Project Report for Dara Shikhoh Fellowship 2018 The three-week long residency as a part of the Fellowship programme at Leh, provided an opportunity to foreground an academic enquiry about the variations in different lineages of Tantric Buddhism through iconological analysis of the murals in around twelve monasteries around Leh; thereby attempting to find connections of different schools of Tantrayana and Mahayana Buddhism migrating from Nalanda, Vikramshila and Odantapuri in eastern India to Ladakh, the crossroads of civilizations. Also, as a practising artist, I was occupying the artist’s studio at LAMO (Ladakh Arts and Media Organization) a collaborator for this year’s residency programme, putting up an exhibition of some of my recent paintings inspired by esoteric aspects of Indian philosophy, particularly Tantric Buddhism. A site-specific mural of a rainbow mandala with Dhyani Buddha Aksobhya, accompanying a self-translated doha of Tantric Buddhist master Kanhupa from ArdhaMagadhi to Bengali, was executed on the top of a doorway to a small private shrine within the studio room of the 17th century renovated house below the Leh palace. Documentation and Archival work The documentation required extensive prior study of the history of Buddhism in Ladakh, especially those in a radius of 75 kilometres around Leh, shortlisting them on the basis of extant surviving old murals (Table 1), furthering to the scrutiny of styles and traditional schools of Buddhist painting from Bengal under the Palas, Nepal, Tibet, Kashmir, Bhutan, Central Asia and Ladakh itself. After a couple of days of stay at Leh visiting the Palace, the Central Asian Museum and orientation at LAMO, I started off the documentation with three of the farthest and most ancient mural sites on NH1: Saspol, Alchi and Mangyu. The first, a meditative cave complex called Saspol, derived from Sanskrit phrase Shasya phalam eti1, refers to the fertile village right after the Sangam and hosts around 5 painted caves, of which but one, the murals are seriously damaged. The site may have belonged to the Pre-Buddhist Dards, appropriated by Rinchen Zangpo probably in the eleventh century being occupied later by the Kadampa sect of Atisha and subsequently the Gelugpa school of Tsongkhapa. The most elaborately painted cave has murals of Sakaymuni, Hevajra, Samvara, Guyhasamaja, Kalachakra, Yamantaka Vajra Bhairava, mandalas of Sadakshari Avalokitsevara, Vairocana and Manjusri, 84 Mahasiddhas, Vajrasattva, Vajravarahi, Green and White Tara, Simhananda Avalokitesvara and Vadiraj Manjusri, Ekadashamukha Avalokitesvara, Mahakala and the Kalachakra. Iconographical analysis suggests that the caves were taken over by the Gelugpas following the fourteenth century who introduced the image of their founder 1 Tsering Sonam, Ajanta of Ladakh: Gon-Nila-Phuk Meditation Caves, Saspol; Indraprastha Press, New Delhi, 2013 Tsongkhapa. Stylistically, the murals in the first cave hint the work of a Pala - Tibetan School while the rest of the Caves betray more of Central Asian/Kashmiri draughtsmanship. Quite a lot of academic scholarship has gone into the study of murals at Alchi; the Sumtsek or the three storied temple, being exclusively covered, wall to wall by Roger Goepper with photography by Jaroxlav Poncar2 and a comparative stylistic analysis of different temples within the Alchi complex by Pratapaditya Pal, photography by Lionel Fournier 3. Currently there are strict prohibition rules on photography and banned access to the upper storeys of the Sumtsek. Pal points out three styles running at Alchi- the Dukhang (prayer hall), the Sumtsek by artists from Kashmir and Zanskar in what he calls Style I, the Lhakhang Soma (New Temple) in Pala-Tibetan style originating in Bengal and Bihar (Style II) and the Lhotsawa Lhakhang (translator’s temple) in an eclectic fusion of the two styles (Style III). Such a formalistic study becomes significant for establishing typologies in mural styles for the enlisted monasteries. While the oral legends claim Rinchen Zangpo to be the founder, inscriptional evidence speaks from the early twelfth century onwards speak of Drikungpa, Kadampa and much later Gelugpa sects. Mangyu Vairocana Temple shares the same antiquity as Alchi and its establishment by Rinchen Zangpo, testified by the Vairocana mandalas in the main shrine belongs to the