25 2 3 Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 5 1.1. Research questions, aims and methods .........................................................................5 1.2. Sources: Visual materials ................................................................................................ 8 1.3. Sources: The K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā a d a p iest s a ual ...........................................8 1.4. Sources: Anthropological accounts.................................................................................9 1.5. Terminology ..................................................................................................................10 Chapter 2 The fire ritual in a Newar Buddhist context...................................................... 11 2.1. Homa as a tantric ritual and its place in Newar Buddhist practice .............................. 12 2.1.1. Tantric homa ..........................................................................................................12 2.1.2. Classifying homa ....................................................................................................13 2.1.3. Homa in Newar rituals of consecration .................................................................14 2.2. Key aspects of homa in Newar fire rituals ....................................................................19 2.2.1. Actors: Priest and patron ....................................................................................... 19 2.2.2. Place: Establishing the fire pit ................................................................................21 2.2.3. Attributes: The ritual implements .........................................................................22 2.2.4. Actions: The offerings ............................................................................................ 23 Chapter 3 The iconography of homa in Nepalese pau hās .............................................. 27 3.1. Selection of materials ...................................................................................................27 3.2. The composition of the lower register .........................................................................28 3.2.1. Category 1: A lower register divided into panels ..................................................29 3.2.2. Category 2: A continuous lower register ............................................................... 30 3.3. Actors and actions: The priest offering oblations into the fire ....................................31 3.4. Actors and actions: The assistant to the priest............................................................. 33 3.5. Actors and actions: The aja ā a and his family ........................................................ 35 3.6. Attributes: Ritual implements in the fire sacrifice ........................................................ 36 3.6.1. Offering a seat to the deities: The pū ṇakaláa and kaláa ..................................37 3.6.2. Worshipping the deities through a maṇḍala ......................................................... 39 3.7. Place: The sacrificial fire as the virtual centre of action ...............................................42 3.8. A canopy covering a sacred space ................................................................................44 3.9. Images ........................................................................................................................... 47 4 Chapter 4 Nepalese pau hās as historical evidence on fire rituals ................................... 59 4.1. The artistic tradition .....................................................................................................60 4.1.1. Composing the artworks: An Inner Asian International Style ............................... 60 4.1.2. Composition and motifs in Indian and Nepalese manuscript covers ....................61 . . . Co positio a d otifs i pedestals a d a sto e sla f o Pāla I dia................63 4.2. Artistic conventions: Rules on iconography and idealisation .......................................68 4.3. Pau hās as sacred icons ............................................................................................... 70 4.4. The nature of homa images: Eyewitness accounts or artistic motifs? ......................... 71 4.5. Images ........................................................................................................................... 75 Chapter 5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 85 5.1. Homa as an artistic motif .............................................................................................. 85 5.1.1. Positioning and composing the homa image ........................................................ 85 5.1.2. Central features of Newar homa and parallel iconographies ............................... 86 5.2. Rituals of consecration? ................................................................................................ 87 5.3. Ritual realities: Homa as an eyewitness account ......................................................... 88 5.3.1. A unique Newar development? .............................................................................88 5.3.2. Between artistic rules and ritual realities .............................................................. 89 5.4. Further research ...........................................................................................................90 6. Glossary ....................................................................................................... 93 7. References ................................................................................................... 99 8. Images ....................................................................................................... 107 Appendix 1: Sanskrit texts .............................................................................. 111 Appendix 2: Selected pau hās ....................................................................... 115 5 Chapter 1 Introduction The Kathmandu Valley (Nepal) has been hosting a unique painting tradition with testimonies being preserved up until today, such as scroll-paintings on cloth (Skt.: paṭa; New.: pau hā).1 These paintings contain a unique image, that does not seem to be present in the more popularly known, Tibetan scroll-painting, the thangka. Nepalese pau hās display a lower register in which several motifs appear, such as the donors of the artwork. Another pattern recurring in these registers is homa, the fire sacrifice. The images of fire rituals in the lower registers of pau hās are the object of study of this thesis. 1.1. Research questions, aims and methods Many Nepalese paintings have been studied in the later half of the 20 th century up until today, but only a few scholars have paid attention to the iconography of the homa images.2 These paintings, minor though they are, appear to show us the performance of a fire ritual in a specific South Asian cultural context. The study of rituals tends to focus on textual sources, and to ignore the material culture attached to a religious tradition. David Morgan, Professor of Religious Studies and Art History at Duke University (North Carolina, USA), argues that both texts and images make a religion manifest to its followers. A priority of one medium over the other in the study of religion is therefore not desirable. A much richer picture on belief emerges out of a study of the interaction between the two media, as they are closely intertwined and nourish one another (Morgan 2005, 21). In the case of the material culture of the Kathmandu Valley, scholars have equally signalled the tendency to study only the iconography of Buddhist and Hindu images, without taking into account the ritual context in which these functioned and of which they are testimonies.3 In this thesis, I use the Newari term pau hā instead of the Sanskrit paṭa as these paintings were made by Newars. A o di g to Ma g iet Blo , pai te s i the Kath a du Valle e e al a s Ne a s a d i a ia l Buddhists , . The elo g to the he editary group (jāti) of the Citrakārs (New. Pũ) and are responsible for religious paintings in particular (Toffin 1995, 240-242). 2 Detailed studies of the iconography of homa scenes in the lower registers of pau hās are included in the following publications: Monod-Bruhl 1959, Huntington and Bangdel 2003, and Bühnemann 2008. 3 Macdonald and Vergati-Stahl 1979, 2; von Rospatt, A Survival of Mahāyāna Buddhism in Nepal: A Fresh Appraisal, 173: https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/4publikationen/buddhismus-in-geschichte-und-gegenwart/bd6-k10rospatt.pdf. Accessed June 27, 2017. 1 6 When studying the homa images, scholars have related them either to the rituals of consecrating the pau hā, or to specific rituals performed for the deities or sacred events in the central section of the painting. Pratapaditya Pal for instance, relates the homa scene in a Candra-maṇḍala pau hā to rituals of consecration,4 while Dina Bangdel states that the painted fire sacrifice in the lower register of a Vasundha ā-maṇḍala scroll can be related to the performance of a ritual dedicated to the central goddess.5 This information is primarily gained from a reading of the inscriptions found in the pau hās themselves.6 No systematic study has been made of this motif of the fire ritual. The aim of this thesis is therefore, to explore patterns and alterations in the iconography of the homa images of a selected set of pau hās. A representative sample of paintings was taken from a dataset consisting of forty-four different artworks from various museum and private collections.7 The criteria for this selection were based on the composition of the homa scene in relation to the type of lower register as outlined in Chapter 3. Practical concerns, such as the visibility of the images also played a role in this selection. Next to a systematic examination of the motif, other issues related to these images are explored in this thesis. What is the nature of these homa images? Are they artistic motifs or eyewitness accounts? Is it possible to relate them to a specific ritual? And, what is their value as historical evidence on Newar fire rituals for historians of religion? In order to deal with these issues, we will at first examine the nature and key aspects of the fire sacrifice in a Newar Buddhist context. In Chapter 2, textual sources on homa, primary as well as secondary, will be presented. These sources are discussed in Section 1.2. I will pay specific attention to Newar Buddhist fire rituals, as most of the pau hās preserved bear images of Buddhist deities, while only a few show Brahmanical divinities in the centre Pal 1967, 26. This pau hā dates to 1525 CE and is preserved in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. The Candra-maṇḍala painting measures 74 x 59 cm. The materials consist of watercolours on cloth (Pal 1967, 5-9; 26-27; 33-34; Plate 1). For a link with rituals of consecration, see also: Pal 1978, 86; Bühnemann 2008, 19-20. 5 2003, 412; This pau hā dates to 1495 CE and is preserved in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, M.77.19.7). The materials consist of water colours on cotton cloth, and he painting measures 110 x 84,2 cm. Odette Monod-Bruhl also relates homa to a ritual directed to the central deity, in her article on a Vajradhara painting from the Muséé Guimet Paris (1959, 302). 6 I wish to thank Prof. Gudrun Bühnemann for drawing my attention to the importance of the inscriptions as sources of information on the specific function of pau hās (pers. comm. February 16, 2017). 7 Only three pau hās that were collected for this analysis are currently in Indian (Indian Museum of Kolkatta) or Nepalese museum collections (National Gallery Bhaktapur). I wish to thank Nathalie Bazin (Musée Guimet Paris), Anna ”la̧ zka (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam), Gudrun Bühnemann (University of Wisconsin-Madison), and Chris De Lauwer (MAS Antwerp) for their assistance in finding detailed images of the homa scenes for this study. 4 7 (Pal 1978, 88-89). Moreover, no systematic study has yet been undertaken of the performance of homa by Newar Hindus (Lewis and Bajracharya 2016, 306), while detailed anthropological accounts exist on the fire ritual as performed by Newar Buddhists. Where the sources allow it, I will refer to the Hindu Newar context of the fire sacrifice, as we will also study one exceptional painting illustrating a Brahmanical priest in its homa image. A study of these key aspects will facilitate our interpretation of the particular constituents of a homa image. In Chapter 3, I present a systematic analysis of the composition, iconography and position of the elements that constitute a painted fire sacrifice. This is preceded by a typology of the ways in which the lower register of a pau hā can be composed and the specific position of the motif of the fire ritual in relation to other motifs in these registers. In this chapter, we will in particular pay attention to the nature of the fire rituals as an artistic motif and the possibility to relate these to a specific ritual on the basis of a study of the iconography of the images. I will test the hypothesis of rituals of consecration, as such a context was suggested frequently by previous scholars. I was also able to trace more textual sources, ancient as well as contemporary, on specific features of the fire ritual in the context of Newar rituals of consecration. In Chapter 4, the question of the value of Nepalese pau hās as historical evidence on rituals is the central subject. In order to determine this value, the Newar painting tradition will be placed in its art-historical, social and ritual contexts. First, I will examine the Nepalese art of painting within the framework of the Inner Asian International Style. Subsequently, rules on iconography determining the form of a pau hā, which can be related to the ritual usage of the painting, are analysed. At the end of the chapter, I will reflect on the double nature of homa images as being subject to artistic rules as well as ritual reality. Two approaches are thus employed in this thesis to study the homa images: iconographic8 as well as textual-historical. By combining these two methods, I hope to draw the attention, not only of art historians, but also of scholars of religion, to this unique and fascinating field of study. It is extraordinary that so many testimonies of the exquisite painting tradition of the Newars have been preserved up until our times. The homa paintings provide us with a window into the ritual past of Newar society, and they demonstrate gloriously the mastery of thei pai te s, the Cit akā s. 8 In this thesis, I will abstain from the iconological interpretation, which is concerned with the i t i si ea i g of a a t o k (Panofsky 1939, 3-31; quoted in Burke 2001, 35-36). As the materials presented have not yet been studied systematically, a general orientation is at first required, followed by an analysis of the specific iconography of the homa images. 