White Tara with Je Tsongkhapa Thangka

White Tara with Je Tsongkhapa Thangka is hand painted on cotton canvas in Kathmandu, Nepal. The size of this thangka is 107*151 cm(42*59 inch).

White Tara is presented at center, with Shakyamuni Buddha at the top of the thaangka. Padmasambhava and Je Tsongkhapa are depicted in the top left and right corners respectively, while Aparimita and Namgyalma are featured at the bottom left and right.

Iconography of White Tara

White Tara is seen as a representation of the wisdom and liberation brought by all Buddhas. She is seen as a symbol of a motherly compassion that is even more powerful than a mother’s love for her own children, and she is driven to help living beings escape suffering.

White Tara, the Mother of All Buddhas, is renowned for her swiftness in answering the pleas of those who call upon her. Her meditation practice is said to bring about health, long life, courage, patience, and tranquility. People often perform White Tara sadhanas to extend their lifespan and treat sickness. It is believed that since Arya Tara is the collective embodiment of the enlightened activity of all Buddhas, her sadhana is easily accomplished.

Gestures and Attributes

Her right hand is open towards us in the gesture of supreme generosity, signifying her ability to fulfill our spiritual and material needs.

Her left hand is in a gesture of providing blessings, safety, and security. She has seven eyes, one on each hand and foot, and the third eye on her face to demonstrate her awareness and response to suffering all around the world; she is seated in the full lotus posture, or vajra.

Her left hand holds the stem of a blossoming white lotus signifying her spiritual perfection and complete purity of body, speech, and mind.

The mantra of White Tara

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE MAMA AYUR PUNYE JNANA PUSHTIM KURU YE SVAHA

Iconography of Namgyalma

Namgyalma, also known as Ushnisha Vijaya, is located in the bottom right corner of the White Tara Thangka. This deity is associated with longevity and purification, and her mantra has many beneficial properties.

It is said to be so powerful that anybody who hears it will never again be born from the womb. Therefore, if animals hear it, they will never again be reborn in the lower realms.

The mantra of Ushnisha Vijaya (Namgyalma)

Om Dhrum Soha Om Amrita Ayur Dade Soha

Iconography of Aparmita

Aparmita bottom left corner of white tara in the thangka. Buddha Aparimita is very popular in bestowing long life upon the devotees. He is red in color. His two hands are in dhyana mudra and hold an ambrosia vase.

He is typically adorned with the various adornments associated with a Sambhogakaya Buddha, but never with a consort. He wears a crown and has an Ushnisha atop his head.

The Buddha Aparimita is called upon or venerated in order to extend life expectancy, quickly cure serious illnesses, or protect from imminent peril.

In the Nepalese Mahayana tradition, the dharani of Buddha Aparimita is often recited by devotees in the presence of those who are close to death. It is believed that reciting this dharani with true sincerity will be beneficial for the dying person.

It is said that the renowned Madhyamika Buddhist thinker Arya Nagarjuna was able to avoid his premature demise after chanting this dharani for an entire day and night.

The mantra of Buddha Aparmita

Om A Ma Ra Ni Dzi Wan Ti Ye Soha

Iconography of Shakyamuni Buddha

Shakyamuni buddha has his left hand resting in his lap, holding a begging bowl, and his right arm is outstretched across his leg with his fingers touching the ground.

He has a golden complexion, with half-lidded eyes and a gold ornament perched atop his head, giving his hair a stylish look.

A dot (bindi or “urna”) between the eyebrows and the earlobes is elongated and pierced. The shoulders are covered with an orange and red robe wrapped around the torso and legs and tied at the waist with a green sash.

Mantra of Shakyamuni Buddha

The mantra of Shakyamuni Buddha is Om Muni Muni Maha Muniye Soha.

Iconography of Padmasambhava

The Khatvanga, a staff topped with three severed heads symbolizing the three kayas of a Buddha (dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya), crowned by a Trishula and adorned with a sash of the Himalayan Rainbow or Five Pure Lights of the Mahabhuta, is an essential part of Padmasambhava’s image and is seen as a divine attribute of his.

He stares intently with his wide-open eyes. His outfit consists of a white vajra undershirt, a red robe, a deep blue Mantrayana tunic, a red monastic shawl adorned with a golden floral design, and a maroon cloak of silk brocade. He has one face and two hands.

IIn his right hand, he grasps a five-pronged vajra close to his chest; in his left, which is held in a gesture of tranquility, he holds a skull cup containing a vase of eternal life with the elixir of everlasting knowledge. Resting in his left arm is a three-pointed Khatvanga, symbolizing his consort Mandarava. He wears a five-petalled lotus hat on his head.

Mantra of Padmasambhava

The mantra of  Padmasambhava is Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum.

Iconography of Je Tsongkhapa

Je Tsongkhapa is depicted with a smiling face and wearing a yellow pandit’s hat with a pointed tip and two flaps, as well as the three robes of a monk. His hands are either in the Dharmacakra Mudra or the Long Life posture.