class of Yogatantra, followed by the Tibetan translator. These murals have been re-touched and repainted very crudely, while in the chortens housing the colossal statues of Avalokitesvara and Manjusri, in the same style as Alchi with the ornamented dhoti, murals of mandalas have been considerably damaged by rainwater trickling down the walls. The next three sites to be covered- Thiksey, Shey and Stakna fall on the Manali highway. Thiksey, modelled after the Potala palace at Lhasa houses newly painted murals in the Dukhang, while original murals from the 16 th century survive only in the inner shrine, representing the Skang rdzas (Skang: To Fill, rdzas: Subtance) or the offerings presented to the protectors- Mahakala and the 13 black animals. 4 The inner offerings- blood, bones, flesh, organs: eyes, ears, tongue, nose and heart metaphorically suggest the sublimation of senses in Buddhist meditation through apparently grotesque and wrathful imagery. The Shey monastery, built within the palace complex, in 1655 on the instructions of Deldan Namgyal in memory of his father Sennge Namgyal, stands out for the lavish use of gold and the finesse in decorative embellishment and the portraiture. A particular fragment in the upper storey showing Shambhunath Lama, the third incarnation of the founder of Hemis monastery) excels in its quality of draughtsmanship and intricacy of gold-work. Representations of the Buddhist pantheon, the sixteen Arhats, the mahasiddhas and the translators are found in the upper storey where as the lower shrine has murals of the Dhyani Buddhas and other divinities. Roger Goepper; Photography by Jaroxlav Poncar, Alchi- Ladakh’s Hidden Buddhist Sanctuary: The Sumtsek; Serindia Publications, London, October 1996 3 Pratapaditya Pal; Photography by Lionel Fournier; Marvels of Buddhist Art: Alchi-Ladakh; Ravi Kumar Publications; Hongkong; 1988 4 Charles Genoud, translation by Tom Tillemans, Photography by Takas Inoue; Buddhist Wall Painting of Ladakh; Edition Olizane; 1981 2 Stakna, the residing monastery of the Stakna Tulku, a high monk in Tibetan Buddhist schools has been majorly restoed and garishly repainted in distemper paints while original paintings from the seventeenth century survive only in the inner shrine and the adjacent shrine dedicated to Vajravarahi and Avalokitsevara. The smaller sculpture of Avalokitesvara is believed to have been brought from Kamakhya, Assam. Vajradhara presides over the pantheon of divinities in the murals, while translators Marpa and Milarepa of the Kagyu are considered really important. The Upper Drukpa lineage which Stakna belongs to was established by Bhutanese saint, Chosje Jamyang Palkar, in the 16 th century. The present Tulku, an eight-year old, born in the state of Himachal Pradesh had a number of disciples to visit him in the afternoon as I had a lengthy discussion with one of the monks, who tried his best giving me iconographic insights and contacts of scholars who have earlier worked on murals and thangkas of Ladakh. One such scholar is Sanjib Kumar Das, by whom I also found a catalogue of thangkas in the Thiksey monastery.5 The third day of field work comprised of the monastic complex at Phyang of the Drikungpa order and that at Spituk of the Gelugpa order, initially belonging to the Kadampa order. Since I got over with documentation of these sites by afternoon, I travelled to the royal palace at Stok. While the royal family stays in a part of the palace, the rest is converted to a museum. Thangkas from early to mid -16th century in display are brilliant in their skill and conception. The main shrine of the Phyang Drikungpa Gonpa has painted representations of Kalachakra, Samvara and Guhyasamaja, the five Dhyani Buddhas, Drukpa founder Ling Repa Pema Dorje, Drigungpa founder Jigten Gonpo, Skyoba Rinpoche, Padmasambhava, Dipankar Srijnana, Amiatyus, the Medicine Buddha, Manjusri, Avalokitesvara, Vajrapani, Vajradini and Vajravarahi mandala (with Rupini, Lama Khandoraha and Dakini), Mahakala and the Kalachakra. 