8 1.2. Sources: Visual materials The primary, visual sources for this study are the homa images from a selection of pau hās, dating between the 14th and 18th century CE. This period is designated as the Malla period, which was a time of cultural prosperity in the history of the Kathmandu Valley, especially during the later Malla period (1482-1769 CE).9 As mentioned earlier, considerably more pau hās with a central Buddhist image survive than scrolls featuring a Brahmanical deity or scene. Those Brahmanical paintings that have been preserved mostly illustrate the god Viṣṇu. One such a pau hā illustrating a Viṣṇu-maṇḍala, dated 1420 CE, and currently preserved in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, was included in the selected artworks. Comparisons were also made with elements of homa images of other pau hās from the dataset, some of which are dated later than the Malla period. More visual sources, such as Nepalese ritual objects from various museum collections, and photographs by Mary Slusser (1982) and John K. Locke (1980) were employed as well. 1.3. Sources: The Kriyāsaṃgrahapañjikā a d a priest’s a ual The K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā The first primary textual source used, is the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā,10 composed in Sanskrit and attributed to Kuladatta. The K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā is a Buddhist tantric manual on the rituals accompanying the construction and consecration of a monastery ( ihā a). The text consists of eight chapters and the homa section is part of the sixth.11 We do not know much about the author. The Tibetan scholar Bu Ston (13th - 14th century CE) only mentions his name and his Nepalese descent.12 Scholars do not agree on the date of Kuladatta, with suggestions ranging from the 8th to the 13th century CE.13 The oldest manuscript is dated between 1216 and 1235 CE, based on a reading of its colophon. It is preserved in the Cambridge University Library (Manuscript no. Add. 1646). It seems that the section on homa in this text has not yet been translated (Ryugen Tanemura pers. comm., March 31, 2017). My choice of this text conforms to the hypothesis that the homa images are supposed to represent rituals of consecration. The text prescribes the ten life-cycle rites (dáa k i āḥ) for the images being consecrated, which is a specific feature of consecration rituals in the Kathmandu Valley. Paintings are explicitly mentioned in the text among the images for which the prescribed rituals have to be performed (Tanemura 2004, 10; 255-258). 9 Regmi 1965 (2), 862; Slusser 1982, 54; 61. Several titles refer to the same text, such as K i āsaṃgraha, K i āsaṃgraha- ā a-pañjikā, and K i āsaṃgrahaśāst a (Tanemura 2004, 3-5). 11 Tanemura 2004, 37-38; Bühenmann 2008, 154. 12 Sakurai 1996, 34; quoted in Tanemura 2004, 5. 13 Tanemura 2004, 6-10; Bühnemann 2008, 157. 10 9 Moreover, the text served as a foundational work for later ritual handbooks on tantric exoteric rites among the Newars (von Rospatt forthcoming, 15). Another, more practical reason for the choice of this text is that it was composed in Sanskrit, in contrast to later ritual manuals in the Kathmandu Valley which were composed in mixed Sanskrit and Newari, the latter of which I am not able to read.14 In this thesis, the text is employed to gain a better understanding of the fire ritual in an early medieval, Newar Buddhist context, rather than for comparisons with the iconography of the homa images. A p iest s a ual The second, p i a te tual sou e e plo ed i this thesis is a p iest s a ual, u e tl i the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. I studied a folio containing the image of a maṇḍala with accompanying instructions in Sanskrit and Newari. This folio was probably part of the sections of the manuscript dated to the second half of the 16 th century CE. Only the verses in Sanskrit have been translated for this thesis. A transcription and annotated translation of both the selections of Chapter 6 of the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā, and the folio of the p iest s a ual are attached in Appendix 1.15 1.4. Sources: Anthropological accounts For this study, I examined descriptions of homa in a Newar Buddhist context by the following scholars: Sylvain Lévi (1905), John K. Locke (1980), David Gellner (1992), Yael Bentor (1996), Bal Gopal Shrestha (2012), and Todd Lewis and Naresh Bajracharya (2016). The use of modern accounts on the performance of homa by Newar Buddhists for understanding paintings that are centuries older is slightly problematic, as rituals, like most cultural phenomena, are subject to change. However, unlike most other South Asian countries, Nepal was not submitted to British colonialism, and the country remained sheltered from outside influences until its opening up in 1950. Hence, Newar Buddhism was allowed to persist and preserve most of its traditional features, some acquired even before the Malla period, up until the present. Still, the political and social consequences of globalisation and modernity have also affected the Newar Buddhist tradition in the last decennia (von Rospatt forthcoming, 5). 14 In these later ritual manuals, the mantras are usually composed in Sanskrit, while the instructions for the rituals are in Newari (von Rospatt 2015, 823). 15 I wish to offer special thanks to Dr. Nirajan Kafle (Leiden University) for his assistance in reading the script of the manuscripts, translating parts from the Sanskrit, and composing an annotated translation of the selected sections. The use of these Sanskrit sources for this thesis would not have been possible without his help. 10 1.5. Terminology Sanskrit equivalents of terms are presented in italics, between brackets. When both the Sanskrit and Newari terms are offered, they are desig ated the a e iatio s “kt. a d Ne . respectively. When no abbreviation has been offered, the term is in Sanskrit. The transcription of Sanskrit terms follows the I.A.S.T. scheme.16 Newari terms are only employed when they were offered in secondary literature and may facilitate an understanding of the ritual context. 16 In 1894 the Transliteration Committee of the Geneva Oriental Congress institutionalised the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (I.A.S.T.; Monier-Williams 2012 [1899], xxx). This system is widely used by scholars in Europe and the United States of America. 11 Chapter 2 The fire ritual in a Newar Buddhist context The act of offering oblations into a fire, designated by the Sanskrit terms homa or yajña (New. mi chuya), originated in Indo-Iranian and Vedic ritual cultures. In the course of its extensive history, ranging over four millennia, the fire sacrifice17 spread over various regions in Asia, and more recently even beyond, due to migrations of people on a global scale (Payne 2016, 1-2). Everywhere it went, the fire ritual underwent changes and adaptions to the local cultures in which it was incorporated, but at the same time ritual continuity was ensured. One of the key aspects of homa, maintained in local ritual settings, was the link with the fire god Agni as the consumer of the offerings, who then transported them to the other deities in heaven. There was also considerable continuity in the types of offerings and the implements used during the performance. The shapes of the altars as reflecting different purposes of the ritual, were another central element of homa, although the specific forms and attributed meanings could differ according to the religious tradition. The function of a fire ritual was concomitant with the forms and positions of the fire pits, the colours of the garments of the attendants involved, and the specific time and place of the performance (Payne 2016, 2; 31). These continuities persist even in contemporary fire rites, such as in the ones performed by the Newars in the Kathmandu Valley. One of the earliest texts to record the performance of a fire ritual in a Buddhist context in the Indian Subcontinent is the Mañjú ī ūlakalpa, roughly dated to the 8th century CE.18 It can be considered as the earliest testimony of Buddhist fire rituals in Pāla India (8th to 12th century CE). Scholars assume that the Buddhist tantric tradition of the Newars in the Kathmandu Valley was influenced by forms of Mahā ā a Buddhism prevalent in the Pāla cultural milieu.19 Nevertheless, from an early time onwards, the Newars developed a religious culture that cherished its indigenous features. Newar Buddhism was thus established as a local manifestation of tantric forms of Mahā ā a Buddhism from the 17 The homa ritual is often referred to as a fire sacrifice, as offerings are demolished in the fire. ‘i ha d Pa e o i i gl a gues that it is o e app op iate to all the fi e itual a oti e i stead of a sa ifi ial itual. The e t al u de l i g oti e fo a homa ritual is indeed the conveying of offerings to the deities with the expectation of receiving worldly or spiritual benefits in return (2016, 2). 18 Prescriptions for the performance of homa, the construction of the fire pit, the proper places for the performance of the ritual, preliminary rituals of pacification, the types of wood, etc. are found in Chapter 13 of the text (trayodáa apaṭalavisaraḥ), according to Glenn Wallis (2002, 174). As far as I know, this part of the Mañjú ī ūlakalpa has not yet been translated. 19 Slusser 1982, 46; Huntington and Huntington 1990, 256-259; Lewis and Bajracharya 2016, 291292. 12 northeastern regions of the present states of India and Bangladesh, where it disappeared in ca. the 14th century CE (von Rospatt forthcoming, 2). The Newa fi e sa ifi e is fo e ost a ta t i ritual,20 which can take a variety of forms in its execution. In the present chapter, we will first look at possible ways of classifying the many homas that were – and still continue to be – performed in a Newar Buddhist context in the Kathmandu Valley. In particular, several characteristics of the fire rites in rituals of consecration will be explained. Subsequently, I will give an overview of key aspects of homa in a Newar Buddhist setting. With a clear understanding of the central features of a Newar fire ritual, we may then turn to the iconography of images of homa in the Nepalese paubhās in Chapter 3. 2.1. Homa as a tantric ritual and its place in Newar Buddhist practice The fire ritual in a Newar Buddhist context can be employed in various ways in larger religious ceremonies. In this section we will first examine the specific nature of homa as a ritual in a Newar Buddhist context, and I will propose different ways of classifying the fire rite. In the second part of this section, we will look at specific applications of homa in Newar Buddhist ceremonies for consecrating images. 2.1.1. Tantric homa The fire rituals performed by Buddhist Vaj ā ā a priests are in essence tantric, as they are related to specific sādhana and visualisation practices associated with the deities involved in the ritual.21 According to the instructions in the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā, for example, Agni has to be visualised by the priest as follows: One should visualise the Samaya-Agni, who is born from the seed-syllable ūṃ , ello i olou ; [he has] one face [and] four arms. On his left, [he] is holding a staff and a water-pot; on the right [he is showing] the boongranting gesture and holding a rosary. [He is] decorated with a yellow 20 The performance of homa in a Newar setting is accompanied by the recitation of mantras, the visualisation of the specific deities involved in the ritual, and the drawing of a maṇḍala, prescriptions of which can be found in ritual texts such as the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā. These are specific tantric features of the ritual, related to the sādha a practices, which will be explained in more details in this chapter. 21 A sādha a o ea s of a o plish e t consists of an evocation and visualisation of a deity out of his or her seed-syllable (bīja). It is a central technique in tantric rituals and a means for the worshipper to identify him- or herself with emptiness (́unyatā), the ultimate goal of the practice (Locke 1980, 115). 13 cloth [and he wears] a sacred thread. [Agni has] three eyes [and he is] wearing the crown of matted hair locks, the top of which is adorned by Vajrasattva.22 These types of visualisations of the fire god Agni and other deities, such as the principal deity for whom the sacrifice is performed, generally accompany the offering of oblations (Gellner 1992, 157-158). Recitations of specified mantras are also prescribed (Locke 1980, 103-114), and the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā contains several of those sacred formulas in its homa section.23 Although all fire rituals in a Newar Buddhist context can be defined as tantric, this does not ea that the a e all esote i o se et . E ote i fo s of homa usually consist of the offerings of ghee and grains to Agni (caru āhuti homa). These are performed during the daytime and can be attended by everyone, either as a patron or as an observer. These exoteric homas especially generate worldly benefits for the patrons and observers, hence the a e also efe ed to as o ldl laukika) homa. The esoteric types of homa are only performed for – and attended by – male Buddhists from the highest birth-groups (jāti),24 that have undergone tantric initiation. Esoteric fire rites can be distinguished by the specific kinds of substances that are sacrificed, such as meat (māṃsa āhuti), eggs and wine.25 Next to this exoteric-esoteric distinction, other ways of classifying homa in Newar Buddhism are proposed in the next section. 2.1.2. Classifying homa In the course of its history, the fire ritual has been adapted to various local settings in which it was performed, either as a stand-alone ritual, or as part of a larger and more complex series of rituals (Payne 2016, 4). In a Newar context, homa generally seems to function within a more extensive, religious activity. David Gellner describes homa as a asi itual in Newa Buddhis , togethe ith the flask o ship (kaláa pūjā) and the offering of the 22 For a transcription of the Sanskrit text and annotated translation, see Appendix 1. I was not able to trace a translation of this part of the text. Preparing an annotated translation of this section surpassed the scope of the thesis. Translating and editing the part on homa in Kuladatta s K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā are thus necessary for further research. 24 Scholars usually refer to the endogamous groups in Newar society as astes . In order to prevent negative associations with this English term, I will use the original Sanskrit jāti or the more neutral te g oup o i th-g oup . 25 Regmi 1965 (2), 723-725. Other types of esoteric homas in a Newar context are the ́ira āhuti head o latio ), nara āhuti a o latio ), and the lokottara homa, which is part of the aho āt a ho a da a d ight homa do e at ight. The sa ifi e of, fo e a ple, a head i the ́ira āhuti is a symbolic designation for the offering of the sense organs of the practitioner. This practice is a confirmation of the Buddhist doctrine of non-self (anāt a ) and its extension to the notion of emptiness (Lewis and Bajracharya 2016, 303-304). 