Tibetan Thangka: Sacred art of the Himalayas

What is Tibetan Thangka?

Thangka paintings (also known as Paubha or Mandala paintings are the ancient Buddhist art, indigenous to Nepal and Tibet. Paubha paintings native to the Newari Vajrayana Buddhist culture is believed to be the predecessor of Tibetan Thangka. It includes such metaphysical and religious elements as artistic illustration of the cosmos, the life of Buddha and the law of dharma, wheel of life, images of Boddhisattvas, etc. Created by using oil or acrylic paint, or embroidered/woven onto the fabric, Thangkas are works of devotion.

They were originally created to serve as a tool of meditation for aspiring monks, and guide them to the path of enlightenment or nirvana. Tibetan Thangkas are intricately embellished with auspicious scriptures and symbolism. Thangkas were not originally created for arousing aesthetic beauty to a beholder, but nowadays these beautiful and spiritually meaningful paintings are highly sought after by art connoisseurs from all over the world. For some people, Thangka paintings are fine-looking oriental artifacts suitable for decoration or becoming a collector’s item. For others Tibetan Thangkas are not just art but an image of cosmic reality, a fine example of balance between sacred and aesthetic beauty.

Origin and historical background

The tradition of making Thangka is at least twenty five centuries old. Legend has it that once a group of Indian artists tried to make painting of Buddha , but were unable to see Buddha’s figure due to intense divine light emanating from his body. So, Buddha casted his own shadow on a piece of cotton cloth and suggested one of the artists named Sharipura to paint on the cloth instead. That painting done by Sharipura is considered to be the first pictorial representation of Gautam Buddha. Buddha also commissioned the representation of ‘wheel of life’ in all cloth paintings henceforth. In this way, the tradition of Paubha was originated. In Sanskrit language, paubha means ‘Patrabhattarak’ i.e depiction of gods and goddess in flat form. After the demise of Buddha, the art of paubha excelled in Kathmandu valley. Licchavi period (400-880A.D) became the hallmark of art and architecture in the valley, and Paubha surpassed in quality. Late King Tribhuvan’s collection of antique Newari Paubha painting exhibited at the National Museum in Chhauni, Kathmandu is an excellent example. Referring to Min Bahadur Shakya, the author of ‘Sacred Art of Nepal’ during the reign of King Srong btsan sgam Po in Tibet, Licchavi princess Vrikuti Devi married with him and introduced Buddhism to Tibet, along with Nepali Paubha art tradition. Later in the year 1260, a famous Nepali artist named Arniko further developed Paubha art. Thus, Tibetan Thangkas were originated from the Kathmandu valley of Nepal. The Newars of this valley invented the Paubha art which was later adopted by Tibetan monasteries. Later in the 18th century when China annexed Tibet during Qing dynasty, Tibetan Thangka art was much influenced by Chinese style.There are some distinctions between Newari Paubha and Tibetan Thangka of which we shall discuss below