catalogue. 4. A budapesti amateur gyűjtemények kiállításának lajstroma (List for the exhibition of items in Budapest amateur collections). Budapest, 1907; Csányi, Káwly-Felvinczi Takács. Zoltán (eds.): Keleti Művészeti Kiállítás (Exhibition of Oriental Art). Budapest, 1929; Felvinczi Takács, Zoltán: Hopp Ferenc Emlékkiállítás (Ferenc Hopp Commemorative Exhibition). Budapest, 1933. 5. Kiállítások, kiállítók, 1908-1913 (Exhibition list for the 1907 exhibition). Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, p. L V . , inv. no. of the item: 234. 6. For the legend of its origin, see Snellgrove, D. L. Skorupski, T.: The Cultural Heritage of Ladakh, vol. 2, Warminster, 1980, pp. 99-100. 7. Monier-Williams, M . : A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford, 1964, p. 575. 8. Tucci, G.: Indo-Tibetica, vol. IV/1. New Delhi, 1989, pp. 124-125 9. Stoddard, H.: A Stone Sculpture of mGur mGonpo, Mahakala of the Tent, Dated 1292. In: Oriental Art, vol. X X X I , no 3. (autumn 1985), pp. 278-282. 10. Pal, P.: The Lord of the Tent in Tibetan Paintings. In: Pantheon, vol. X X X V , April/May/June 1977, pp. 97-102. 11. Essen, G-W.-Thingo. T. T.: Die Götter des Himalaya. München. 1989. vol 2. 180-181. 12. Tucci, op. cit., pp. 122-132. 13. Sädhana-mälä of the Panchen Lama, Yi dam rgya mtsho '/' sgruh thabs rin chen 'byung gnas kyi lhan thabs rin 'byung don gsal. Part 2. reproduced by Lokesh Chandra, Sata-Pitaka Series, vol. 211. New Deihi, 1974, pp. 535-551. 14. Nebesky-Wojkowitz, R. de: Oracles and Demons of Tibet. S-Gravenhage, 1956, pp. 49-51, Tibetan source work no. 157, p. 598. 15. Nebesky-Wojkowitz, R. de: Ibid. pp. 49-50. 16. Sädhana-mälä of the Panchen Lama, Part 2, Ibid. 535.4-538.2. 17. Essen-Thingo, op. cit., vol. I. p. 209. 18. For the origin of their name, see Tucci, op. cit., pp. 123-124. 19. Concerning this, see Jackson. D. P.: The Identification of Individual Teachers in Paintings of Saskya-pa Lineaga. In: Indo-Tibetan Studies, Buddhica Britannica, Series Continua II, ed. by Skorupski, T., The Institute of Buddhist Studies, Tring, U . K., 1990, pp. 129-144. 20. Gur mgon lha brgyad kyi rje s gnang ngag 'don. In: Sa skya pa'i bka" 'bum, vol. 9, Tokyo, 1968, p. 330.4.6. 21. Jackson, op. cit., p. 136. 22. Essen-Thingo, op. cit., vol. II, p. 180-181. 23. A similar iconographical depiction can be found in the Cakrasamvara series. In: L . Chandra: Buddhist Iconography. New Delhi, 1991, p. 476. Illustration 1384. 24. The present writer saw an identified picture supplied with a similar attribute in Dharamsala, during a study tour in India in 1993, in the collection of Pema Jungney, representative of the Sakya order in the T i betan parliament. 25. The mantra of Panjara Mahakala can be seen in a similar arrangement on the back of a picture depicting a Sakya lama. In: Cat. Sotheby's Indian Himalayan and South-East Asian Art, London, Thursday, 11 October 1990, pp. 30-33. 26. For a detailed exposition of its meaning, see Gyatso, G . K . : Guide to Dakini Land. London, 1991. pp. 159-160. 27. Chandra, op. cit., p. 333. Illustration 890. 28. Chandra, L . : Ibid. p. 338, Illustration 905. 29. „Whatever events arise from a cause, the Tathagata has told the cause thereof, and the great ascetic also has taught their cessation as well." This formula, which is the so-called Verse of Dependent Origination, is used as a mantra in consecration to hold deities in position. In: Beyer. S.: Magic and Ritual in Tibet. The Cult of Tara. Delhi, 1988, p. 146. ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Panjara Mahakala and his entourage, Eastern Tibet, 18th century 2. Panjara Mahakala 3. Kämadhätvis'vara, the yaksa and yaksi and the three ,,Mon children" 4. Vajradhara and the lineage of Sakya lamas 5. The reverse side of the picture, with lantsa written seed syllables and text and the hand printing