Previous Item | Gallery 2 | Peaceful Wind Main Gallery | Next Item
Contact Peaceful Wind

Peaceful Wind

2. Arhat Ajita
Tibet
18th century
Gilt copper alloy
4 3/8 in. (11.3 cm) high
Arhat Ajita

This small portrait depicts arhat Ajita as a meditating hermit clad in thick robes and a heavy hood, a standard iconographic portrayal of the master. He is rooted on a two-tiered cushion, which would have been placed in a cave on Mt Rsi ("Mountain of Sages"), where the arhat resides after the Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha.

The name Ajita means "The Unsubdued", probably related to the story of his successful fetching of a princess with the most excellent of elephants, in order to have King Prasenajit agree to their marriage. This talented young man eventually abandoned his wealth and power, and became one of the sixteen disciples of Buddha.

Published
Dinwiddie, Donald. Portraits of the Masters: Bronze Sculptures of the Tibetan Buddhist Lineages. United Kingdom: Pallas Athene, 2003, pp.78-9, no.2.

Published & Exhibited
Monasterios y Lamas del Tibet, p.155, no.102.

Himalayan Art Resources item no.2243

Price On Request

Detail: back
Detail: base
all text and images © Peaceful Wind
Previous Item | Gallery 2 | Peaceful Wind Main Gallery | Next Item
Contact Peaceful Wind