Artwork Details

Title
Smashana Adipati, Lords of the Charnel Ground
Dimensions
19 x 15 in. (est.)
Medium
Pigments on cloth
Origin
Tibet
Classification(s)
paintings
Date
15th century
Credit Line
Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation
Object number
F1996.16.5
HAR Number
462
Published references
  • Glenn H. Mullin and Jeff Watt, Female Buddhas: Women of Enlightenment in Tibetan Mystical Art (Clear Light Publishers, 2003), 188-189.
  • Rob Linrothe and Jeff Watt, Demonic Divine: Himalayan Art and Beyond (Rubin Museum of Art; Serindia Publications, 2004), 19, 126-129, 260, 301, cat. no. 10.
  • John Welwood, "Intimate Relationship as a Spiritual Crucible," Lion's Roar (September, 2017), 60-65, 78-80.
  • Bryan J. Cuevas, The Hidden History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Oxford, 2003), cover image.

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Ritual

Concepts

Prescribed practices that carry symbolic meaning and value within a specific tradition and are intended to attain a desired outcome. Rituals are usually done as part of a ceremony or regular routine.

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Tantrism

Concepts

A religious movement that originated in India around the fifth to seventh century with sacred writings and esoteric teachings and practices transmitted from teacher to student through initiation. These remain an important part of Hinduism and Buddhism today. 

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Death

Concepts

The end of this life marked by the cessation of bodily functions followed by decay. According to Buddhism, after death consciousness transitions to an intermediate state known as the bardo before embarking on another life. 

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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.

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