This Karma-Gadri style thangka depicts a guardian deity/mountain goddess riding a snow lion holding a skull cup surmounted by a swastika in her left hand, and a vajra in her right. Four other mountain goddesses on their respective mounts float below her. Above the central figure is shown Milarepa, one of the greatest yogi-poets of the Karma-Kagyud lineage, depicted seated on a mountain. Below is a wrathful emanation of Manjushri in red, holding aloft a flaming sword in his right hand, as usual, and holding a mongoose in his left. He sits on a lotus moon-disk inside of a brilliant red flame aureole. The simplicity of the Karma-Gadri style sets off the figures, which stand out in a spacious, land-sky scape.

Milarepa is particularly associated with Mount Kailash (Tib. Kang Rimpoche), the sacred mountain of far Western Tibet which is considered the physical emanation of Sumeru, the center of the Universe. It may be that this painting depicts Kailash and the guardian figures associated with the Holy Mountain.

The Karma-Gadri style is typical of Eastern Tibet, and combines precise depiction of figures with an airy, open arrangement of spaces. Often open areas of the painting are left the color of the canvas or overlaid with only a very light wash, a technique which contrasts with the bold opaque blocks of color typical of the Menri school.



Detail: Detail