23 14 guru-maṇḍala.26 From these three basic rituals more complex performances are constructed, such as life-cycle rituals and observances (vratas; Gellner 1992, 148). John K. Locke likewise refers to homa as a p i ipal itual of the Vaj ā ā a priests, together with certain kinds of offerings, the guru-maṇḍala worship and the kaláa pūjā (1980, 67-121).27 In rituals related to death, for instance, homa is compulsory. In other cases, the fire sacrifice is optional, for example, in the case of protection rituals (Lewis and Bajracharya 2016, 296297). The addition of homa to a specific religious ceremony renders the ritual activities more efficient (von Rospatt forthcoming, 13). Next to the religious ceremony in which homa functions, the ritual can be classified according to the number of oblations (āhuti) and the substances to be offered. These specific types of substances are related to either the esoteric or the exoteric nature of the ritual, which constitutes yet another way of classifying homa. Finally, a last way of categorising homa in a Newar Buddhist context is on the basis of the duration of the performance, which varies from a few hours up to several days (Lewis and Bajracharya 2016, 294; 303). Homa as a tantric ritual performed by Newar Buddhists can thus be classified in many ways. For our analysis, we need to focus on homa in the context of a specific kind of ceremony, namely in rituals of consecration. 2.1.3. Homa in Newar rituals of consecration Previous scholars have primarily linked the paintings of homa in Nepalese paubhās to rituals of consecration, based on a reading of the inscriptions in the paintings. Some inscriptions report that both the consecration of the paubhā as well as the successful celebration of a particular observance (vrata) was commemorated with the commissioning of the painting. Part of the translation of the inscription in a Vajradhara paubhā from the National Gallery in Bhaktapur, dated to 1513 CE, is paraphrased by Gudrun Bühnemann as follows: According to this inscription, (the consecration of) the gold-adorned paṭa of Vajradhara (and the performance of) the vrata of Vasu dha ā as completed on the third lunar day of the dark half of the month of 26 The guru-maṇḍala worship is carried out at the beginning of every complex ritual in a Newar context and works as a kind of framework for those rituals. It is generally performed by the patron or sponsor of the ritual (Skt. aja ā a; New. jaj ā ) with the guidance of a Vaj ā ā a priest. The guru in question is usually the buddha Vajrasattva, who is considered to be the guru of Vaj ā ā a priests (Gellner 1991, 163). During the kaláa pūjā one or more deities are invoked into one or more water vessels or kaláas, serving as a temporary abode for the deity during the ritual. The vesselworship always precedes homa (Gellner 1992, 151; 157). 27 Todd Lewis and Naresh Bajracharya enumerate seven preliminary rituals preceding a Newar Buddhist homa in the most complex ceremonies, of which the guru-maṇḍala offering, and the kaláa pūjā are only two examples (298; 309, fn. 22). 15 hā da a (i.e., hād apada) in N.S. 633 (= 1513 CE) during the rule of Jayaratnamalla. The day specified is the day dedicated to the observance of the Vasu dha ā ata (Bühnemann 2008, 17).28 Gudrun Bühnemann remarks that the inscription could refer to the completion on the same da of a pai ti g of Vajradhara (and) Vasu dha ā . However, more likely the inscription indicates the completion of a Vajradhara painting on the day that the patron completed the vrata of Vasu dha ā Bühnemann 2008, 20). A similar kind of inscription appears in a painting of a Viṣṇu-maṇḍala in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, dated 1420 CE.29 This inscription reports that the painting, a book and an image were consecrated on the same day that the Anantavrata ritual was concluded by the donors. In view of the link between the homa images and consecration rituals, however, we need to look more closely to the Newar Buddhist consecration context in this section. Buddhist tantric rituals of consecration Consecration rituals (pratiṣṭhā) ensure that a material object will serve as an abode for the divine or Buddhahood.30 The specific purpose of consecrating images, caityas, paintings, and manuscripts in a Buddhist tantric context is to ensure the presence of the Buddha essence in these receptacles. During the consecration process, the mantras of the Buddhist divinities in uestio a e i fused into the substrata. Thus, the divine essence is referred to as nyāsa, or mantra deposit .31 The tantric priest invokes the deity or buddha in question and invites him or her to use the receptacle, usually an image, as his or her abode.32 Thereafter, the priest generates the deity out of emptiness by means of a visualisation of his or her seedsyllable (bīja), and projects him or her into the substratum in order to make him or her enter.33 For a transcription of the inscription, see Appendix 2, pau hā no. 6. For a transcription and translation of this inscription, see Appendix 2, pau hā no. 4. 30 Among its many meanings, the Sanskrit word pratiṣṭhā a ea to pla e a defi ite po e i a o je t , o to e do a o je t ith di i e fa ulties Go da , . 31 Von Rospatt 2013, 278. The Sanskrit term nyāsa efe s to the a t of inserting as ell as to hat has been i se ted, so the deposit Monier Williams 2012 [1899], 572). 32 Next to a scroll-painting, the following receptacles are mentioned in the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā: a statue, a manuscript, a monastery, a caitya a d a hall of f ag a es Ta e u a , ; f . 92). 33 I have shortly summarised the complex tantric practices accompanying rituals of consecration, based on an excellent summary by Alexander von Rospatt (2010, 201). His account is primarily based on a reading of the rituals as described in the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā, and as translated by Ryugen Tanemura (2004). For a detailed description of tantric rituals of consecration, especially in a Tibetan context, see also Yael Bentor (1996, 1-49). 28 29 16 Rites of passage for images A description of consecration rituals in a Buddhist tantric setting can be found in the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā. In this text a scroll-painting is explicitly referred to as a substratum for receiving Buddhahood.34 Moreover, the performance of the ten life-cycle rituals (dáa saṃskā a) for the receptacle are prescribed. These are the purification of the womb of the mother ( o íodha a), the puṃsavana to generate a male embryo, the parting of the hair of the mother (sī a to a a a), the birth ritual (jātaka a ), the ceremony of name-giving ( ā aka a ), the initiation ceremony of the infant accompanied by the first feeding of fruits (phalap ā́ana) and rice (a ap ā́a a) and the throat-clearing ceremony (kaṇṭáodha a), the ritual of tonsure (cūḍāka aṇa), taking the vows of a disciple (vratādéa), the release of the vows (vratamokṣana), and the wedding rites (pāṇigrahaṇa).35 The Bauddhadáak i āsādha a and the Hiraṇ a ālādáak i ā idhi36 prescribe the worship of a form of the fire god Agni to accompany each saṃskā a, and the performance of fire rituals at the end of the wedding rite.37 Such specific fire rituals to accompany the ten saṃskā as seem to be lacking in the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā, but are still practiced today (von Rospatt 2010, 206). The performance of the ten life-cycle rituals for images is a typical feature of Newar rituals of consecration. It is an additional witness to the influence of Brahmanical, and especially ”ai a itual p a ti es, on the Buddhist tradition in the Kathmandu Valley (von Rospatt forthcoming, 4). An enactment of the ten saṃskā as during the consecration of a scroll-painting is still part of the Newar Buddhist ele atio of the Bhī a athā ohaṇa, a typical old-age ritual (New. j ā jaṃko).38 Paubhās a e o issio ed as the e t al i o fo the itual (von Rospatt 2014, 105). Especially among the Newar Buddhists in Kathmandu, the dáa saṃskā a are performed for the icons in conjunction with other rituals related to a jaṃko (von Rospatt 2014, 111-114). A photo of a pau hā which was consecrated during such a modern performance of an old-age ritual, was taken by Alexander von Rospatt (fig. 1). The painting is displayed in a frame and embellished with flower garlands in order to serve as a sacred icon (von Rospatt 2014, 113). For a transcription and annotated translation of this section of the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā, see Tanemura 2004, 157-210; 255-306. 35 This summary is based on von Rospatt 2010, 202. For a transcription and annotated translation of this section of the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā, see Tanemura 2004, 156-197; 255-295. 36 These texts belong to the group of ritual texts composed entirely in Sanskrit in the Kathmandu Valley before the 14th century CE, as they lack the mix of Sanskrit and Newari that characterises Nepalese ritual texts dated after the 15th century CE (von Rospatt 2015, 823). 37 Tanemura 2004, 72-78; von Rospatt 2010, 206-207. 38 This Newar old age ritual is celebrated at 77 years, 7 months and 7 days (von Rospatt 2014, 111). 34 17 The functions of homa in consecrating a pau hā In order to get familiarised with the functions of the fire sacrifice in Newar rituals of consecrating a painting, we could turn to the Hiraṇ a ālādáak i ā idhi. This text reports the following, four different purposes for the consecration of scroll-paintings: 1. pacifying (́ā ti); 2. increasing (puṣṭi); 3. subduing ( á a); and 4. destroying (a hi ā a; Tanemura 2004, 255; fn. 93). These four different aims follow an accepted system for categorising rituals. During consecration rites, homa is performed with the first two aims in mind, namely the increasing and peaceful purposes. Increasing fire sacrifices (puṣṭi) are generally enacted o the p i ipal da of the itual se ue e fo i easi g life, ealth, ou age, st e gth, ha ests, e it, isdo , stud a d p a ti e of eligio , a d so fo th (Bentor 1996, 270). They also serve to increase the effect of tying firmly the divine into the consecrated object, in order to make sure that the deity or Buddha will reside into the image.39 Although Yael Bentor relies on Tibetan sources, the wish for an increasing life span, a good health and prosperity recurs almost invariably in the inscriptions in Nepalese pau hās as well. The pacifying (́ā ti) type of homa is performed during the concluding rituals on the last day of the consecration ceremony (Bentor 1996, 270).40 The specific purpose of the religious ceremony in which the fire ritual functions, affects the shape and colour of the fire pit, to which we will turn in Section 2.2.2. Now that we have become familiarised with the role of a fire sacrifice as part of a specific tantric Buddhist ritual, we will next examine key features of homa and their specific forms in a Newar environment. An understanding of these characterising aspects will enable us to interpret the images studied in Chapter 3. 39 For her description of homa, Yael Bentor relies on a Tibetan ritual manual by the Second Panchen Lama, Blo-bzang-ye-shes (1663-1737 CE). It was used during the annual re-consecration of the Bodhnāth stūpa in the Ti eta Dga -ldan Chos- phel-gling monastery in Kathmandu, an establishment in the Gelukpa tradition. The rituals were observed by Yael Bentor in 1988 (1996, 7172). 40 It is precarious to jump here from Sanskrit sources to Tibetan ritual manuals that are still in use today among Tibetan communities in Kathmandu. An in-depth study of the issue of the function of Newar fire rites within in a specific ritual ceremony, and their connection to the schemes outlined in the traditional Sanskrit sources, will prove invaluable for future research. 18 Fig. 1: Pau hā consecrated during a modern Bhī a athārohaṇa celebration, painted by st Sarvajña Ratna Vajracharya, 21 century, Kathmandu, photo by Alexander von Rospatt. 19 2.2. Key aspects of homa in Newar fire rituals Several key aspects of homa help us to identify the ritual as such in a Newar Buddhist context. These include 1) a person who is in charge to perform the oblations (usually a Vaj ā ā a priest) and the patron of the ritual (Skt. aja ā a; New. jajmā ); 2) the shape of the fire pit(s); 3) the ritual implements; and 4) the substances used as offerings. In what follows, I present these central features of the Newar Buddhist fire sacrifice under the labels a to s , pla e , att i utes , a d a tio s . At times, I will refer to the specific forms of these characterising elements in a Newar Brahmanical context, as we will also examine a homa image in a painting illustrating a Viṣṇu-maṇḍala, in Chapter 3. 2.2.1. Actors: Priest and patron Only a Vaj ā ā a priest is legitimated to perform the fire sacrifice in a Newar Buddhist context. In the Kathmandu Valley there has been a shift from a celibate, monastic Buddhist community (saṃgha) towards a saṃgha consisting of groups of married householders. The date of the appearance of a community of monks, simultaneously being married householders, is hard to determine. Such an environment of married, Buddhist o ks appears to be reflected in the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā as early as the 11th century CE (von Rospatt forthcoming, 8). Both the married monks and a celibate community continued to exist side by side in the Kathmandu Valley, but it is uncertain exactly when the latter eventually disappeared from the Newar Buddhist scene.41 Being a Buddhist monk in a Newar context thus became synonymous with birth into an endogamous group called Bare in Newari.42 The Bare consists of two groups, designated by the names ”ākyabhikṣu and Vaj ā ā a.43 All male members of the saṃgha born in these groups become a ”ākya and receive the Buddhist ordination ritual (Skt. pravajya; New. bare chuyegu). Boys born into a Vaj ā ā a family receive an additional initiation after the pravajya, namely the dīkṣā or ā ā a-abhiṣeka (New. ā ālu egu). This initiation is performed in the home monastery of the father (Skt. ihā a; New. ahā).44 After this second initiation, the Vaj ā ā a boy is 41 Alexander von Rospatt maintains that the loss of Newar celibate Buddhism already happened long before the 17th century CE, as it is at times suggested (forthcoming, 10). 42 Bare is derived from the Sanskrit word vandya, ea i g o th o e “lusse , . 43 Differences between the ”ākyabhikṣus a d Vaj ā ā as can be attested as early as the mid 12th century CE. D. R. Regmi refers to two manuscripts from this period, in which the copyists are named as either ”ākyabhikṣu o Vaj ā ā a. The fi st a us ipt is an Aṣṭasāhas ikā P ajñāpā a itā manuscript (N.S. 285) referring to ”ākyabhikṣu as its writer. The second manuscript is of the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā (N.S. 273), attributed to a scribe beari g the a e Vaj ā ā ya (1965 [1], 654). 