Ancient Tibetan Buddhist Rock Carvings of Vairochana: Portraits of Tibetan Sovereigns and Their Courtiers

In the years 804 and 806, Yeshe Yang, Master of Meditation of the Tibetan Triga Monastery near Lake Kokonor (in present-day Qinghai Province), commissioned two series of stone carvings of a crowned buddha, seated on a lion throne, surrounded by eight bodhisattvas.1 The first was carved at Denma Drak, some 186 miles (300 kilometers) to the south in what is present-day Chamdo, Tibet Autonomous Region (fig. 1); the second was carved at the Bimda Temple near Jyekundo (in present-day Qinghai Province) (fig. 2). Authentic ancient Tibetan inscriptions in stone beside the images describe the historical circumstances of the carvings, the artists’ names, and Buddhist prayers in relation to Buddha Vairochana in the concluding section of the Gandavyuha Sutra (fig. 3).2 These sculptures document the preeminence of the Vairochana cult in the Tibetan imperial period (ca. 608–ca. 686). Furthermore, by virtue of the inscribed dates and the artists’ names, these images are the earliest dated examples of Tibetan art known at present. 

During the ninth century, there is a wide-ranging association between Vairochana and the royal cult; Vairochana is intended to represent the imperial presence of the Tibetan emperor, the tsenpo. This concept of the conflation of deity and ruler is given visual emphasis in Buddha Vairochana and the Eight Bodhisattvas, represented wearing the garments of Tibetan royalty—ample ankle-length robes in heavy fabric with overlong sleeves and double collar—in the Bimda and Markham County rock carvings (fig. 4). Numerous Tibetan prayers among the Tibetan manuscripts in Dunhuang document the importance of the cult of Vairochana during the late eighth to ninth century. Vairochana’s emblem is the wheel, which refers to two distinct phenomena in Buddhist iconology: Shakyamuni’s discourse, in which he initially “set the wheel of dharma in motion” by his teaching, and the Buddhist legend of the chakravartin, the wheel-turning sovereign who establishes social harmony and ensures utopia. This latter role certainly coincided with the position attributed to the tsenpo, according to Tibetan royal cults.

Stylistic Characteristics of the Carvings

Aesthetically, the two series are quite distinctive. Although much damaged, the composition of the seated Vairochana in Denma Drak, flanked by two vertical registers containing four superimposed bodhisattvas, recalls portable paintings from Dunhuang and the mural painting of Cave 25 in the Yulin Cave temples (fig. 5).³

The body proportions of the Denma Drak Buddha are much more slender and the elongated legs are perfectly smooth, lacking any muscular definition. The buddha is not represented with a squared face and jaw inside a circular halo, the conventional characteristics of Tang period (618–906) Chinese images. Instead, the broad forehead contrasts with the triangular jawline with prominent chin. The eyes appear long and narrow rather than round, with thin brows slightly arched (fig. 6). The bodhisattvas surrounding him are all shown seated, with their arms in various gestures, giving dynamic motion to the static seated postures of their iconography (fig. 7).

In contrast, the crowned Buddha Vairochana at Bimda sits in meditation on a lotus cushion, with a horseshoe-shaped halo adorning his head (fig. 2). Recently repainted, the figure’s golden body is dressed in elaborate robes, painted to give the impression of thick silk. The top robe, in deep red with a pattern of Buddhist emblems, has a pointed green collar with lapels crossed above the heart. Another (blue) collar’s lapels meet at the collarbone. The shoulders have no apparent seams, and the creases of the sleeves are stiff. The folds radiating from the bent elbows gradually widen to almost double their length at the edge of the cuffs, which are embellished with a different pattern. A belt is indicated by a pattern of very diminutive flowers with long, thin tendrils and stalks in green and red on a gold background. Beneath the belt, the lower part of the top robe is draped over the buddha’s lap and crossed legs, with the front panels hanging down. The tips of his boots—painted deep blue with gold fleurs-de-lis—contrast with the orange undergarment whose cloth is cut as if clinging to the leg in the form of trousers. The use of double collars has been previously noted as a characteristic of the representation of Tibetan royal robes in Cave 159 at Dunhuang.4  The lotus cushion is supported by two lions, with manes very similar in shape to those of the stone lions at the Yarlung dynasty tombs.

Iconography and Composition

The eight bodhisattvas surrounding the Buddha Vairochana at Bimda stand symmetrically in four groups on both sides of the buddha. Their faces and hands are all painted gold. Their bodies are mostly hidden by thickly rendered robes with double collars and widening sleeves that extend to just above the feet, which are notably shod in black boots. Each bodhisattva holds a distinctive attribute and has a name inscribed in Tibetan. It would appear, however, that the iconography comes from a specific ritual description that has not yet been identified and is different from the usual attributes of each bodhisattva. For example, Avalokiteshvara holds a water vase (fig. 8),5 which is usually an emblem of Maitreya, while the opposite image on the other side inscribed Manjushri holds a pink and yellow lotus instead of a book.

Other Examples of Stone Imperial Carvings of Vairochana

Another focus on stone carvings of the imperial period comes from south of Denma Drak, where two important rock carvings of Vairochana have been documented. These reflect a different iconographic basis, derived from the Vairochana-Abhisambodhi Tantra instead of the Gandavyuha/Avatamsaka Sutra corpus, in which Vairochana is surrounded by the two bodhisattvas Vajrapani and Avalokiteshvara, who respectively represent the Vajra family and the Lotus family (figs. 9 and 10). Initially attributed to the reign of Tri Songdetsen (742–ca. 800), they appear to have been executed one reign later, in the early ninth century.6

Also, in the context of a different liturgical tradition, in the vicinity of Markham there is the newly discovered site of Vairochana and the Eight Bodhisattvas again dressed in the robes of the emperor, a Tibetan tsenpo, and his courtiers (fig. 4). Thanks to the Tibetan scholar Tsering Gyalpo, the discovery of this site of carvings of Vairochana and the Eight Bodhisattvas has been analyzed.7 One may appreciate the fine carving, seen clearly on this rock face, and evidence of the Tang aesthetic, with square faces and hefty bodies (fig. 11).

Among the Dunhuang caves commissioned during the Tibetan period, the Tibetan emperor is represented prominently in Cave 158. The Tibetan emperor and his attendants wear long pale robes that close left to right with triangular lapel collars in contrasting color; the emperor’s high turban has crown panels, while his two attendants wear the fabric turban only. In contemporary portraits of the Tibetan emperor and his entourage in Cave 159 and Cave 231, he is again depicted beneath the parasol, wearing similar garments and a high turban (fig. 12).8 Moreover, the emperor extends his hand to give his attendant a small silver cup with a handle, ostensibly Sogdian silver, the most sophisticated metalwork of the period. This shows how the royal portraits conveyed the idea of Tibet as a link between east and west along the Silk Roads, accumulating cosmopolitan influences that emerged from the complex network of trade as well as the development of Tibetan aesthetics blending secular and Buddhist symbolism. In the imperial rock carvings of Vairochana, the iconological basis is understood to be the Avatamsaka Sutra, with the culmination in the Gandavuyha Sutra, although the individual attributes of the bodhisattvas in the entourage vary.9 These rock carvings are among the earliest documents of Tibetan art. In subsequent times, at the Samye Monastery, and Dratang Monastery modeled on Samye, similar groups are documented as well.10