NARO DAKINI

Tibetan painting of complex meaning, in which through the image of Naro Dakini, to whom it is dedicated, allusion is made to Mansjuri and thus to the lineage of Tsongkapa, the Dakinis can be understood and identified with female celestial principles of supernatural abilities. Naro Dakini is a female Buddha associated with the Paramasukha Chakrasmavara Tantra (see cat. no. 9). In it she manifests as an initiatory vision of the Indian master Mahasidha Naropa (956-1040), according to the cataloguing of a similar image by G. LEONOV (RHIE; THURMANN, 1992: 299).The goddess appears in motion, bending her left leg and directing her body in the same direction. In her left hand she holds a skull-bowl, and in her right hand an axe with a vjara as a hilt or katrikâ. On his left shoulder rests a khatvabga or magic scepter. The crown with which she holds and adorns her hair is formed by skulls, as is the long necklace or rosary whose beads are also skulls. His feet are supported by two deities, Bhairava, painted in blue and Kalaratri, in red, as they also appear in the figure of Paramasukha Chakrasmavara. The mandorla or halo that frames the image is formed by fire, alluding to the destructive power of the divinity. At its feet several images are wrapped in moving flames, resting on a landscape of mountain peaks, from which emerge smaller scale architectures, which are repeated again, but with a bulbous aspect on the left side of the composition. The upper half of the painting shows a change of scenery, assuming a celestial aspect, on which there are three seated images. The central one corresponds to Mansjuri, with a skull-bowl in his left hand and a magic scepter or khatvabga. Flanking this image the sun and the moon, and under them two representations of lamas of the Gelukhpa sect. / Extracted from: Isabel CERVERA FERNÁNDEZ: Fundación Rodríguez-Acosta. Asian Art Collection. Bibliography: RHIE, M.; THURMANN, R.: Wisdom and Compassion. The Sacred Art of Tibet. New York, 1992, p. 299