44 Bahā de otes the p e aili g t pe of Ne a o aste hosti g a ied Vaj ā ā as a d ta t i cults, for the performance of which these priests are responsible. The Newari term bahī indicates the – now lost – type of Newar monastery hosting a celibate monastic community (Gellner 2001, 134-178; quoted in von Rospatt forthcoming, 8). Bahā and bahī also denote differences in the architectural construction of the monasteries (Slusser 1982, 137-139). Both types of Newar monasteries are referred to in Sanskrit by the term ihā a (von Rospatt forthcoming, 8). 20 entitled to perform tantric initiations and rituals, such as homa, and he can act as a family priest (purohita).45 In a Newar Hindu context, the role of purohita is fulfilled by a Brahmin priest. The relationship between a purohita and his client family, which includes the aja ā a or patron of the ritual, can persist over several generations (Slusser 1982, 217). One or more patrons may assist the priest during ceremonies. They are expected to arrange the necessary offerings for the ritual (Lewis and Bajracharya 2016, 297). The priest is also entitled to work at a temple or shrine as a pūjā i. Depending on the deity housed in the temple or shrine, the pūjā i is a Vaj ā ā a, a Brahmin or a Ka ā ā a, the latter of them being a Newar Hindu priest involved specifically in tantric rituals.46 Nowadays, a fire ritual can only be performed by a Vaj ā ā a, a Brahmin or a Ka ā ā a priest. In the past, male members of the nobility could perform homa on a regular basis as well, especially sacrifices of the koṭ āhuti type, consisting of ten million oblations (Slusser 1982, 217). In Nepalese homa paintings, we may indeed see a king performing the ritual. Shyamalkanti Chakravarti, for example, identifies the figure pouring offerings into the fire, as depicted in a pau hā with central image of Viṣṇu-Kamalā, as King Jayamukunda Malla (fig. 2; 1969, 132).47 Fig. 2: Homa in a pau hā displaying Viṣṇu-Kamalā, 1566 CE, Nepal, Indian Museum Kolkatta (At/68/25). 45 Locke 1980, 20-21; Slusser 1982, 217; Lewis and Bajracharya 2016, 292-293. Slusser 1982, 217; Regmi 1965 (2), 745. 47 This painting is dated 1566 CE and is currently preserved in the Indian Museum Kolkatta. It is rendered with water colours on cotton cloth and measures 92 x 66 cm (Chakravarti 1969, 129132; Plate 3). 46 21 2.2.2. Place: Establishing the fire pit Now that we know who is entitled to perform homa and who is expected to arrange for the ritual, we may examine where the fire sacrifice takes place. The position of the fire pit (yajña-kuṇḍa or agni-kuṇḍa), as the centre on which the ritual actions are focussed, is instructive in this regard. It represents the mouth of the Vedic god Agni, who is in charge of carrying the offerings to the other deities in heaven (Slusser 1982, 217). Homa can be performed at various locations, such as a Buddhist ihā a or in front of a temple, where the fire pit is usually a fixed architectural element. The ceremony may be performed at other locations, such as the bank of a river, where it is installed temporarily. 48 Before the installation of a kuṇḍa, the site has to be ritually purified to make it suitable for the performance of homa (Regmi 1965 [2], 716-717). The fire pit is usually built of bricks, and its establishment is accompanied by a range of ritual actions, such as the recitation of mantras, as prescribed for a Buddhist context in the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā. The shape, colour and position of a fire pit are traditionally determined by the function of the ritual. In the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā, Kuladatta describes the shape of the kuṇḍa as follows: And one should make that fire pit quadrangular, resembling an eightlimbed jewel, lotus-shaped or wheel-shaped.49 According to the fourfold categorisation of a ritual based on its purpose as described in Section 2.1.3, the square form mentioned by Kuladatta indicates an increasing function of the oblations. This classification in four purposes is also outlined by Abhayākaragupta (ca. 11th century CE).50 This Indian tantric master prescribes four principal shapes for the hearths. The fire pit for appeasing sacrifices should be round with a white colour and a position to the east of the maṇḍala;51 the hearth for enriching sacrifices should be square, yellow and positioned in the southern direction; the hearth for subduing should have a shape resembling a half-moon, with a red colour and a western position; and the fire pit for fierce sacrifices should be triangular, with a black or dark blue colour and positioned in the 48 Lewis and Bajracharya 2016, 305; Bal Gopal Shrestha, pers. comm., May 11, 2017. For a transcription and annotated translation of the Sanskrit, see Appendix 1. 50 Ryugen Tanemura indicates that the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā shares several sections with A ha āka agupta s Vaj ā alī in the part on pratiṣṭhā. Although the dates of the lives of both Kuladatta and A ha āka agupta are uncertain and subject of scholarly debates, Ryugen Tanemura suggests, on the basis of textual comparisons, that Kuladatta predates A ha āka agupta , 10). 51 I could not trace the specific maṇḍala efe ed to A ha āka agupta. 49 22 northern direction of the maṇḍala.52 This fourfold classification follows the established categorising of rituals as pacifying (́ā ti), increasing (puṣṭi), subduing ( á a), or destroying (a hi ā a). Although he does not prescribe its colour, Kuladatta s des iptio of the fi e pit as square matches the increasing purpose of the ritual, which Yael Bentor reports as one of the functions of homa in rituals of consecration (1996, 270). With the fire pit installed as the centre of the ritual actions, we can now turn the implements employed to perform a homa. 2.2.3. Attributes: The ritual implements Which objects does the priest need to enact the fire ritual? When a Vaj ā ā a priest goes to a patron family to perform homa, he generally brings along ritual attributes su h as a fi euddha crown (Skt. mukuṭa; New. mukhaḥ), a sulāpā (sruc; a long ladle with square cup attached to the handle), a dhova (sruva; a spoon ladle), a bell with a vajra handle (vajraghanṭā), and a vajra. Other implements, such as a water vessel (kaláa), kúa grass, incense, lamps, and several bundles of specific kinds of wood, are usually supplied by the patron family (Lewis and Bhajracharya 2016, 297). A discussion of all the possible types of implements used during a Newar fire ritual would surpass the scope of this chapter. Therefore, I will focus on those ritual attributes that help us to better understand the paintings of homa as examined in Chapter 3. These a e the fi e- uddha crown, two different types of ladles, and the kaláa. The crown The fi e- uddha o , alled afte the i ages of the fi e os i buddhas that adorn the surface of the headdress, is an attribute specific to a Buddhist Vaj ā ā a priest. It is usually made of gold with a vajra at the top, as can be seen in a crown currently in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (fig. 3). The mukhaḥ is a pivotal attribute of a Buddhist priest in a Newar ritual context. The Vaj ā ā a boy receives this crown during his tantric initiation (Skt. ā ā a-abhiṣeka; New. ā ālu egu) and wears it during ceremonies and the performance of rituals, such as homa (Gellner 1992, 268). When wearing this crown, the priest te po a il i a ates the di i it (Juramie and Meahl-Blöndal 2005, 463). The necessity for the priest to be transformed into a god in order to perform the fire sacrifice can be traced back to the Vedic homa. Na a ai Chaulagai e plai s that a o di g to traditional conceptions regarding Vedic ritual, only a god can offer to the gods or deities (2016, 321). In a Newar Buddhist context, the priest is probably supposed to incarnate specifically the buddha Vajrasattva. A. C. Juramie and K. Meahl-Blöndal offer the following arguments for the identification of the priest with this buddha when he is wearing the crown. First, they rely on their observance that, when a priest wears this headdress, he holds the bell (vajra-ghanṭā) and vajra as attributes. A priest performing the fire ritual, as The o igi al o k of A ha āka agupta efe ed to (Skorupski 2001, 188-189; quoted in Skorupski 2016, 92). 52 Tadeusz “ko upski is the Jyotirmañja ī 23 photographed by Mary Slusser (fig. 4), carries a bell in his left hand, while a vajra rests on – what appears to me as – a maṇḍala-stone in front of him.53 The bell and vajra are the typical symbols of Vajrasattva (de Mallman 1975, 420). Secondly, in the Niṣpa a ogā alī, Vajrasattva is described as wearing a crown adorned by the five cosmic buddhas, with a vajra at the top.54 The ladles During the performance of homa in a Newar context, two types of ladles are generally employed for pouring the oblations into the fire, namely a sulāpā and a dhova. The sulāpā (sruc) has a long handle with a rectangular cup attached at one end (Lewis and Bajracharya 2016, 297). This ladle is used to pour a liquid, such as ghee, into the fire. The dhova (sruva) resembles a spoon with a long ladle. It can be used to scoop liquid into the sulāpā.55 In the enactment of homa, the two ladles can be held with the right hand, but never with the left (Nirajan Kafle pers. comm.). The water vessel Another pivotal implement in the performance of a Newar fire sacrifice is the kaláa or water vessel. It is used to invoke the gods and goddesses for whom the substances are offered, and thus functions as a temporal abode for these deities during the ritual. 56 During the kaláa pūjā, which always precedes homa, the deities are requested to reside in the water vessel.57 The size of the kaláa may vary, but usually it has a spout (Locke 1980, 95). The liquid contained in the vessel is made sacred by the deity invoked into it. The holy water from a kaláa can be sprinkled over the devotees or distributed among them at the conclusion of a fire ritual.58 The implements described here, and many others, enable a correct performance of a Newar fire sacrifice within a specific religious ceremony. The basic action of the priest – and at times also of the aja ā a – during homa is the offering of substances into the flames, which is the subject of the last section of this chapter. 2.2.4. Actions: The offerings The Vedic fire ritual originally consisted of the offering of grains and ghee into the flames. Although this basic set of offerings has been preserved in a tantric context, it was 53 I will examine these maṇḍala-stones further in Section 3.6.2. de Mallmann 1975, 419-420; Juramie and Meahl-Blöndal 2005, 463. 55 Voegeli 2015. This movie shows the performance of the vedic Agnihotra ritual by Rām Prasād Gautam, in an agniśala to the south of the Paśupatināth temple in Kathmandu, in April - May 2014. 56 Locke 1980, 95; Gellner 1992, 151. 57 Locke 1980, 106; Gellner 1992, 157. 58 Shrestha 2012, 454; Lewis and Bajracharya 2016, 302. 54 24 elaborated extensively.59 The types of offerings depend on the exoteric or esoteric character of the ritual in which homa functions. Vegetarian substances, such as grains mixed with ghee (caru), milk, sesame seeds, curd, betel nuts, specific kinds of herbs, flowers, and fruits,60 are usually employed in exoteric fire rites. In the esoteric variants, non-vegetarian offerings such as buffalo meat, wine and eggs may be employed (Regmi 1965 [2], 723-724). Particular substances in various amounts are offered at precise moments during the fire sacrifice. A complete description of this ritual procedure would, however, surpass the scope of this thesis.61 In sum, we have seen how characterising features of homa, such as a priest legitimated to perform the ritual, specific shapes of the fire pits, particular ritual implements and suitable substances to be offered, have been preserved in Newar fire rituals. We have also briefly explored how these key aspects were adapted to their local tantric setting in a medieval and early modern Newar society. These observations stem largely from textual sources and anthropological observations. These include medieval ritual manuals composed in Sanskrit, such as the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā, and more recent anthropological studies by John K. Locke, David Gellner and Todd Lewis and Naresh Bajracharya. In Chapter 3, I propose an altogether new source for investigating homa, namely Nepalese pau hās. 59 Regmi 1965 (2), 719; Locke 1980, 106. The homa section of the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā also includes an elaborate list of various types of substances that have to be arranged for the sacrifice. 61 For more details on this complete ritual operation, see Locke 1980, 103-114. 60 25 th Fig. 3: Five-buddha, ritual crown, 12 century CE, Nepal, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.81.67). 26 Fig. 4: A Vaj ā ā a p iest pe fo i g homa in Bu-Bahā, Patan, photo by Mary Slusser. 27 Chapter 3 The iconography of homa in Nepalese pau hās The recent book Homa Variations, edited by Richard Payne and Michael Witzel (2016), offers an excellent collection of homa studies in Asian contexts, based on a wide variety of textual sources and anthropological studies with different scholarly approaches. Nevertheless, Richard Payne indicates in the introduction that there is still a need for other perspectives and methods in the study of the fire ritual. These approaches could come from art history, archaeology and epigraphy (2016, 19). Chapter 3 aims to explore the paintings of homa in Nepalese pau hās from an iconographical perspective. What information on fire rituals in a Newar milieu can be derived from these unique visual testimonies? 3.1. Selection of materials In a few instances, a fire sacrifice appears in the centre of a Nepalese pau hā. For example, in a painting illustrating a renovation of the Svayaṃ hū ātha stūpa dated 1565 CE, the homa scene is part of a re-consecration ritual in progress.62 I am aware of only one more pau hā from the Malla period containing such an image of homa in its central panel. This painting shows a renovation of a stūpa enclosing the goddess Uṣṇīṣavijayā in its upper section. In its lower half, it displays a couple celebrating the Bhī a athārohaṇa ceremony, while facing the Buddha Amitābha. The painting was created for the first time in 1433 CE and was reworked in 1666 CE in Kathmandu.63 The homa scene belongs to the upper section, but the pau hā contains a lower register in which presumably a fire ritual was depicted as well. Due to damage, however, this image has become hardly visible. Apparently, this type of central placement of the fire sacrifice is rare. In the present study, I will focus on homa in the lower registers of pau hās, as their appearance is much more common, providing an elaborate set of source materials for analysis. Slusser 1985, 10; Huntington and Bangdel 2003, 112. See Appendix 2, pau hā no. 1 for an image and more details. 63 The painting is part of the private collection of Madame Sumitra Charat Ram in New Delhi. It consists of water colours on cotton cloth and measures 152 cm in height (Pal 1978, 24; 80-81; Plate 9; Vergati 1999, 36). 