Arhat Chudapantaka

Artwork Details

Title: Arhat Chudapantaka

Dimensions: 39 1/2 × 22 1/2 in.

Medium: Pigments on cotton

Origin: Tibet

Classification(s): paintings

Date: late 15th century

Credit Line: Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin

Object number: C2003.50.3

HAR Number: 129

Published references: *Linrothe, Rob. Paradise and Plumage: Chinese Connections in Tibetan Arhat Painting. New York: RMA, Chicago: Serindia, 2004. (Cat. no. 5, p. 52, pl. 5)*Rhie, Marylin M., and Robert A.F. Thurman. Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art and Wisdom of Compassion. New York: Tibet House, 1999. Cat. 16; Pp. 164-465.* Debreczeny, Karl. The Black Hat Eccentric: Artistic Visions of the Tenth Karmapa. New York: The Rubin Museum of Art, 2012, pp. 118-119. (Fig. 3.13)

Liberation

Concepts

The central goal of Buddhism is the liberation of all beings from suffering and the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, known as samsara, through applying the teachings of the Buddha.

Legendary and Historical Humans

Figure Type

Himalayan art includes portraits of legendary and historical humans, including accomplished religious teachers (lamas), the Buddha’s original disciples (arhats), and spiritually accomplished tantric masters (mahasiddhas).

Tibetan Regions

Region

Today, Tibetans primarily inhabit the Tibetan Plateau, situated between the Himalayan mountain range and the Indian subcontinent to the west, Chinese cultural regions to the east, and Mongolian cultural regions to the northeast. During the 7th to 9th century, Tibetan rulers expanded their empire across Central Asia, and established Buddhism as the state religion.