#3. Sikkim Art and Handicraft Culture

   #3. Sikkim Art and Handicraft Culture

So guys, I found some more amazing facts about thangka painting of sikkim ans I would really like to share them with you :

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Thangka paintings are also worshipped as part of religious festivals. Commissioning a thangka is considered a means of generating spiritual merit. In times of particular hardship, an individual can consult a lama to recommend the creation of a thangka to a particular deity. In Sikkim - a significant centre of Buddhism in north eastern India - birth and especially death, are occasions when a special thangka is commissioned.

Thangka of Buddha’s first sermon.

Thangkas such as this one, are also made to convey important events from the life of the Buddha or the masters.

The prince Siddhartha had been travelling with five ascetic companions. Together they had sought the truth through extreme deprivation.

When Gautama realized that enlightenment would come from mental cultivation rather than depriving the body, his companions scorned him and left him.

Upon attaining enlightenment, the Buddha sought out his former companions to share his realization. They went on to become his first disciples.

A thangka is a product of painstaking work and detailing. A thangka like this one from the early 20th century would have taken the artist a few months in order to paint details as fine as the motifs on the fabrics worn, or individual strands of hair.

Thangkas perform various functions. Most importantly, they are used to enhance meditative practice. They act as a visual aid to focus concentration and forge a link between the practitioner and the depicted deity.

 

Thangka of Buddha Vajradhara and Wisdom Mandala

A mandala is a device for Tantric meditation. A visual aid for concentration, it is also a graphic representation of the process.

The blue Buddha and the Mandala are both symbolic of the nature of the mind.

This thangka was painted in 1919 by Rinzing Lharipa using gemstone powder and gold dust.

 

Thangka of The Wheel of Life

An example of a thangka illustrating a Buddhist concept, this thangka is often considered the essence of Buddhist teaching.

Holding or turning the wheel is Yama, the god of death with his crown of skulls.

At the centre of the Mandala are the connected images of a pig, a rooster, and a snake. Symbolizing ignorance, greed, and aggression, these are at the centre of the worlds of suffering and dissatisfaction.

The cycle of birth and death is split into six segments or realms. At the top right of the thangka, the Buddha points to show a way out of this unending cycle.

 

Every Buddhist home has its own family shrine, where thangkas are an essential component. The style of painting is in the Tibetan tradition, and the themes are similar. Additionally, there are some thangkas that reflect the syncretic character of local Buddhist practice, depicting deities and events that are particular to Sikkim.

Sikkim Thangka

Depicting the creation of the kingdom of Sikkim, the original of this thangka is said to have been commissioned by the last Chogyal or priest-king of Sikkim.

The thangka uses Buddhist imagery common to religious thangkas, to tell of the founding of Sikkim, which was prophesied by Guru Padmasambhava or Guru Rimpoche, the patron saint of Sikkim.

The four central figures are the three venerated lamas, along with the first Chogyal (second from Right). In 1642, the founder of the Nyingmapa sect in Sikkim along with two other learned lamas, consecrated Phuntsog Namgyal as the first Chogyal. The monarchy continued till 1975.

The thangka is replete with Tibetan and Sikkimese symbolism. The fiery red-countenanced deity riding the mythical snow lion and holding aloft the banner of victory is Kanchendzonga, the protector deity of Sikkim.

Below him is Mahakala, the black deity atop the black horse, considered in Tibetan Buddhism as the protector of monasteries.

The white figure in the centre is the deity of the Nagas, held sacred in local belief systems of Sikkim.

The thangka captures the syncretic spirit of Buddhism as it is practiced in Sikkim.

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That's all for this blog guys. I'll be back soon with more facts and some mythical points about Sikkim art culture..

blog by- Aditi Kashyap [XC]