62 28 3.2. The composition of the lower register Two ways of composing the lower register can be identified.64 The first way consists of a lower register divided into several panels, whereas the second form of construction is continuous. After a brief discussion of some particularities of these two ways to arrange the lower register, we will examine the iconography of the scenes, using the key aspects of homa as ide tified i Chapte : a to s , pla e , attributes a d a tio s . In the images of the fire ritual, we encounter a priest, an assistant to the priest and donors as actors. Several ritual attributes, surround the sacrificial fire which is the virtual centre of the performance of actions, and which indicates the place of the ceremony by its location. For this visual analysis, the following categories, with relevant paintings, could be identified: Category 1: The lower register is divided into panels. The priest is seated, for example in a Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala painting dated to 1490 CE, currently in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Appendix 2, pau hā no. 2). The priest can also stand, for example in a “ū a-maṇḍala pau hā dated to 1379 CE in the Zimmerman collection (Appendix 2, pau hā no. 3). Category 2: The lower register is continuous and the priest stands, as seen in a Viṣṇumaṇḍala painting dated to 1420 CE in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Appendix 2, pau hā no. 4). The priest sits in a Vasundha ā-maṇḍala pau hā, dated 1777 CE, formerly in the Jucker collection (Appendix 2, pau hā no. 5). Four pau hās were thus selected on the basis of the composition of the homa scene in relation to the type of lower register. Of course this categorisation of the paintings based on the arrangement of the registers may seem arbitrary and subjective. However, I chose to adopt this method in order to discover expected, systematic patterns in the iconography of homa scenes. This method enabled me to make a reasoned selection from a wider corpus, as a first step in what deserves a much larger study project. Practical concerns, such as the visibility of details in the images, also played a role in this selection. In the iconographic analysis, I will at times refer to other paintings that were collected for this research, details of which are then offered in footnotes. I pay specific attention to individual features of these masterpieces in the last section of Chapter 4, as we are primarily concerned in this chapter with tracing general patterns in the iconography of the painted fire rituals. To start This categorisation is based on the study of the homa scenes of forty-four pau hās. The details of the selected pau hās have been catalogued in tables in Appendix 2. In these tables, I offer general information and iconographic details of the artworks, and included an image of the complete painting. 64 29 us off, an overview of the possible arrangements within the lower register may serve to situate the homa images among the remaining scenes in these registers. 3.2.1. Category 1: A lower register divided into panels When depicted in a lower register divided into several panels, the homa scene is mostly situated in the lower left corner.65 The number of panels into which a register is divided, ranges from three up to seven. The rightmost panel usually bears images of donors, arranged in one or more rows.66 The subjects of the panels in between vary. The most commonly encountered motifs are:     The treasures of the universal monarch (cakravartin), which are a queen, a wheel (cakra), a horse, an elephant, a minister, an adviser, and a jewel;67 Dancers, flanked by musicians playing musical instruments such a flutes, cymbals or drums;68 Guardian or p ote to deities, su h as Mahākāla, A ala a d Gaṇeśa; Other deities popular in the Kathmandu Valley, such as Mañjuś ī, the Pañcarakṣās, A alokiteś a a, Vaj apāṇi, a d ”i a, ho is usuall depi ted i a da i g postu e. Exceptionally, other themes are encountered in these central panels, such as:  The main donor, seated on a lotus and surrounded by musicians; for example, in the “ū a-maṇḍala painting from the Zimmerman collection (see fig. 50); Twenty-five of the forty-four pau hās studied, follow this pattern. An exception to this pattern is the pau hā with a depiction of Vajradhara from the National Gallery in Bhaktapur (Appendix 2, pau hā no. 6). The outer panels of the lower register bear images of the guardian deities Virūḍhaka and Virūpākṣa. 67 Gonda 1966, 60. Jan Gonda offers only one of the various lists of these seven treasures, based on a reading of the Buddhist Di ā adā a. It is common in Nepalese paintings that the seven treasures are depicted in the two panels flanking the central one. In some cases, such as the A oghapāśa Lokeś a a pau hā, dated to the 15th century CE, from the Lionel-Fournier collection (in usufruct to Musée Guimet, MA5168), there is only a depiction of a king and a queen, seated on a throne and flanked by two attendants each, waving fans and holding small lamps. Gilles Béguin describes these panels as containing potential images of the then-reigning king and queen (2010, 64). Whether or not these images are supposed to represent real kings and queens, their portraits are idealised, without a distinction of individual characteristics, a d o fo i g to a ste eot ped egal t pe . It is only in the late Malla period (from the middle of the 17th century CE onwards) that portraits of recognisable, individual kings are included in the lower registers of pau hās (Pal 1978, 126-127). 68 Dancing and playing musical instruments have been attested by Mary Slusser in the pau hā illustrating a renovation of the Svayaṃ hū ātha stūpa (Appendix 2, no. 1). She links these kinds of depictions to the playing of music and singing devotional songs to the deities. This practice is an essential part of religious gatherings in a Newar context, as observed by her (1985, 26). 65 66 30     Miniature caityas on a pedestal flanked by banners and pū ṇakaláas. This is seen, fo e a ple, i the A alokiteś a a Lakṣacaitya pau hā from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art;69 A pū ṇakaláa flanked by dancers, for example in a Vasundha ā pau hā from the Zimmerman collection;70 A row of liturgical instruments displayed on pedestals, for example in an A alokiteś a a pau hā (fig. 5);71 Manifestations of Cakrasaṃvara, depicted in union with his consort. This is the case in pau hās meant to be exposed in a secret āgaṃ shrine, such as the Cakrasaṃvaramaṇḍala painting selected for this study.72 Pau hās with a lower register of this format date from the early 14th to the 16th century CE. A homa scene, when found in a lower register compartmentalised in this way, reveals a regular pattern in the spatial arrangement of its basic elements. This composition can be schematised, f o the ie e s left to ight: (at times) one or more attendants  assistant or main donor  priest  sacrificial fire 3.2.2. Category 2: A continuous lower register When the lower register is continuous, so not divided into box-like panels, the homa scene is placed either in the centre of the register, or near the centre to the left or to the right.73 In the latter case, the centre may be occupied by one of the following motifs: a) a a ifestatio of ”i a i a da i g postu e; b) a stūpa;74 or c) Mahākāla or Acala. In some paintings, several continuous registers have been included along the lower border, for instance, i the A oghapāśa Lokeś a a pau hā from the Indian Museum Kolkata This pau hā is dated to the late 14th century CE, and measures 60 x 50,7 cm. It consists of water colours on cotton cloth, and is part of the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck collection (M.77.19-4; Pal 1978, 70-71; Plate 77; 1985, 204; Plate 8). 70 This pau hā is dated 1403 CE, and consists of watercolours on cotton cloth. It measures 86,4 x 73,7 cm (Pal 1978, 76-77; Plate 85; 1996, 80; Plate 34). 71 This pau hā is dated ca. 1300 CE, and is made of watercolours on cloth, measuring 65 x 53 cm. It is part of the Lionel Fournier collection, in usufruct to Musée Guimet Paris (Béguin 1990, 172-175; Plate D). 72 Huntington and Bangdel 2003, 262. See Appendix 2, pau hā no. 2. 73 Thirteen of the forty-four pau hās studied, follow this pattern. 74 In some cases, the stūpa is identifiable with the Svayaṃ hū ātha stūpa, for example in a Vasundha ā pau hā from the former Jucker collection (fig. 13; Kreijger 1999, 72). 69 31 (fig. 6).75 Pau hās in which the lower register has a continuous format date from the 14th to the 18th century CE. The composition of the homa scenes resembles that of the compartmentalised category: attendants  assistant or main donor  priest  sacrificial fire  attendants Or: attendants  priest  sacrificial fire  assistant or main donor  attendants In sum, homa scenes in the lower register of Nepalese pau hās appear either in the leftmost panel of a compartmentalised register, or, in or near the centre in the continuous form. Now that we know where to locate the painted fire ritual, we can move to the iconography of the motif. Keeping in mind the aspects of actors, place, attributes and actions, used in Chapter 2 for the analysis of textual information, we come across a parallel iconographic set of actors (the priest, his assistant to the ritual, and the aja ā a and his family), attributes (specific ritual implements marking a homa), place, and action (the act of offering into the fire as the virtual centre of the ritual). 3.3. Actors and actions: The priest offering oblations into the fire The chief actor in the performance of a fire ritual is the priest. We see him seated in the lotus position (pad āsa a) on a low, golden platform covered by a dark piece of cloth, in the Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala pau hā from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (fig. 7). He sits to the left of the fi e f o the ie e s perspective. Our priest is attired by of a longsleeved, white garment reaching to his ankles, held at the waist with a red belt, while a red piece of cloth covers his shoulders. He also wears a golden crown (Skt. mukuṭa; New. mukhaḥ), which rese les the fi e- uddha o described in Chapter 2. Its twotiered structure and the large lobe at the front of the diadem are remarkably similar to the crown o the Ne a Buddhist p iest i Ma “lusse s photog aph fig. . This allows us to ide tif the p iest as a Vaj ā ā a. Although the five cosmic buddhas are not visible in the painted crown (perhaps due to a necessary degree of abstraction), the vajra at the top confirms this identification. Wearing golden rings as earrings and a golden necklace, the Vaj ā ā a p iest holds a golden ladle in his right hand and a golden bell, with a vajra on the This pau hā is dated 1430 CE, and consists of water colours on cloth. It measures 67 x 51 cm (Chakravarti 1969, 132-133; Plate 4). 75 32 handle (vajra-ghaṇṭā), in his left hand. The ladle has a long handle with a square cup attached to the end, and resembles a sulāpā (sruc) described in Section 2.2.3.76 Two more ladles lie on the ground, in front of the platform of the officiating priest. One resembles a sulāpā with an oval cup, while a dhova lies next to it. These two types of ladles and their employment by the priest, can be seen more clearly in a pau hā displaying the story of “u a ā dated -60 CE) in the collection of MAS Antwerp (fig. 8; Hinzler and Schoterman 1980, 23). The way in which the Vaj ā ā a priest has been executed in the Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala painting exemplifies the most commonly found form of iconography for a priest as encountered in the studied pau hās. This supports P atapadit a Pal s o se atio that the pai te used a stereotyped figure to depict the priest (1978, 124). The priest can also stand bare-foot on a low platform with a dark piece of cloth over it, placed to the left of the fire from our point of view (fig. 9). This a e see i a “ū amaṇḍala painting from the Zimmerman collection. The priest wears a white, long-sleeved, double-breasted, gown reaching almost to his ankles, with a V-shaped neck. This garment is held at the waist by a red belt, and a yellow shawl falls loosely over the left shoulder. The priest wears a high, golden crown resembling the five-buddha mukhaḥ; hence also this p iest a e ide tified as a Buddhist Vaj ā ā a. A white, circular mark (tilaka) appears on his forehead and he wears golden earrings. Ou Vaj ā ā a extends here the sulāpā and the dhova with both hands towards the fire, as if he is about to pour an oblation into the flames. Another golden sulāpā appears in front of his platform. In the Viṣṇu-maṇḍala pau hā, the priest also stands, in this case to the right of the sacrificial fire (fig. 10), instead of to left, as was the case in the Cakrasaṃvara- a d “ū a-maṇḍala paintings. He stands, bare-foot, in front of a low platform with a blue piece of cloth over it. Respectively attired by a long-sleeved, white garment reaching to the ankles with a Vshaped neck, held by a red belt at the waist, he additionally wears orange earrings and a long, orange necklace that almost reaches his knees, resembling a a a ālā. A white mark consisting of two vertical strokes, adorns the forehead of our priest, indicating his Vaiṣṇava affiliation. Hence, we can ide tif this figu e as a ah a i al p iest i stead of a Vaj ā ā a. The absence of a five-buddha crown supports this assumption.77 With two ladles held by 76 The sruc exists in two varieties in the Vedic tradition: the juhu and the dhruva. The difference between the two forms of sruc is recognisable in the shape of the depression of the rectangular vessel (puṣka a) attached at the handle. In the case of the juhu, the interior of the vessel is rectangular with one side ending towards a point from which the liquid is poured. The interior of the vessel of a dhruva is oval-shaped. Both ladles are identifiable by marks engraved in the handle of the ladle (Staal e.a. 1983, 207). In Nepalese paintings, both the rectangular and oval-shaped puṣka a appear. 77 Given the central image of Viṣṇu in this painting, we expect a brahmanical priest. Nevertheless, there are several paintings in which a Buddhist priest has been painted with a central brahmanical 33 both hands, the upper one a dhova, the lower one a sulāpā, our Brahmin priest pours offerings into the flames, just like his fellow actors described above. These ways to depict a priest performing homa are maintained in later pau hās (17th to 18th century CE), but the garments are subject to change. In both types of lower registers, either divided into panels or continuous, the priest either stands or sits, but the latter posture is encountered more often.78 Curiously, all priests that I could identify in this study as Brahmanical are shown sta di g, hile the Vaj ā ā as either sit or stand. Another pivotal actor in the performance of homa, is the p iest s assista t, to ho e tu i the next section. 