A Masterwork Depicting Tantric Masters of the Sakya Tradition

The painting recounts an episode in the life of Virupa, an Indian yogi of about the tenth century.1 Having resided for twenty-four years at Somanatha Monastery in eastern India, he was ejected for eating the monastery’s pigeons.2 He abandoned the life of a monk and embraced the life of a wandering yogi, performing miracles, engaging others in debate, and living off the land. One day he entered a tavern and feasted and drank until the barmaid asked him for payment. He responded by pledging to pay when the sun set. He then arrested the sun’s motion, and continued to drink (fig. 2). The country was thrown into chaos by the endless days. King Kanasata sought a solution. In a dream, the Sun Goddess informed him that she was bound by Virupa’s pledge to the barmaid. On waking, the king paid Virupa’s debt, Virupa disappeared, and the sun continued in its course.3 

In this painting, Virupa is shown at the moment of arresting the sun. A corpulent figure seated on a tiger pelt, he leans on his right hand as he raises his left arm, pointing to a golden orb above. He has large, mesmeric eyes, a full beard, and long, dark locks. A green goddess, likely Tara, the Buddhist goddess of compassion, offers him a drink in a skull cup. A tray behind them is set with cups and a libation urn. The scene refers to the episode in the tavern, although the setting is a mountain cave, above which appear the deities Nairatmya (“No Self”), directly overhead, Chakrasamvara, and Hevajra.4 Surrounding the central scene are eighty-two cartouches, each with scenes of yogis, yoginis, and other Buddhist practitioners. 

In medieval eastern India, a key archetype of Buddhist practice was the mahasiddha (great accomplished one), referring to individuals who often received formal training in the monastic universities of northern India but left these centers to pursue their tantric practice in seclusion, in nature, and on the margins of society. These maverick yogis attracted disciples, including Tibetans, because of their profound if unconventional wisdom. Virupa was one of the most celebrated mahasiddhas. That he could overcome the power of the natural world (arresting the sun) while consuming large amounts of alcohol demonstrates both his extraordinary power and his unconventional path.

Virupa and Tibet

Virupa was particularly important to the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Sakya founder Khon Konchok Gyelpo (1034–1102) is said to have received teachings directly from Virupa, whom he saw in visions at Sakya Monastery over the period of a month.5 Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092–1158) composed songs of praise to Virupa, from whom he also sought spiritual instruction. An inscription on the verso of the painting establishes its association with Sakya Monastery during the second quarter of the thirteenth century. The inscription states, “Sakya Pandita performed the rite of consecration of this [painting] of Virupa, the Great Lord of Yoga, together with his retinue of eighty [sic] mahasiddhas.”6 Kunga Gyeltsen (1182–1251), also known as Sakya Pandita because of his fluency in Sanskrit, served as Tibetan emissary to the court of the Mongol prince Köten (fl. 1235–1247). The Sakya tradition played a critical role in forging close relations with the powerful Mongol rulers of China. Sakya Pandita was a deft diplomat, securing a great deal of autonomy for Tibet in exchange for spiritual counsel and generous tribute. The consecration mentioned in the verso inscription would have occurred between 1216, when Sakya Pandita became abbot of Sakya on the death of his uncle Khon Drakpa Gyeltsen, and 1244, the year he left Sakya Monastery for the Mongol court in Liangzhou, former seat of the Tanguts, where he remained until his death. All Tibetan sacred objects are consecrated, usually soon after the object is created, although they can also be reconsecrated. After consecration, an object is thought to be the embodiment of the divine. The purpose of consecration rituals is to invoke the Wisdom Being (Sanskrit Jnanasattva, Tibetan yeshe sempa), invite it to dwell within the painting or sculpture, and ensure that it abides there.7

Virupa and other Indian mahasiddhas became recognized authorities for specific Buddhist teachings in Tibet. Indian authorities were of critical importance, particularly during the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, while Tibetans were assimilating Buddhist teachings from India. Lineages of teachers and teachings arose, always rooted in one or more Indian masters, many of whom are said to have themselves received teachings directly from a Buddhist divinity. Virupa, for example, is believed to have been instructed in the liberative teachings of the Hevajra Tantra by the deity Nairatmya. The teachings associated with Virupa, known as “Path and Result” (Lamdre),8 became the central tantric system of the Sakya tradition in Tibet, involving both intellectual training and experiential cultivation of meditation techniques. The teachings were transmitted from one generation to the next by accomplished masters who ensured that a worthy disciple mastered the teachings and passed them on to the following generation. 

Iconography and Style

The painting offers one of the earliest representations of Virupa in Himalayan art. Throughout the centuries, both painters and sculptors portrayed him in this iconographic form, as a corpulent seated figure pointing to the sun.9 One of the most famous examples (fig. 3) is seen in a gilt-copper alloy sculpture of Virupa produced under Yongle patronage in China (r. 1402–1424).10 He also appears in this form in a painting of about the mid-fifteenth century depicting the transmission of Lamdré teachings from celestial deities Vajradhara and Nairatmya to Virupa and then to his disciple Kanha (fig. 4).11 

The style of the painting indicates the artist was Newar, from the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. Newars are descended from some of the earliest inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley. Theirs was a particularly exalted aesthetic, refined over many centuries, coupled with exceptional technical skill in the arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Tibetans solicited Newar artists for special commissions, and beginning in the seventh century, Newar artists traveled to Tibet, seeking commissions from the rapidly developing Buddhist communities. The sketchbook by Newar artist Jivarama dated 1435 in this volume may have been created while he was traveling in Tibet to seek commissions. Newar artists left a lasting legacy in Tibet by fulfilling commissions at monasteries and temples throughout the country, often returning to Nepal after months or years of working in Tibet.

The inscription recording a consecration by Sakya Pandita provides a secure range of dates to the work, between 1216 and 1244, and helps to anchor in time related Tibetan paintings in the Newar style.12 A superb painting of Tara within a jewel-like temple enveloped by trees is another example of Newar-style painting produced for Tibetan patrons (fig. 5).13 Here, below Tara’s right hand, a Tibetan patron is shown wearing the monastic short-sleeved vest unique to Tibetan Buddhist communities.14 The painting of Virupa, like that of Tara, favors a palette of deep vibrant red, jade green, and a pale but rich blue. Figures observe petite proportions, corresponding to the Nepalese people. Clothing and textile patterns follow Nepalese models, and the jewelry resembles that worn by the Nepalese. In the Virupa painting, Virupa sits on a mountain floor consisting of multicolored cubes, also a Nepalese convention.15 Both paintings present the deity within a five-lobed arch. Beyond these elements, the Newar style can be distinguished from others flourishing in Tibet in this period by the line—thin, wiry, lyrical, and capable of conveying rounded volumes and convincing mass.

Three compositions of celestial buddhas (tathagatas) are also to be considered in this group of thirteenth-century paintings produced for Sakya patrons by Newar artists (fig. 6, 7, and 8).16 A distinction can be made between paintings made by Newar artists for Tibetan patrons (all of the above-cited works) and Newar paintings produced for Nepalese patrons (an outstanding example can be found in a painting of Vajradhara and consort, dated 1488, in the Musée Guimet in Paris) (fig. 9).17 Nepalese works for Nepalese patrons often encompass Hindu iconography (less common in Tibetan art), Nepalese throne and temple architecture, and patronage narratives that include musicians, dancers, and local kings and their families. Tibetan artists also worked in the Newar style, although more research is needed to understand the history of this tradition in Tibetan painting.