Page 46 - Indian, Himalaya and Asian Art Bonhams Setp 2015

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A THANGKA FROM AN ARHAT SET: PINDOLA BHARADVAJA
Eastern Tibet, Palpung style, 18th century
Distemper on cloth; with Tibetan inscriptions identifying the subject in gold recto, in ink verso.
Image: 33 1/4 x 24 5/8 in. (84.5 x 62.6 cm); With silks: 60 x 31 1/2 in. (152.4 x 80 cm)
$20,000 - 30,000

西藏東部 八蚌風格 十八世紀 羅漢唐卡組畫之一: 賓頭盧頗羅墮

This exquisite thangka is the twelfth of a known Sixteen-Arhat set. Twelve are published
on Himalayan Art Resources: www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=3005. Each is
photographed with its silk mounting, confirming the present lot survives with its original orange
and silver brocade.

The painting’s style and composition are derived from the refined ‘Encampment style’ developed
by Situ Panchen at Palpung monastery. The composition, with its controlled brushstrokes, grassy
knolls, gold-outlined blue and green rock formations, and light tonal gradients, is similar to an
Avadanakalpalata set held at Palpung monastery, commissioned by Situ Panchen in 1737 (see
Jackson, Patron and Painter, New York, 2009, pp. 12 & 124, fig 6.11).

Identified by the alms bowl and book in his hands, Arhat Pindola Bharadvaja sits on a Chinese-style
throne near the center of the painting. The surrounding landscape illustrates important moments
in his life. Starting from the bottom right corner and moving clockwise: Pindola Bharadvaja, in his
mother’s arms, grew up in palatial settings. The son of a regent of Rajagriha, he had a privileged
birth, but grew dissatisfied with his lot after being exposed to Shakyamuni’s teachings. Seen leaving
the palace, he renounced his noble life and became an initiate of Shakyamuni.

Holding an alms bowl and staff near a village in the bottom left corner, Bharadvaja achieved
arhat consciousness through perfecting the twelve forms of asceticism – particularly that
overcoming gluttony and living solely off of one’s daily alms round. The name ‘Pindola’, in fact,
translates into Tibetan as ‘seeker of alms’.

Shakyamuni gave Pindola Bharadvaja the epithet, ‘greatest of the lion roarers’ because he
excelled at discourse, championing Shakyamuni’s teachings to disciples and laity. Above the
bottom left corner, we see the arhat teaching to the population of Kaushambi. From the right
comes King Charka of Badsa with an entourage of three attendants and the elephant of
ignorance in their wake. The king had heard of the sage and wanted to pay him a visit on his
way to a hunt. When Pindola Bharadvaja neglected to rise from his seat to greet the king, the
king left feeling insulted. He plotted to return later that day and, if he were not afforded due
courtesies, planned to chop off Bharadvaja’s head.

But the arhat heard about King Charka’s plans. In the scene near the top left corner, as the
king approached, Bharadvaja arose from meditation and took six steps to welcome him. As he
did, an earthquake struck, terrifying the king, now confronted with the limits of his own power.

Seen near the top center, the king prostrated himself at the latter’s feet, confessed his evil
intentions, and begged for forgiveness. Pindola Bharadvaja responded explaining, “I can
endure your evil intention. It is your mind that you must teach to be forbearing.”

Finally, near the top right corner, a nimbate Pindola Bharadvaja is seen residing among his
thousand dgra-bcom-pa (arhats) on the Eastern [continent] of Purva-Videha, where, like the
other sixteen arhats, he protects Buddhism and awaits to assist the Future Buddha Maitreya.
For more information on Pindola Bharadvaja, see Loden Sherab Dagyab, Tibetan Religious Art
(2 vols), Wiesbaden, 1977, pp. 102-5.

Referenced
HAR - himalayanart.org/items/31511

Provenance
Collection of Lobsang P. Lhalungpa (1926-2008)
Acquired either in Tibet before 1947 or India before 1971

44 | BONHAMS