3.4. Actors and actions: The assistant to the priest Ou Vaj ā ā a priest in the Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala pau hā is accompanied by a male assistant (fig. 7).79 He sits on a dark-blue, low cushion or carpet. His costume resembles that of the priest: a long-sleeved, white garment, held at the waist by a red belt, with a red piece of cloth over the shoulders. A red, pointed hat with a rectangular piece of gold at the front appears on the head of our assistant. The aja ā a of this Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala pau hā, ho e a ide tif a e as Vaj ā ā a Jayarāja80 appears in the rightmost panel with a similar type of headdress. The golden piece at the front of Jayarāja s headd ess seems to deity, such as in the “ū a-maṇḍala painting from the Zimmerman collection. In contemporary Newar communities Hindu families ask Buddhist Vaj ā ā a priests to perform certain homas on the seventh or twelfth day after the death of a family member, as this particular homa is no longer done by Brahmins and Karmācāryas. According to Todd Lewis and Naresh Bajracharya, it is likely that this has been the case for at least a century and probably even longer (2016, 306). More paintings show a Vaj ā ā a priest performing the homa, while the central deity is Brahmanical; for example, in a pau hā with a central depiction of a Viṣṇu shrine from the former Jucker collection (Kreijger 1999, 62-63; Plate 18). Pratapaditya Pal interprets this appearance of a Buddhist priest in a painting with a central Brahmanical image as a habit by the Newar Citrakār, who was more familiar with rendering Buddhist scenes (1996, 78). However, exchanges of ritual specialists do not appear to be unusual in a Newar context today. It is therefore worth considering in the case of the paintings with central Brahmanical deity, combined with a Buddhist priest in the lower register, that this was not a result of the application of a standardised format by the painter. Perhaps, it was how he perceived it in real life? 78 Thirty-four of the forty-four pau hās that were studied, display a seated priest. 79 At times the assistant appears at the opposite side of the sacrificial fire, as for example in the Vasu dha ā-maṇḍala pau hā, dated 1777 CE, from former Jucker collection (fig. 13). 80 I am not sure about the correct application of diacritics in the name of this donor, as these are not offered by Dina Bangdel in her description of the pau hā (2003, 262-263). The identification of the pat o of this pai ti g as Ja a āja is ased o a e-reading of the inscription by Kashinath Tamot Hu ti gto a d Ba gdel , ;f . . P atapadit a Pal appea s to ead the a e as Jita aja (1985, 215). As a transcription of the inscription was not published by Pal (1985), neither by Huntington and Bangdel (2003), I was not able to verify the names. In this thesis, I employ the most recent reading of the name as Ja a āja. 34 have the shape of a vajra (fig. 11). The golden mark on the hat of the assistant may, likewise, represent a vajra. The p iest s o pa ion, moreover, holds with both hands a golden palm-leaf manuscript (tālapat a) with black characters inscribed on it. Mary Slusser describes a similar attribute, held by the attendant in a homa scene in the pau hā illustrating the renovation of the Svayaṃ hū ātha stūpa, as a pal -leaf a us ipt , f o which the monk81 is reading during the performance of the oblations by the priest (fig. 12; 1985, 14). In a contemporary Newar context, the reading from manuscripts during the performance of the fire ritual has been attested by scholars as well. Bal Gopal Shrestha for example, reports the recitation of Sanskrit hymns of praise (́lokas), read from a manuscript during a fire sacrifice in Sankhu.82 A manuscript of the shape outlined above, with or without characters painted on it, is frequently held by assistants in pau hās dating between 14th and mid - 17th century CE. From the late 17th century CE onwards, the form of these manuscripts changes from that of a long object carried with both hands to a smaller, rectangular one, presented by the attendant on the palm of his hand, as seen, for example, in a Vasundha ā-maṇḍala painting (fig. 13). Previous scholars identified the assistant either as a monk or as the main donor of the painting. Odette Monod-Bruhl describes the o pa io to the Vaj ā ā a p iest in a Vajradhara pau hā from the Musée Guimet as a monk (1959, 304),83 relying on the account by Sylvain Lévi (1905 [2], 32). The kind of monk Lévi refers to is a Bhikṣu, whom he describes as lower in rank to and assisting the Buddhist priest.84 Hugo Kreijger occasionally refers to the figure seated just behind the Vaj ā ā a as the main donor (1999, 32). As the assistant described by Kreijger also holds a manuscript, it is unlikely that he represents the aja ā a. As Bal Gopal Shrestha explained to me in a personal conversation (May 11, 2017), in a contemporary ritual context, the aja ā a is not supposed or even authorised to read or recite from manuscripts.85 This is an act reserved for the priestly groups. It is of course possible that the patron of this pau hā belonged to the Bare jāti, in which case the assistant in this painting could indeed be the aja ā a as well. 81 Mary Slusser does not specify which monk could have been depicted here. His account is based on an observation of a fire ritual, performed during the annual festival of Vaj a ogi ī i the to of “a khu i the Kath a du Valle , i a d , . 83 This painting is dated 1488 CE, based on a reading of the inscription. It belongs to the collection of the Musée Guimet in Paris (M.G. 22800). The materials consist of water colours on cotton cloth, and it measures 100 x 75 cm (Monod-Bruhl 1959, Plate 1). 84 Le Bhikṣu est, …, u p t e de a g i f ieu ui se t d au iliai e au Vaj ā ā a [1], 240). 85 I would like to thank Dr. Bal Gopal Shrestha for explaining me details of Newar fire rituals in our personal conversation (pers. comm., May 11, 2017). 82 35 3.5. Actors and actions: The yaja ā a and his family Nepalese paintings almost invariably bear an image of the patron or aja ā a who commissioned the painting, accompanied by family members. Their names are often meticulously enumerated in the inscriptions of the paintings. Donors can be depicted ehi d the assista t to the p iest, as is see i the “ū a-maṇḍala painting from the Zimmerman collection (fig. 14), but more often they appear in the rightmost panel of the lower register. Here, they usually sit in one or more rows, kneeling or seated with their hands in the añjali ud ā (fig. 11). This is a typical hand gesture for attendants of a superior deity or divine event, as it symbolises adoration, homage or worship (Liebert 1976, 17). In a few cases, some of the attendants are standing and display the añjali ud ā with a flower clasped between their hands. They all face either the central scene of the lower register, or the fire sacrifice, depending on the panel in which they appear. Men as well as women and children are present, distinguishable by different hairstyles and garments (fig. 15). The women, for example, wear dark, long-sleeved blouses, typical in paintings from the Kathmandu Valley (Pal 1967, 16). The costumes shift over time, following contemporary, regional fashions. From the mid - 17th e tu CE o a ds, the st le of the do o s attire changes from a local Newar to an Indian-influenced style, as can be deduced from a comparison with miniatures from Mughal circles and from Rajasthan.86 Especially the long, double-breasted gown of the male figures, appearing already in the earliest paintings, seems to have been modified in later times by Rajput and Mughal influences.87 Some inscriptions refer to a king as the main patron of the artwork. In a Viṣṇu-shrine pau hā, dated to CE, the ki gs Ug a alla a d Jitā it a alla a e a ed as the sponsors of the ritual, and probably they also commissioned the pau hā.88 Vaj ā ā a priests can also act as a aja ā a, as can be read, for example, in the inscription of our Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala painting. The patron of this painting is ide tified as Vaj ā ā a Jayarāja from the Manasu monastery (Huntington and Bangdel 2003, 263). Although the names of the donors are frequently mentioned in the inscriptions of Nepalese paintings, it is usually not possible to relate the names to specific figures in the pau hā. In a few cases, the names of the attendants have been inscribed as labels with the images, facilitating their identification. This is, for example, seen in a later paubhā (1850 CE) illustrating a Padmapāṇi shrine, formerly in the Jucker collection (fig. 16). The portraits of 86 Pal 1978, 101-103; Kreijger 1999, 56. Pal 1967, 16. Pratapaditya Pal does not specify what exactly changed in these garments from the mid - 17th century CE onwards. I was not able to study enough materials to corroborate his observation myself. 88 This information appears in the inscription of the pau hā. The painting is part of the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.73.2.2) and measures 166 x 128,4 cm. It is executed in water colours on cotton cloth (Pal 1985, 221; Plate 26). 87 36 the donors are generally idealised, making it impossible to recognise individual characteristics (Pal 1978, 123-124). The primary purpose of these images was to express devotion, which is also visualised by their acts of worship (Vajracharya 2003, 43). Having your portrait immortalized in a pau hā also enhances status and prestige. The donors literally show how pious they are, aspiring the worldly and spiritual benefits that are reported in the accompanying inscriptions. The commissioning of a pau hā was indeed believed to accumulate spiritual and material prosperity for the donor and his family (Pal 1978, 18-19). The actions of offering oblations, reading from manuscripts and worship during a homa by the actors previously outlined, are enabled by a set of ritual attributes, to which we turn in the following sections. 3.6. Attributes: Ritual implements in the fire sacrifice A whole range of ritual attributes (New. thāpã) appears in the homa scenes of pau hās, such as a vase of abundance (pū ṇakaláa), a water vessel (kaláa), a maṇḍala, a vajra, a mirror (darpaṇa), a lamp (dīpa), a parasol (chattra), a conch shell (́aṇkha), and plates with ritual offerings. The painter did not always depict each and every one of these objects. Some homa scenes are crowded with ritual implements, while in others hardly any attribute is present. A particular type of ritual object can have various forms, as in the case of lamps. I the “ū a-maṇḍala painting (fig. 9), two lamps flank a lotus-maṇḍala to the left of the p iest s platform. Their form resembles that of a Nepalese lamp stand from the 19th century CE, in the collection of the Fowler Museum Los Angeles (fig. 17). Another type of lamp appears ehi d the fi e pit f o the ie e s pe spe ti e. It ests o a t ipod and resembles an elegant, 19th century, Nepalese lamp base, likewise, preserved in the Fowler Museum (fig. 18). Other ritual attributes appear to have only one, standardised shape. Mirrors (darpaṇa) consist of a white circle, resting on a cylindrical handle with a e ta gula ase. I the “ū amaṇḍala painting, this object stands to the left of the priest s assista t (fig. 14). A conch shell (́aṇkha) is white and supported by a tripod, as seen in the Vasundha ā-maṇḍala painting from the former Jucker collection (fig. 19). A vajra and golden and white plates, perhaps containing substances to be offered into the fire, likewise lie in front of the priest. I the “ū a-maṇḍala painting, ou Vaj ā ā a p iest is covered by a parasol (chattra), resting on the platform on which he stands (fig. 9). This attribute probably marks his high status. Mary Slusser observed that permanent fire pits as part of the architectural structure of Newar monasteries can be protected with a baldachin (1982, 160). Such a function could also explain the appearance of this object here. Three objects in particular prevail in the 37 homa scenes, and their occurrence follows a certain pattern. These are a vase of abundance (pū ṇakaláa), a water vessel (kaláa), and a maṇḍala. 3.6.1. Offering a seat to the deities: The pūrṇakaláa and kaláa In Nepalese pau hās, the pū ṇakaláa, or vase of abundance, usually takes the shape of a golden pot with a globular belly and a constricted neck, from which flower buds and leaves pour out (fig. 7). The vessel is often placed on a tripod indicated by thin, black lines. In many cases the pū ṇakaláa stands at the opposite side of the fi e pit f o the p iest s poi t of view, sometimes slightly to his left. The vase of plenty is ubiquitously present in Nepalese scroll-paintings, not only in the lower register, but also as a decorative motif in the central scenes of the artworks. The motif of the pū ṇakaláa is not a Newar invention. From earliest times onwards, we encounter it as an ornamental pattern and a symbol of auspiciousness in ancient Indian architectural structures, such as the Sanchi and Bharhut stūpas, the oldest sculptures of which date to the 2nd century BCE (Agrawala 1965, 10-13). The vase of plenty is first and foremost a Pan-Indian symbol of prosperity. It is also a symbol of life and its offering expresses the wish for health, wealth and long life.89 In a parallel fashion, this wish for good health, prosperity and a long life often concludes the inscriptions in pau hās. The inscription i the A oghapāśa Lokeś a a pau hā from the collection of the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden,90 for example, ends with the following words: … that he [the do o Bhikṣuś ī] a li e his life ithout ill ess, ith children and riches, fortune and have an uninterrupted offspring, that he a e o e old, a d e ei e all the f uits p edi ted i the ”āstra (Pott 1971, 64). The images of the pū ṇakaláa, so persistently present as a motif in the lower registers of pau hās, appear to enhance this desire for material and spiritual blessings as expressed in the inscriptions. Moreover, the vase of plenty has a central ritual value, which can be traced back to the Ṛg Veda.91 Down from Vedic times up until today, it has maintained its central position in religious ceremonies in India and culturally related regions, such as the Kathmandu Valley 89 Coomaraswamy 1931 [1971], 62-63; quoted in Agrawala 1965, 5. This pau hā is dated to 1533-34 CE, and originated in Bhaktapur. It consists of water colours on cotton cloth and measures 91 x 58 cm (Kramrisch 1964, 145; Pal 1967, 21-28; Pott 1971, 63-65). 91 It is described for example, in Ṛg Veda III.32.15 as the container of the soma drink or the elixir of life (Jamison and Brereton 2014, 513). 