Milarepa (1040–1123) was a beloved Tibetan singer poet, mystic, teacher, and Buddhist saint. In this thangka, a painted cloth that can be rolled up for portability, Milarepa sits in a cave on Mount Kailash, which is sacred to both Buddhists and Hindus. In front of him, Lake Manasarovar flows by in wavy blue and green bands. Milarepa is flanked by his disciples, and his teacher, Marpa, appears in a medallion above him. Dazzling snow-covered peaks of the Himalayas frame each of the central figures, and below them multicolored foothills appear as
prismatic spikes refracting the sun’s rays like jewels.
The Five Sisters of Long Life appear along the perimeter of the thangka; devoted to Milarepa, these mountain goddesses are fierce protectors of Buddhism. The other side of this thangka contains a long inscription in Tibetan that describes the events of the saint’s life. It helps establish this work as one of the earliest surviving depictions of Milarepa.
Text: Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0.
