The Ultimate Conquerer in the Tabo Main Temple

Luczanits, Christian

Abstract

This short essay proposes an identification for a group of five deities represented on the entry wall of the Tabo Main Temple that has remained unexplained. The fragmentary depiction dates to the renovation of the temple finished in 1042 CE under the auspices of the Purang-Guge royal house. A comparison to other representations of a five-deity mandala in Dunkar and Phyang, West Tibet, and a survey of relevant textual sources indicate that the configuration at Tabo represents a Vajravidāraṇa mandala assembly. The proposed identification is of wider relevance for an evaluation of Buddhism in the Western Himalayas at the time and the development of Tibetan Buddhism more broadly.

Citation

Luczanits, C. (2024). The Ultimate Conquerer in the Tabo Main Temple. In C. DiSimone, & N. Witkowski (Eds.), Buddhakṣetrapariśodhana. A Festschrift for Paul Harrison (343-355). Indica et Tibetica Verlag

• Publication Date: Nov 17, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jan 7, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 7, 2025
• Pages: 343-355
• Book Title: Buddhakṣetrapariśodhana. A Festschrift for Paul Harrison
• ISBN: 9783923776702
• Keywords: Tibetan art, Tabo Monastery, mandala, protection