6 The resident lama told me that the inscription in the wall mentions the names of artists from Ladakh who painted the murals in the 17 th century. The Spituk complex has temples at multiple levels- the later temples and the Dukhang contain recently painted walls; the main shrine contains murals of considerable antiquity. The main shrine contains idols of fierce protector gods and goddesses: Sri Devi, Chamundi, Dharmaraja, Vajra Bhairava, Begtse, Vaishravana, White Cintamani, Six-armed Mahakala and Upasika. The wall right opposite to the icons is of utmost importance to my study. Stylistically, this wall is very different from the adjacent one as its curvilinearity and tribhanga figurations of Sri-Devi on a horse, Six-armed Mahakalas, Ganapati, Brahma, Kali, Trailokya Vijaya, other Dharini goddesses, and now effaced images of the tantric gods in yab-yum in the upper frieze are telling of a hand very similar to palm-leaf manuscripts from Varendra-bhumi. Colours are not vivid and contrasting at all like later murals, line is the key element in the work of this artist or school, where its sinuousness and dexterity form the skeletal structure or spine of artistic visualization. This style appears to be close to the Lhakhang Soma at Alchi which Pratapaditya Pal terms as style II, but the linear quality seems to be far superior. Spituk known as the 5 Sanjib Kumar Das; Tara- An Exhibition of Rare Buddhist Thangkas; Central Institute of Buddhist Studies; Leh; 2013 6 Prem Singh Jina, Some Monasteries of Drikungpa order in Central Ladakh; Sri Satguru Publication; India Books Centre; Delhi; 1999 exemplary one before being officially established as a Gelugpa centre in the 14th century was once a Kadampa site, the order of Atisha Dipankara Srijnana from Bengal, with which this particular artist or school can possibly be linked to. Likir and Basgo on the NH1 again, were the next couple of sites to be documented. Likir, originally a Kadampa site from the eleventh century was later taken over by the Gelugpas. The present structure and the murals are recent renovations in bright emulsion paints; however, the museum is of supreme importance housing thangkas and other ritual objects from the 14th and the 15th centuries onwards. A committee of Monks presides over the museum where photography is strictly prohibited while a second committee is in charge of the Alchi complex. Basgo is one of the most interesting centres of artistic activity in Leh. The castle built by the Namgyal rulers in the 16th century originally had a mosque commemorating Gyal Khatun, the Muslim princess from Baltistan married to the royal family of Ladakh, which however was converted to a Maitreya shrine later. Old murals survive both in the upper and lower shrinesVajradhara being at the pinnacle of the pantheon of a wide range of divinities, protector gods and monks. Of particular interest are the painted wooden styles with interlocking geometric pattern, presumably from the hands of Central Asian Islamic artists. The hexagon pattern which I could see only at Basgo in both the shrines leads to the hypothesis that artists from Central Asia, perhaps Baltistan worked on the ceilings; the patterns have a central motif with the bija mantra or the root syllable in Sanskrit making the case all the more intriguing. The afternoon prayer with chanting and music performed by a teenager monk in the lower shrine was quite an experience, after being slightly demotivated by the grumpiness of an older monk in the upper shrine. The last two of the enlisted monasteries: and Takthok are on the Manali highway; Hemis being the first to be documented. The huge complex would have a large number of shrines and chortens but only few are accessible to the public. Established in the 17th century under Sengge Namgyal, the main temple of this Drukpa Order gompa has elaborate murals - on the rear wall: Sri-Devi, two-armed Mahakala, Yamantaka, Kalachakra, Chakrasamvara, Hevajra and Hayagriva; on the left wall: Amitabha, Vajrasattva, Aksobhya, Manjusri, Amitabha and the highest monks of the Upper Drukpa lineage; on the right wall: Aksobhya with tantric masters, Padmasambhava with Vajradhara and other disciples. The Lhakhang temple has a huge sculpture of Padmasambhava which evokes awe; as does the Mahakala temple above. The museum in the complex however was the highlight for me housing the art of Kashmir, Nepal and Tibet from as early as the seventh century CE. Gilt-copper images of Standing Buddha, Seated Preaching Buddha, Bodhisattva Avalokitsevara date from the seventh to the twelfth centuries CE from Kashmir, helping to provide a typology of figurative representative, that can be applied to the