Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Tara (Buddhist Deity) - White

སྒྲོལ་མ། སྣང་བརྙན་ཡོངས། 度母(本尊)(全像)
(item no. 92008)
Origin Location Ladakh
Date Range 1700 - 1799
Lineages Gelug
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection U. of Michigan Museum of Anthropology
Catalogue # #17458 [K569], Koelz Collection
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Appearance: Peaceful

Gender: Female

Interpretation / Description

"...with a hue white like an autumn moon - radiant like a stainless crystal jewel, shining with rays of light, one face, two hands, and having three eyes; with the conduct of having sixteen years of age. The right hand is in the mudra of supreme generosity; the left holds with the thumb and forefinger the stem of a white utpala to the heart with the petals blossoming at the ear. Representing the buddhas of the three times the single stem is divided into three, in the middle is a blossoming flower, the right in fruition, the left in the form of a bud; adorned with various jewel ornaments; having various silk upper garments and a lower garment of red silk; seated with the legs in vajra posture. The palms of the hands and feet each have an eye - the seven eyes of pristine awareness." (Sachen Ngagwang Kunga Lodro, 1729-1783).

Jeff Watt [updated 6-2019]

Secondary Images
Related Items
Thematic Sets
Buddhist Deity: Long-Life Deities
Region: Ladakh, Northern India
Buddhist Deity: Tara, White Main Page
Collection of University of Michigan (Koelz Collection)
Buddhist Deity: Tara, Twenty-one Taras Main Page
Buddhist Deity: Tara, White (Painting Masterworks)
Painting Style: Guge Kingdom (Western Tibet)
Buddhist Deity: Tara (Early Paintings)