90 38 (Agrawala 1965, 1-2). The pū ṇakaláa – or kaláa, when no leaves and flowers are contained in the vessel – is still used in Newar pūjā-rituals, with the liquid functioning as a temporary abode for the deity during the ritual, as we saw in Chapter 2.92 In the pau hā illustrating the renovation of the Svayaṃ hū ātha stūpa, two men carry an, apparently heavy, kaláa on a single pole resting on their shoulders up the stairs to the famous, Newar Buddhist monument (fig. 20). The red vessel has a vertically elongated, globular belly, with a small neck opening at the top. Mary Slusser relates this scene to a reconsecration ritual, which is a necessary accompaniment to the renovation of a religious building in a South Asian context. During the ritual a deity, residing in the water of the vessel, is evoked to take back its seat in the religious monument (Slusser 1985, 12). Similarly, Pratapaditya Pal links the kaláa noticed in the homa scene of the Amsterdam Candra-maṇḍala painting to the invocation of the deity into the vase in the process of a consecration ritual (1967, 26). The flask worship is, however, not only performed during consecration rituals. As a basic rite, it constitutes a framework, just like homa, for more elaborate services, such as a consecration or life-cycle rituals (Gellner 1992, 148). At times, an object with the spouted shape of a tea-pot, a globular belly and a small neck, appears in homa images as well. It can take the position of the pū ṇakaláa, when this object is absent (fig. 8), but mostly, it appears to the left of the fire from the p iest s perspective (fig. 7). In some examples, leaves and flower buds pour out at the top of this spouted vessel, as in the case of a pū ṇakaláa (fig 8). Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer describes a pot with this form as a kamaṇḍalu, that is … a itual essel fo hol ate , hi h is pou ed f o the s all ope i g at the tip of the e k , -258). This type of water vessel is essentially different in its shape from a kaláa, she continues, as the latter is characterised by a single opening at the top and the absence of a spout. It is this type of flask, namely the kaláa, that served as a seat for a deity in ancient Indian pūjā-rituals (2001, 260). However, John K. Locke describes the vessel in which the deity is invoked during a Newar kaláa pūjā as a s all ate pot or flask, usually with a spout, into which the deit is su o ed a d the o shipped , . O e may wonder therefore, whether the function of the kamaṇḍalu conflated over time with that of a kaláa, or whether a shift in the ritual usage of the two types of water vessels took place in a Newar context. In a pau hā with central image of a Padmapāṇi shrine, a spouted vessel with leaves and a flower stands on a tripod to the right of the sacrificial fire (fig. 21). In the flanking scene, a lady pours water into the ha ds of the ou g “iddhā tha Gauta a. The flask handled by this charming lady is, likewise, spouted with similar kinds of leaves and a flower emerging at the top.93 This 19th century image seems to serve as a visual testimony of the 92 Lunsingh Scheurleer 2001, 260; Locke 1980, 95-103; Gellner 1992, 151-157. This scene is part of the central images of the painting, displaying events in the life of the Buddha, surrounding a shrine enclosing Padmapāṇi. The scene described here shows, according to Hugo 93 39 usage of a spouted water vessel as an abode for deities during the kaláa pūjā accompanying fire rituals, as well as an attribute for the distribution of sacred water. The pū ṇakaláa, then, functions both as an auspicious symbol and as a ritual object. Perhaps, the painter wished to evoke this double meaning, judging from the ubiquitous depiction of the vase of plenty, not only in the lower register but also in the central parts of Nepalese paintings. The kaláa or kamaṇḍalu, without leaves and flower buds pouring out at the top, does not seem to bear this double meaning. It is a faithful depiction of a pivotal ritual implement in Newar fire rituals. One other, essential object in the performance of a fire sacrifice is a maṇḍala, which at times appears to be executed by the Newar painters in an equally reliable fashion. 3.6.2. Worshipping the deities through a maṇḍala Another ritual implement appears as an intriguing motif in the homa images. A square object, sometimes with elongated points in the corners, lies at times in front of the platform on which the Vajrā ā a priest sits (fig. 22).94 The circular section of the attribute is red, while the enclosing square is yellow. In this section, I will agrue that this object represents a maṇḍala. The term maṇḍala as used here, refers to a circular i age o tai i g a geo et i disposition of mystic figures and diagrams of symbolic attributes, germ syllables ( īja) and figures of gods and goddesses (Liebert 1976, 168). It is believed to be endowed with supernatural powers, and it can be produced by means of various techniques and materials. It is thus a kind of ritual attribute (yantra) that may serve as an object of concentration, as a visual equal to a mantra, or as a representation of a particular deity (Liebert 1976, 168; 352). Divine beings can be invited by means of mantras to take their seat in the sacred space enclosed by the maṇḍala (Bühnemann 2003, 13). After a description of the iconographies and positions of maṇḍalas in the homa scenes, we will turn to the possible links of these images with forms of maṇḍala worship accompanying Newar fire rituals. Maṇḍalas in the homa images: Iconographies and positions I encountered two types of maṇḍalas in the homa scenes. One has a circular or lotus-shape, enclosed by a square (fig. 22), while the second is circular, usually filled with dots (fig. 10). In K eijge offe i gs a d p ophe ies of the g eat ess of Buddha ”āk a u i he he had ot et abandoned his royal life. A similar type of spouted kaláa appears in the homa image in the uppermost of the five lower registers of the painting. It is one of the few paintings illustrating a homa image both in the central scene, and in the lower register. The pau hā is dated 1850 CE, is painted with watercolours on cloth, measures 160 x 143 cm, and was part of the Jucker collection (Kreijger 1999, 86-87; Plate 30). 94 I encountered this object in nine of the forty-four paintings studied. 40 a pau hā sho i g a Vasu dha ā-maṇḍala from the former Jucker collection, the Vajrā ā a s assistant faces a lotus-maṇḍala within a square (fig. 23). It has been executed by thin black lines against a red background. The pericarp is circular, with petals attached to it in the four cardinal directions. Smaller-sized petals appear in the intermediate directions. A similar kind of maṇḍala occurs in a three-dimensional form in the later Lakṣacaitya pau hā from the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.95 A white, square object, with a blue circle and a white dot inside, lies on the ground in front of the priest, at his right side (fig. 24). Perhaps, the maṇḍalas in the Bhaktapur and Jucker pau hās offer a twodimensional rendering of such a square, 3D-maṇḍala as seen in the later Lakṣacaitya pau hā. From the early 19th century onwards, three-dimensional depictions and the use of perspective are encountered more often in Nepalese paintings (Pal 1978, 110). Rather than a square maṇḍala, more frequently a circular object, filled with a dot in the centre and in the cardinal and intermediate directions appears in the homa images.96 When the first donor in the rightmost panel employs such a circular maṇḍala, the square maṇḍala has been depicted in front of the priest, as for example in the A alokiteś a a pau hā from the Lionel-Fournier collection (fig. 5).97 In a few instances, only the priest employs a maṇḍala. Such is the case in the Viṣṇu-maṇḍala pau hā from Los Angeles (fig. 10). Here, a white maṇḍala has red dots in the centre, in the cardinal and in the intermediate directions. These circular maṇḍalas appear in the same location as the square ones, namely between the priest and the fire. The identical position suggests a similar function of the object. Hence it seems to support my identification of these circular attributes as maṇḍalas, rendered here in an abstracted form. Instead of the many-dotted, circular maṇḍala, a round, golden object, with one dot in the centre, at times appears in front of the priest at his left side (fig. 25). Odette Monod-Bruhl identifies such an attribute in a Vajradhara pau hā from the collection of the Musée Guimet as a cakra (1959, 309). This identification is convenient if the term cakra is used by MonodBruhl as an equivalent of maṇḍala, which she does not specify in her article.98 A painting on a folio of a Nepalese manuscript, dated between the 14th and 16th centuries CE, appears instructive in this regard. It bears an image of a lotus-maṇḍala, accompanied by 95 The painting is dated 1809 CE and consists of water colours on cotton cloth, and is part of The Avery Brundage Collection (B61 D10+). It measures 96,5 x 61 cm (Huntington and Bangdel 2003, Plate 20). 96 I encountered this object in thirteen of the forty-four selected paintings. 97 This pau hā is dated ca. 1300 CE, is made of watercolours on cloth, and measures 65 x 53 cm (Béguin 1990, 172-175; Plate D). In one instance, I encountered both the square and the circular maṇḍala in front of the priest in a homa scene, namely in the Vasundharā-maṇḍala painting, dated 1376 CE, in a private collection (Pal 1978, Plate 72). 98 For a discussion of the various scholarly usages and definitions of the terms maṇḍala, cakra and yantra as equivalents, see Bühnemann 2003, 15-19. 41 prescriptions in mixed Sanskrit and Newari on how to draw it (fig. 26; Pal 1985, 206). In these guidelines, the lotus is at one point called a cakra, perhaps indicating a conflation of the terms lotus-maṇḍala and cakra.99 The cakra in the Vajradhara and Candra-maṇḍala paintings also appear at the exact same position where usually a maṇḍala is depicted. I assume that also these objects represent maṇḍalas employed by the priest for worship accompanying the fire sacrifice. Maṇḍala worship in Newar fire rituals Why would a painter depict a maṇḍala in a homa scene? Some remarks on maṇḍala worship in Newar fire rituals might provide us with the answer. In Chapter 2, I mentioned that the kaláa pūjā and guru-maṇḍala worship are, next to homa, basic rituals within more elaborate Newar religious ceremonies. The offering of the guru-maṇḍala is carried out at the beginning of all complex, Newar rituals and functions as a f a e o k for those rites. The guru-maṇḍala worship is generally performed by the aja ā a, with the guidance of a Vaj ā ā a p iest (Gellner 1991, 163). The circular maṇḍalas described in the present chapter, at times, indeed appear in front of the first figure in the row of donors, raising the suggestion that this donor represents the aja ā a. The guru-maṇḍala worship is a typically Newar Buddhist ritual, but as we saw in this section, also a Brahmin priest employs a maṇḍala in one of our paintings (fig. 10). I was not able to trace sources on maṇḍala worship accompanying fire rituals in a Newar Brahmanical context. In our personal conversation, Bal Gopal Shrestha explained that contemporary Newar Hindus also create maṇḍalas for worship during homa, but they do not call these guru-maṇḍalas (pers. comm., May 11, 2017). The usage of maṇḍalas for worship as a part of more complex rituals, is a well-known phenomenon in South Asian religions such as the ”ai a and Buddhist tantric traditions (Bühnemann 2003, 1-4). Tantric forms of ”ai is appear to have influenced the development of Indian tantric Buddhism which was later introduced to the Kathmandu Valley.100 Also in later times, because of their isolation in the Valley, Newar Buddhists became ever more exposed to tantric types of the ”ai a a d ”ākta traditions (von Rospatt forthcoming, 4). The appearance of maṇḍalas in the homa scenes visually situates the continuity of this central element for worship, shared by many South Asian, religious traditions, in a Newar environment. In a Buddhist context, maṇḍalas can be made of various materials. In contemporary gurumaṇḍala worship, they are usually drawn with rice flour (Shrestha pers. comm., 99 For a transcription and annotated translation of the Sanskrit sections in this manuscript, see Appendix 1. 100 Harunaga Isaacson and Francesco Sferra propose that tantric scriptures first developed within branches of ”ai is , which probably influenced the development of later forms of tantrism , such as the Buddhist esoteric tradition in India (2015, 307). 42 May 11, 2017). John K. Locke describes how, in the performance of the Aṣ̣a ī ata, a maṇḍala is drawn with sand, after which several substances, such as ghee, milk and curd, are offered to it.101 Besides rice flour and sand, maṇḍalas are also made of stone. These maṇḍala-stones often appear in the pavement of the courtyards of Buddhist monasteries in the Kathmandu Valley (figs. 27 and 28),102 serving as plates for the temporary invocation of deities (Slusser 1982, 128). Our Vaj ā ā a p iest, photog aphed Ma “lusse , seems to employ a similar type of maṇḍala-stone in the performance of the fire sacrifice (fig. 4). The circular shapes of the painted maṇḍalas discussed in this section, recall the forms of these stones. In sum, maṇḍala worship is a major component of Newar ritual ceremonies and observances in the Kathmandu Valley, in many cases accompanying a fire sacrifice. Its depiction in the homa scenes of pau hās must have been familiar to the audience of the artworks. Maṇḍalas establish the fire ritual within the framework of the worship of a particular deity. Their painted variants in the homa scenes visually enact the roles of the aja ā a and his family priest in the performance of the fire rite, as only those two actors appear to employ a maṇḍala in the paintings studied. Having examined the aspects of a to s , a tio s a d att i utes in the constitution of a fire sacrifice, we will turn in the remaining sections of this chapte to otifs i di ati g the pla e of the ritual performance. 3.7. Place: The sacrificial fire as the virtual centre of action It is time to turn to a major element in the performance of a homa, namely the sacrificial fire itself. We will examine in particular the fire pit (yajña-kuṇḍa or agni-kuṇḍa) and the flames. I will not use the selected pau hās, because of the large variety in the forms of the hearths. So far, I could not recognise a typological pattern. That is why I studied each fire pit in the forty-four pau hās and selected three of these for further discussion. The criterion for my selection was size. All fire pits are layered structures, but some are considerably higher than others. Most of the kuṇḍas show a detailed execution, while in a few cases they are rendered in an abstracted fashion. Nevertheless, even in these latter cases, indications of multiple levels are maintained, as seen in the “ū a-maṇḍala painting from the Zimmerman collection (fig. 9). A higher kuṇḍa appears in the Los Angeles Viṣṇu-maṇḍala pau hā (fig. 10), while a lower fire pit can be seen in a Candra-maṇḍala painting from the former Locke 1987, 166. John K. Locke does not describe a homa as following the kaláa pūjā and gurumaṇḍala worship that he observed in the Aṣ̣a ī ata pe fo ed De e e , , i Guh eś a ī, ea the Paśupati āth Te ple. Nevertheless, the fire sacrifice can be part of the Aṣ̣a ī ata rites as well, as described by A.W. McDonald and Anne Vergati-Stahl, in their observation of the ritual in October 1977 (1979, 129). 102 I would like to thank Dr. Berthe Janssen (Leiden University) to draw my attention to these maṇḍala-stones in front of temples and monasteries in the Kathmandu Valley. 