study of murals at Alchi and elsewhere, where Kashmiri artists have played a significant role. Clay and wood statuette of Acala from 13 th century Western Tibet, gilt copper image from 15th century West Tibet, small stone sculpture of Hevajra from 13 th14th century Tibet all direct at a different school which Pratapaditya Pal calls the Pala-Tibetan style or Style II at Alchi. Images of a peaceful manifestation of Vajrasattva and Hevajra Lotus Mandala dating from the 12th century, North-Eastern India can be said to be a precursor of this style- the small statuettes for personal worship, often the image of the idam along with palm leaf manuscripts of the Sutras and the Tantras were all what the monks could carry with them as they fled from Nalanda and Vikramshila on the onslaught of Bakhtiyar Khiliji’s invasion and massacre and the subsequent oppression by the Brahmanical Sena rulers. The museum has strict photography restrictions; however, the collection is seminal for understanding the workings of different pictorial styles of representation in the Buddhist art of Ladakh. Takthok gompa, in the village of Sakti is certainly the oldest existing architectural gompa structure, the old temple jutting out from a cave built on the top of a hill- the cave where Guru Padmasambhava himself meditated back in the 8 th century. The paintings in the old temple seemed to have undergone some renovation in recent years, however the iconography is exceptionally old, marking its peculiarity as the oldest and the only Nyingmapa gompa in Ladakh. The head lama at Takthok was a warm and kind middle aged monk from Nepal who explained to me some of the Nyingmapa beliefs and practices, their idam being Bodhisattva Samantabhadra with Ekajati as his spiritual consort in yab-yum. The new temple below houses statues of Santarakshita, Padmasambhava and the Trisong Detsen, the Tibetan King who had invited Padmasambhava, built by artists from Nepal recently. Nyingmapa iconography has a large number of wrathful Bon deities subordinated under Buddhism by Guru Padmasambhava, who had achieved supreme miraculous powers by meditating in the yab-yum position. Exhibition of Works at LAMO The body of works in display at LAMO, draws inspiration from Tantric Buddhist art and its textual sources from across the Indian Sub-continent, Tibet, China, Japan and South-East Asia, focusing particularly on the concept of female divinities in Tantrayana; and hence the show was titled As Tara Flows. Besides the paintings, in display were illustrated books of Tantric Buddhist dohas and caryas, translated by the artist himself, from Magadhi Apabhramsa to modern Bengali, keeping intact the rhyme and the rhythm of the compositions. Painted above the doorway to a small Buddhist shrine, where an old Buddhist lady regularly recites her prayers within LAMO, is a mural of a mandala with seven colours of the visible spectrum and Dhyani Buddha Aksobhya on the top, as an illustration to a translated doha of Kanhupada, one of the eighty-four mahasiddhas. Future Plans to Consolidate the On-going Research To consolidate on this research and painting activity, I would like to go back to Ladakh for about a month after I complete my post-graduation in May 2019. I am yet to document some significant murals at Sumda, gompas in Nubra Valley, Lamayuru and Wanla; moreover, I would like to extend the research up to Spiti Valley at monasteries like Tabo, also believed to be founded by Rinchen Zangpo, the Tibetan translator from the 11 th century. I have also understood the importance of learning the classical Tibetan s cript for reading inscriptions and labels for iconography. Meanwhile for my Master’s Dissertation thesis I would dedicate an Appendix Chapter dedicated to the murals in some of the monasteries in Ladakh which I would argue to be in a Pala-Tibetan style, after Pratapaditya Pal. The style as I observed can be seen at Saspol Cave 1, Soma Lhakhang at Alchi and one wall in the main shrine at Spituk and possibly is connected to the Kadampa lineage of Atisha from Bengal, coming to Ladakh between the twelfth and the fourteenth centuries CE. As a part of the painting activity, I would be working on an illustrated historical fiction on Buddhism in Leh as a result of various migrations. The paintings in the book would draw influence from the documented