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Source Description
The legendary Buddhist sage (mahasiddha) Ghantapa created a flood in order to teach a lesson to a king. But the flood threatened the lives of innocent bystanders, and so Ghantapa told them to pray to Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Avalokiteshvara dispatched a statue of himself-or perhaps an actual incarnation, judging from the way he is shown at lower right, his arm raised to halt the raging floodwaters. Ghantapa, who has the power to fly, holds his female partner as well as two ritual instruments, a bell and a vajra. He is watched over by the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri, depicted in a circle.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
13025
label
Mahasiddha Ghantapa and the Great Flood
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
13025
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Mahasiddha Ghantapa and the Great Flood
description
The legendary Buddhist sage (mahasiddha) Ghantapa created a flood in order to teach a lesson to a king. But the flood threatened the lives of innocent bystanders, and so Ghantapa told them to pray to Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Avalokiteshvara dispatched a statue of himself-or perhaps an actual incarnation, judging from the way he is shown at lower right, his arm raised to halt the raging floodwaters. Ghantapa, who has the power to fly, holds his female partner as well as two ritual instruments, a bell and a vajra. He is watched over by the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri, depicted in a circle.
provenance
Sonan Tashi [Tibetan dealer], Hong Kong [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, August 1, 1995, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2008, by gift.
date
18th century
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
paintings
tangkas
tankas
thangkas
thankas
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
74
height
48.5
dimensionsRaw
H overall with fabric border: 29 1/8 x W: 19 1/8 in. (74 x 48.5 cm); Image H: 19 1/8 x W: 12 7/8 in. (48.5 x 32.7 cm)
Source extras
cul
Buddhist
med
tempera on cloth
creator_ids
6868
collection_ids
INT
exhibition_ids
2083
2071
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
1567700f2161ecd9
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
f378e95d12250b96
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no