Item: Teacher (Lama) - Sonam Tsemo

Sonam Tsemo (1142-1182) and Dragpa Gyaltsen (1147-1216): two brothers that were early patriarchs of the Sakya School. This painting belongs to a larger set of paintings depicting the lineage of teachers for the Path together with the Result (S. margapala) teachings of mahasiddha Virupa.

The set of paintings was commissioned between 1419 and 1430 by Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo as part of the funerary services for his teacher Buddhashri who passed away in 1419.

Above the two central figures are three forms of the meditational deity Chakrasamvara. At the left is the deity according to the lineage of Krishnacharya. Note that the consort Vajrayogini has one leg planted on the ground and the other wrapped about the waist of the partner. In the center is the principal form according to the Maha-sambarodaya-tantra. At the right is the deity according to the tradition of Luipa. Note that the consort Vajrayogini has both legs wrapped about the waist of the partner.

Along the top arranged in an orderly register are the lineage teachers for the Chakrasamvara system of initiation and instruction: Vajradhara, Vajrapani, Maha Brahmin Saraha, Acharya Nagarjuna, The Protector Shavari, Luipa, Darikapa, Vajra Ghantapa, Kumarapada, Jalandharapa, Krishnacharya, Guhyapa, Nampar Gyalwai Shap, The Acharya Barmai Lobpon, Tilopa, Naropa, Pamtingpa Kuche Nyi, Lama Lokkya Sherab Tseg, Lama Mal Lotsawa, The Lord of Dharma Sakyapa (Sachen Kunga Nyingpo 1092-1158).

At the bottom right corner is the dark coloured and wrathful religious protector deity Panjarnata Mahakala the special protector of the Sakya Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

Each figure is accompanied with a name inscription. At the bottom center is a donor dedication. At both sides beneath the two central figures are four-line verses dedicated to Sonam Tsemo and Dragpa Gyaltsen composed by their great-great nephew Chogyal Pagpa (1235-1280).

"Accomplished from limitless merit,
Greatly increasing omniscient wisdom,
Becoming the supreme kinsman of beings;
To Sonam Tsemo I bow.

Seeing the reality of all dharmas,
Reaching the other side of the ocean of Secret Mantra,
Lord of all Vajra Holders;
To Dragpa Gyaltsen I bow." (Chogyal Pagpa).

(See Virupa and Kanha from the same set: Private Collection).

Jeff Watt 4-2001 [updated December 2005]

Thematic Sets
Subject: Margapala Sets (Two Figures)
Painting Sets: Teaching Lineages
Teacher: Sonam Tsemo Masterworks
Video: Art History (YouTube)
Collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Masterworks)
Publication: A Concise History of the Glorious Sakyapa School
Collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Teacher: Dragpa Gyaltsen Page
Teacher: Sonam Tsemo Page
Painting Set: Margapala [2] (Ngorchen)
Subject: Ngor Masterworks
Subject: Lineage Composition (Greyscale)
Subject: Margapala Lineage Masterworks
Teacher: Sakya (Masterworks)
Teacher: Dragpa Gyaltsen (Masterworks)
Teacher: Khon (Masterworks)
Subject: Margapala Lineage Paintings (Sakya)
Tradition: Sakya Teachers
Subject: Lay Figure Appearance
Tradition: Sakya Art History
Tradition: Sakya Founders