murals, thangkas, sculptures and other ritual objects. Besides, I would be working on some iconic paintings of female divinities drawing from ancient textual sources; a couple of these works would be in the format of thangkas, the basic drawing of which have been done by a traditional thangka painter from Nepal, Manoj Moktan, who owns a shop in the old town of Leh. The exhibition of these paintings can possibly happen at LAMO itself as an extension of this collaboration with the support of Dara Shikhoh Fellowship Programme. Bibliography 1. Alaka Chattopadhyay; Life and Works of Dipamkara Srijnana in relation to the history and Religion of Tibet; Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay; Kolkata; 1967 2. Charles Genoud, translation by Tom Tillemans, Photography by Takas Inoue; Buddhist Wall Painting of Ladakh; Edition Olizane; 1981 3. Christian Luczanitz, The Early Buddhist Heritage of Ladakh Reconsidered; in Ladakhi Histories: Local and Regional Perspectives, edited by John Bray; Brill publications; London; 2005 4. Christian Luczanitz and Holger Neuwirth; The Development of Alchi Complex: An Interdisciplinary approach, in Heritage conservation and Research in India- 60 years of Indo-Austrian collaboration edited by Kathrin Schmidt in National Museum; New Delhi; 2009 5. Mallar Ghosh; Development of Buddhist Iconography in Eastern India: A Study of Taras, Prajnas of Five Tathagatas and Bhrukuti; Munshiram Manoharlal Publication Private Ltd.; 1980; Delhi 6. Martijn van Beek, Beyond Identity Fetishism: Communal Conflict in Ladakh and Limits of Autonomy; Cultural Anthropology Vol. 15 no.4; November 2000; pp-525-569 7. Martijn van Beek, Dangerous Liasions: Hindu Nationalism and Buddhist Radicalism in Ladakh in Religious Radicalism and Security in South Asia, editors- Satu Limaye, Mohan Malik, Robert A. Wirsing; Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies; Honolulu; 2004; pp 193-218 8. John Bray, Old Religions, New Identities and Conflicting Values in Ladakh in Ladakh Studies, Vol 30, December 2013; International Association for Ladakh Studies; Mumbai; 2013 9. Pratapaditya Pal; Photography by Lionel Fournier; Marvels of Buddhist Art: AlchiLadakh; Ravi Kumar Publications; Hongkong; 1988 10. Prem Singh Jina, Some Monasteries of Drikungpa order in Central Ladakh; Sri Satguru Publication; India Books Centre; Delhi; 1999 11. Prem Singh Jina and Ven Konchok Namgyal, Phyang Monastery of Ladakh; Central Institute of Buddhist Studie, Leh and Indus Publishing Company New Delhi; 1995 12. Roger Goepper; Photography by Jaroxlav Poncar, Alchi- Ladakh’s Hidden Buddhist Sanctuary: The Sumtsek; Serindia Publications, London, October 1996 13. Sanjib Kumar Das; Tara- An Exhibition of Rare Buddhist Thangkas; Central Institute of Buddhist Studies; Leh; 2013 14. Tsering Sonam, Ajanta of Ladakh: Gon-Nila-Phuk Meditation Caves, Saspol; Indraprastha Press, New Delhi, 2013 Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank Dr Jyotsna Singh, the founder of the Dara Shikhoh Centre for the Arts, whose humility and grace enlivens the Foundation and its activities. I would like to thank Anish Gawande, the director of the Fellowship Programme and Dr Monisha Ahmad, the founder and director of LAMO for the collaboration which enabled the fellows to research more efficiently. I would like to mention my gratitude to the following list of people, without whose support the Fellowship Residency would not be as enriching an experience: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x. Mr Tashi Morup from LAMO who on the very first day of orientation introduced me to people in the town who could help me in traveling and research, gave me the artist studio to work in and took keen interest in my academic research. Mr Skarma from Trance Tara Travels who guided me with enlisting the monasteries and advising me to travel on a scooter to all the sites. Skarma despite his profession, has an excellent knowledge about Tantric Buddhist Art and iconography and informal discussions with him were really helpful after I would come back from visiting the sites. Mohammad Deen Khan, the in-charge of the Central Asian Museum for talking to me at length about various cultural and religious aspects of Ladakh. Dr Sheikh Abdul Ghani, a senior historian in Ladakh who kindly read his article on the Buddhist art in Ladakhi gompas written