Lot 80 Dα

A fine Tibetan thangka of Dharmadhatu Vagishvara Manjushri. 18th century

The eight-armed and four-headed tantric form of the bodhisattva Manjushri sits in padmasana on a rectangular throne seat. The four heads, which reflect the four aspects of the mind characterised by colour, are each associated with a pair of hands. The hands hold the sword and the book of transcendent wisdom (Prajnaparamita book), the arrow (shara) and bow (capa), the diamond sceptre (vajra) and the bell (ghanta).
With these attributes held in pairs, the right (male) side symbolises Manjushri's active power (path), while the left (female) side symbolises the wisdom to be acquired with it (goal). Following this double symbolism, on Manjushri's left lap sits his wisdom partner Sarasvati, who in Hinduism was once the goddess of wisdom and music and was later incorporated into the Mahayana pantheon. She shows the gesture of granting wishes (varada-mudra) with her right hand and the gesture of discussion and transmission of the teachings (vitarka-mudra) with her left. Distemper on cloth. Verso with red Tibetan 'om, ah, hum' incantation behind the central figure. Mounted on Chinese blue silk embroidered with a five-clawed dragon, bats, clouds, and waves. Framed and glazed.
60 x 41 cm