A Study of the Vajradha Tu-mandala (1) Modern Linedrawings

7/27/2019 A Study of the Vajradha Tu-mandala (1) Modern Linedrawings

1/49

TACHIKAWA Study of Vajradhatu-mandala1)

A Study of the Vajradha u-mandala (1): Modern Line-rawings depicted according to the Nispannayogavaliusashi ACHIKAWA

bhayakaragupta11th-12thent.),whowasan abbotof the VikramagilaMonastery,omposed survey f the structure f manclalas. hiswork, alledthe NispannayogavaliGarland f Completed ogas), escribesrieflyhe deitiesofeachof the wenty-six anclalashichwere onsideredo be mportant t thattime. It has become n important tandard eference orkon manclalasnIndia,Tibetand Nepal. For nstance,hisworkhas beenusedas one of themost basic sources or Buddhist conographyn the KathmanduValley.Amonghe Newars, hohave upported epalese uddhismn theKathmanduValley,hereare a quite ewpainterswhocanread Sanskrit nd illustratehedeities f the manalasaccordingo their own radition, lthoughhe Newaritradition f depictinghe Buddhisteities asnot been owellpreserved.Thelinedrawingseare goingo reprintherehavebeen llustrated ysucha con-temporaryNewari ainter.henameof the painter s GautamRatnaBajracharya1960, whosefather s the famousNewarBuddhistriestRatnakajiBajracharya.Hisgrandfatherwas alsoa Buddhist riestwell-versedspeciallyn the fieldof icono-graphy. He was husbroughtup in an environmentuchas that he couldeasilynherit he tradition f NewariBuddhistconography.n the summer f 1987, askedGautamRatnaBajracharyao illustratethe deitiesof the Vajradhiitu-manclala,hich s one of the most importantand basicmanclalasn the history f Buddhist antrism, ccordingo the de-scriptionn the NispannayogavaliNPY). In the summer f 1988 nd at theend of 1989 wasgiven he chance o discusswithhim the meaning f thedescriptionf the deities f the Vajradlicitu-manclalaound n the NPY. Themeaning f someSanskrit assagesn the chapteron the Vajradhatu-manValastill emain nclearo us. There re also ome assagesf which he meaningis clearbut the wayof illustratinghemare not knowno thepainter. In spiteof thosedifficulties,heseine-drawingsf the deities f the Vajradhatu-mandaladescribedn the NPY eem o havereached uch a standard hat theymayfurnishmaterials or Buddhistconography.Obviously,hese illustrations* Nagoyaniversity, Researchffiliatef heNational useumfEthnology.hiss a partof he esultsomingutof the esearchrojectf theNational useumfthnologyntitledTheMethodfDepictingheMembersfAsianantheons"1988-1991).

073


2/49

15 4are rather artificial and, accordingly, they cannot be considered as the authenticiconographical reconstruction of the images of the deities appearing in the

ajradhatu-mandala. One may consider them as a kind of interpretation ofBhattacharya's edition of the NPY through images.

he Newars are known for their skill in the fine arts. No one could denythat the Newari people are gifted in the fine arts if one visit the KathmanduValley even for a short time. It was the Newari people that introducedBuddhist art into Tibet. Now that Mahayana Buddhism has disappearedfrom India, it is only in the Kathmandu Valley that one can see a form ofMahayana Buddhism which have retained a great many Indian elements.

iagram 1 depicts the Vajradhatu-man(lala s drawn by Gautam RatnaBajracharya on the basis of the nineteenth chapter of the NPY. Diagram2 (p. 1075) shows the arrangement of the fifty-three deities appearing inDiagram 1, and as indicated by the following list, they may be divided intoseven major groups (AG)The Fifty-three Deities of the Vajradhatu Mandala

A. Five Buddhas. Vairocana. Aksobhya. Ratnasambhava. Amitabha. Amoghasiddhi

. Four Consorts. Sattvavajri. Ratnavajri. Dharmavajri. Karmavajri

C. Sixteen Great Bodhisattvas0. Vajrasattva1. Vajraraja2. Vajraraga3. Vajrasadhu4. Vajraratna5. Vajrateja6. Vajraketu7. Vajrahasa8. Vajradharma9. Vajratiksna0. Vajrahetu1. Vajrabhasa2. Vajrakarma3. Vajraraksa

1074


3/49


4/49


5/49


6/49


7/49


8/49

TACHIKAWA A Study of Vajradhatu-mandala (1)

figure la. Vairocana

1079


9/49


10/49


11/49

15 4

figure 3. Ratnasambhava

1082


12/49

TACHIKAWA Study of Vajradhatu-mandala 1)

figure 4. Amitabha

1083


13/49


14/49


15/49


16/49

TACHIKAWA Study of Vajradhatu-mandala1)

figure 8. Dharrnavajri

1087


17/49

15 4

figure 9. Karmavajri

1088


18/49


19/49

15 4

figure 11. Vajraraja

1090


20/49


21/49

15 4

figure 13. Vajrasadhu

1092


22/49


23/49


24/49


25/49


26/49


27/49

15 4

figure 19. Vajratiksna

1098


28/49


29/49


30/49


31/49

15 4

figure 22b Vajrakarma

1102


32/49


figure 23. Vajraraksa

1103


33/49


34/49


figure 25. Vajrasandhi

1105


35/49


36/49


37/49

15 4

figure 28. Vajragita

1108


38/49


39/49

15 4

figure 30. Vajradhupa

1110


40/49


41/49


42/49


43/49

15 4

figure 34. Vajrankusa

1114


44/49


figure 35. Vajrapasa

1115


45/49

5 4

figure 36. Vajrasphota

1116


46/49

TACHtKAWA A Study of Vajradhlitu-manciala (1)

figure 37. Vajravesa

1117


47/49


48/49

TACHIKAWA A Study of Vajradhatu-mandala (1) ,

, 7 , ( , 11 12 ) , , , , , , , , , ( )

, 1987 , ,

, , , , , , , ,

, 1987 , 1988 1989 , 19 , ,

, , ,

1119


49/49

15 4

, , , , ,

Documents

A Study of the Vajradha Tu-mandala (1) Modern Linedrawings