in Urdu and had a discussion. The Library at Central Institute of Buddhist Studies for granting me the access to go through their large collection of books on Buddhist Art and Philosophy. All the artists, performers and presenters part of the Bird Festival from the 4th to the 8th of September at LAMO. Mr Sonam Angchok, working as a sound and video artist at LAMO for helping me edit an audio track from the recording at different gompas. Karmic Journeys for renting me a scooter on daily basis at a discounted rate. Jiggyas Guest House and Kunga hotel for their amiable hospitality and service. Dr Jayaram Poduval, HOD Department of Art History and Aesthetics, MSU Baroda to kindly grant me 25 day leave for attending the Residency to further my research in the middle of a semester. i Table I: Days for Archival work Name of Monastery Distance Lineage/ from Leh Monastic and region Order Foundation Of art, and History iconography and aesthetics Day 1 Saspol Caves 70 km from Leh Originally Drikungpa, now under Gelugpa 13th-15th century. In the most elaborately painted cave, the images of Je Tsongkhapa and Atisha are later alterations. 5 Painted Caves, of interest are murals of Hevajra, Samvara and Guhyasamaja Alchi Monastery 65 km west of Leh Established under Drikungpa sect, now under Gelugpa sect Established by Rinchen Zangpo (958-1055 CE) Dukhangmurals of Sumtseg, Soma Lhakang and Lhotsawa Lhakhang temples, Manjushri Temple supervision of Likir Mangyu temple complex 70 km from Leh (15 km from Alchi) Under Likir One of the and Matho earliest monasteries structures in Ladakh dating to late 12thearly 13 th centuries, oral histories about Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo and the images at Alchi, Mangyu and Sumda Murals in Sakyamuni and Vairocana temples and smaller chortens Monumental statues of Avalokitesvara and Manjusri. Day 2 Thiksey Monastery 19 km Gelugpa east of Leh Established by Je Tsongkhapa in the 16th century CE; Jangsheb Sherab Zangpo Statue of Maitreya Buddha, Tara Temple21 images of Tara, Lamokhang Temple, Mural of Mahakala (Early Morning Prayer) Shey Monastery 15 km east Drukpa of Leh Established in 1655, the palace and fort built by King Deldan Namgyal Giant statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, mural of 16 arhats, an exquisite mural of Lama Shambhunatha, the third reincarnation of the founder of Hemis (On the way to Thiksey Gompa) Shey as the summer capital of Ladakh Library in the lower floor with manuscripts and murals Two tantric adjacent shrines Stakna Monastery 21-25 km from Leh Drukpa Established by Bhutanese saint, Chosje Jamyang Palkar, in the 16th century Painted assembly hall, Sculptures and Murals of Buddhist divinities Day 3 Day 4 Phyang Monastery 15-16 km west of Leh Drikungpa Established in the 16th century by Jamyang Namgyal or Tashi Namgyal Spituk Monastery 8 km from Leh Founded as Kadampa now Gelugpa sect Founded by Od-de in the 11th century, the elder brother of Lha Lama Changchub Od Stok Palace and Museum 12 km from Leh Drukpa Shrine Late 17th century by Namgyal rulers 35 thangkas from 15001550 CE Basgo Monastery And Castle 40 km from Leh on Srinagar Highway Drukpa Established in 1680 under Namgyal rulers Chamba Temple, Serzang Temple and Chamchung Temple Oral histories about the battle of Basgo Likir Monastery 63 km west of Leh Gelugpa (Earlier Kadampa) Established in 1065 by Lama Dwang Chojse under the fifth king of LadakhLhachen Gyalpo Shrine has murals of Hevajra, Cakrasamvara and Guhyasamaja; with 5 dhyani Buddhas Giant statue of Kali (which is unveiled during the annual Spitok festival) (originally built as a mosque later dedicated to Maitreya); 21 manifestations of White Tara Collection of thangkas in the museum from the fifteenth century Day 5 Hemis Monastery 45 km to Drukpa the southeast of Leh Established by Sengge Namgyal in 1672 CE Legends of mastersTilopa and Naropa Takthok Monastery i 46 km east Nyingma of Leh Established in the 15th century under the reign of Tshewang Namgyal Copper-gilded statue of Lord Buddha, Large Statue of Guru Rinpoche, Museum within the premises particularly the thangkas Ancient murals in the old temple and repainted murals in New Temple Maps of Monasteries on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway (NH1) and on the Manali Highway (NH3) Monasteries on NH1 Monasteries on NH3