101 43 Jucker collection (fig. 29).103 Both such hearths o u i a A oghapāśa Lokeś a a pau hā, likewise collected by Jucker (fig. 30).104 As outlined in Section 2.2.2., the shape and colour of the kuṇḍa indicate the specific function of the ritual, hence these features of form and colour will be analysed in particular. The fire pit as seen in the Viṣṇu-maṇḍala pau hā, consists of five rectangular layers, building a profile constricted in the centre (fig. 10). The base, painted in white-beige, has been embellished with lotus-petals set against a red background. The petals are white-beige at the edges and carry red, blue and yellow colours in the centre. On top of this plinth, another layer with petals appears, executed in a much smaller size. Three undecorated plinths crown this foundational structure. These culminate into two rectangular pieces, from which yellow flames rise. These uppermost plinths resemble the lowermost two in construction and colour. The fire pit in the Jucker Candra-maṇḍala painting is less complex in its composition (fig. 29). Three layers of white-greyish, rectangular plinths decrease in size towards the top, hence the kuṇḍa appears as a stepped, pyramidal structure. The foundational shaft contains a rectangular element, enclosed by black lines, perhaps indicating that it has a projection. This projecting piece suggests that the fire pit has a square plan. In this aspect, it resembles the fire pit that was photographed by Mary Slusser in the Uku-bahā in Patan (fig. 31). The kuṇḍa in her picture is sunken into the pavement of the monastery, with rectangular stones attached at the four sides. Both the high, structurally more complex fire pit, and the lower kuṇḍa appear in the A oghapāśa Lokeś a a pau hā from the former Jucker collection (fig. 30). It is the only instance in which I encountered two fire pits rather than the usual single one. The priest sits in front of a lower kuṇḍa, with a yellow-beige colour. The foundational plinth has a rectangular base narrowing in size towards the top, crowned by another rectangular piece, from which red flames rise. The larger kuṇḍa appears to the right of the smaller one, from the ie e s pe spe ti e, and consists of five layers of greyish bricks. A red flame emerges at the top. The flames of the sacrificial fires occur in various shapes, mostly one-pointed, at times three-pointed. They are usually painted red, sometimes yellow, and sporadically white. At times, the painter used a mixture of yellow and red. The details of the flames have been indicated by scroll-like motifs. The three-pointed type of flame, encountered rarely in seven 103 This painting is dated ca. 1400 CE, consists of water colours on cotton cloth, and measures 62 x 53 cm (Kreijger 1999, 34-35; Plate 4). 104 This paubhā is dated to the mid - 15th century CE and was rendered with water colours on cotton cloth. It measures 91 x 73 cm (Kreijger 1999, 38-39; Plate 6). 44 of the forty-four pau hās, only recurs in paintings that date before the end of the 16th century CE. Moreover, these three-fold flames appear especially between the end of the 15th century CE until the end of the 16th century CE.105 There seems to be no relation between a certain rendering of the flame and the shape of a fire pit. Most of the fire pits encountered in the homa scenes have a light colour, ranging from pure white to beige or a darker tint of yellow, orange or grey. Although it is not possible to determine in all instances the shape of the kuṇḍa, due to their two-dimensional side-view, in some cases, like the Jucker Candra-maṇḍala painting, we do recognise a square form of the hearth. The square kuṇḍa also e alls Kuladatta s des iptio i the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā for rituals of consecration. In the Jyotirmañja ī A ha āka agupta prescribes a yellow colour for the hearths functioning in rituals with increasing purposes. The white colour matches the round fire pit, acting in rites of pacification (Skorupski 2001, 188-189; quoted in Skorupski 2016, 92). Following the later Tibetan ritual manual employed in a recent performance of a homa during the annual re-consecration of the Bodhnāth stūpa in Kathmandu, the fire ritual is performed with increasing and pacifying purposes in mind (Bentor 1996, 270). Nevertheless, it remains for further research on which specific sources the Newar painters, who were probably assisted by ritual specialists in their work (see Section 4.2), relied for their rendering of the fire pits. In sum, the kuṇḍa may act as a visual indication that the homa depicted in the lower register of a pau hā is part of a consecration ceremony. The kuṇḍa could not only reveal the purpose of the ritual of which the fire sacrifice is a part, it also visually marks the centre of the ritual performance. One other motif acts as a marker of a sacred space, to which we turn in the last section. 3.8. A canopy covering a sacred space In the Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala painting from Los Angeles, a red canopy hangs down from the upper border of the panel, covering the area where our priest sits (fig. 7). It is decorated with scrolls and flower motifs in white, light and dark blue. Two objects are tied at the sides, reminding us of the complex knots with which the baldachin in a unique pau hā displaying Gaganasim Bharo and his two wives, is held up (fig. 32). A similar type of canopy covers the donors in the rightmost panel as well (fig. 11). In a few paintings, more than one such overhanging covering appears, and their shapes may vary (figs. 22; 10). In other instances, One exception is the three-pointed flame in a pau hā showing a stūpa enclosing Uṣṇīṣa ija ā i the centre. This painting is dated to the second half of the 14th century CE. It is part of the Lionel Fournier Collection (Musée Guimet, MA 5165). 105 45 the canopy is absent, for example i the “ū a-maṇḍala pau hā from the Zimmerman collection (fig. 9).106 According to Gautama Vajracharya, such a canopy in Nepalese paintings indicates an interior space.107 The central image of the Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala pau hā, displays an esoteric tantric scene, namely the deity Cakrasaṃvara in union with his consort Vajravārāhī.108 Such an image is only supposed to be seen by initiated Buddhists. Only they are allowed to enter the secret āgaṃ shrine at the first floor of a Newar ahā, where this pau hā was probably stored (Huntington and Bangdel 2003, 260). This suggests that the painting was used within an esoteric, tantric ceremony, which is usually performed at a secluded place (von Rospatt forthcoming, 13). I am, however, not aware of the indoorenactment of homa in a Newar tantric setting.109 Moreover, the canopies also appear in scroll-paintings with a central exoteric deity, for example in the Viṣṇu-maṇḍala pau hā (fig. 10). The canopy bears another, more symbolic meaning that appears to explain the occurrence of the object in our homa images more conveniently. The baldachin in the pau hā displaying Gaganasim Bharo also indicates the high status and luxurious life of this military officer (Vajracharya 2004, 16). In a parallel way, the overhangings in the homa paintings may indicate the high status of the donor and his family. Moreover, the canopy is perhaps also a marker endowing the space in the lower register with an aura of sacrality. We opened this chapter with possible ways of composing the lower register of a pau hā, which revealed that the position of the homa scenes in these registers follows a pattern. Moreover, the iconography and arrangement of the elements of a homa image, likewise shows several patterns. The priest sits to the left, or occasionally to the right, of a sacrificial fire, and mostly wears a five-buddha crown, indicating his Buddhist, Vaj ā ā a affiliation. In one example, the performer of the sacrifice was identified as a Brahmin belonging to a Vaiṣṇava faction (fig. 10). Our priests handle specific types of ladles, such as a sulāpā and a dhova, and they are usually assisted by a figure displaying a manuscript, who is seated on a carpet behind them. The fire pits appear as low or high, layered structures, showing a The “ū a-maṇḍala pau hā is one of the very few paintings in which a parasol (chattra) rests on the platform on which the priest stands. Further research may take into account the appearance of these parasols in relation to the presence of canopies. 107 2004, 15. The canopy under study by Gautama Vajracharya does not cover a homa scene, but the portrait of Gaganasim Bharo, who was a military ruler of the town of Dolakha, accompanied by his first and second wives (fig. 32; 2004, 14). It is exceptional that the central scene of a Nepalese scrollpainting is occupied by a portrait of an eminent Newar man. 108 See Appendix 2, pau hā no. 2 for an image of the complete painting. 109 For details of an esoteric, tantric fire sacrifice, performed in front of the temple of Vajrayoginī in Sankhu, see Shrestha 2012, 452-454. The fire ritual is performed in the evening, in front of the temple complex, which is closed by the Vaj ā ā a p iests fo the ge e al pu li . 106 46 stepped, pyramidal form or a constriction in the centre. At the opposite side of the kuṇḍa f o the p iest s pe spe ti e, a pū ṇakaláa is often installed. Between the priest and the fire pit, a maṇḍala can be situated. This arrangement of the basic elements of a homa scene was encountered most often in the paintings under study. Lamps in various forms, additional kaláas, plates with substances for offering, mirrors and other ritual implements may furnish the scenes as well. These recurring patterns in the iconography and positioning of the elements of a homa scene suggest that the fire sacrifice had developed into an artistic motif, rendering the ritual visually recognisable for its audience. In Section 2.2, I described key aspects of a fire ritual and their specific forms in a Newar Buddhist context. These characteristics converge with the elements constituting the homa scenes. Hence, the paintings show us which specific elements constitute a Newar – mainly Buddhist – fire ritual, and their positioning. The images at times even recall the descriptions of the arrangement of the elements marking a homa, offered in modern anthropological accounts. Especially the positioning of the pū ṇakaláa, at the opposite side of the fire from the p iest s pe pe ti e, reminds us of the exact same placement of the kaláa as described and photographed by John K. Locke (fig. 33; 1980, 106). I Joh Lo ke s photo, we see how a priest, who is curiously not wearing the five-buddha crown, sits in front of a fire surrounded by small plates. Although the photo is of a poor quality, we recognise in the lower right corner a water vessel, filled with twigs or blades of grass, which reminds us of the position of the painted pū ṇakaláas. The aspects of actors, attributes, place, and actions, defined in Chapter 2 for the analysis of textual sources, are thus traceable in a parallel iconography of the priest with his assistant, the aja ā a and his family, particular ritual attributes marking a fire ritual, and the fire itself as the virtual centre of action. 47 3.9. Images Fig. 5: Lower register of an A alokiteś a a pau hā, ca. 1300 CE, Nepal, Lionel Fournier collection. Fig. 6: A oghapāśa Lokeś a a pau hā, 1430 CE, Nepal, Indian Museum Kolkata (At/69/32). 48 Fig. 7: Homa in a Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala pau hā, 1490 CE, Manasu monastery (Nepal), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.73.2.1). Fig. 8: Homa in a pau hā displa i g the sto of “u a ā, -60 CE, Kwa-Bahā (Patan), MAS Antwerp (AE.1953.0005.0017). 49 Fig. 9: Homa in a “ū a-maṇḍala pau hā, 1379 CE, Nepal, Zimmerman collection. Fig. 10: Homa in a Viṣṇu-maṇḍala pau hā, 1420 CE, Lohalanimha (Nepal), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.77.19.5). 50 Fig. 11: Donors in a Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala pau hā, 1490 CE, Manasu monastery (Nepal), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.73.2.1). Fig. 12: Homa in a pau hā showing a restoration of the Svayaṃ hū ātha stūpa, 1565 CE, Yampi monastery Patan, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (2000.15). 51 Fig. 13: Homa in a Vasundha ā-maṇḍala pau hā, 1777 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection. Fig. 14: Homa in a “ū a-maṇḍala pau hā, 1379 CE, Nepal, Zimmerman collection. Fig. 15: Lower register of a Viṣṇu-maṇḍala pau hā, 1420 CE, Lohalanimha (Nepal), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.77.19.5). Fig. 16: Lower register of a pau hā showing a Padmapāṇi shrine, 1850 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection. Each donor has a name inscribed under his or her image. 52 th Figs. 17 (left) and 18 (right): Lamp stands, 19 century CE, Nepal, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History Los Angeles (left: X2001.11.85; right: X2001.11.80). Fig. 19: Vaj ā ā a p iest a d ai do o in a Vasundha ā-maṇḍala pau hā, 1777 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection. 53 Fig. 20: Carrying the kaláa in a pau hā showing a restoration of the Svayaṃ hū ātha stūpa, 1565 CE, Yampi monastery Patan, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (2000.15). Fig. 21: Pouring water from the kaláa on the hands of Siddhārtha Gautama in a pau hā showing a Padmapāṇi shrine, 1850 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection. 54 Fig. 22: Homa in a Vajradhara pau hā, 1513 CE, Yothalā ha Jh ālahāla he (Kathmandu), National Gallery Bhaktapur. Fig. 23: Maṇḍala in a Vasundha ā-maṇḍala pau hā, 1777 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection. 55 Fig. 24: Homa in a Lakṣacaitya pau hā, 1809 CE, Nepal, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (B61 D10+). Fig. 25: Homa in a Candra-maṇḍala pau hā, 1525 CE, Nepal, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (AK-MAK-325). 56 th Fig. 26: Folio carrying an image of a maṇḍala and accompanying instructions, 16 century CE, Nepal, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.82.169.9). Figs. 27 (left) and 28 (right): maṇḍala stones, left: Pulchok-bahī Patan; right: Itum- ahā Kathmandu, photos by Mary Slusser. Fig. 29: Homa in a Candra-maṇḍala pau hā, ca. 1400 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection. 57 Fig. 30: Homa in an A oghapāśa Lokeś a a pau hā, mid-15 century CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection. th Fig. 31: Courtyard with a fire pit in Uku-bahā, Patan, photo by Mary Slusser. 58 Fig. 32: Gaganasim Bharo and his two wives in the central scene of a pau hā, ca. 1470 CE, Kathmandu, Private collection. Fig. 33: The performance of a homa and kaláa pūjā, Patan (?), photo by John K. Locke. 59 Chapter 4 Nepalese pau hās as historical evidence on fire rituals To what extent, and in what ways, do images provide reliable evidence of the past (Burke 2001, 16)? According to Peter Burke there is no general answer to this question, but a first step is to examine the iconography of an artwork (Burke 2001, 34-35). In Chapter 3 of this thesis, we have studied the homa images of pau hās from such an iconographical perspective. This provided us with information with regard to the arrangement of the compositional elements such as a priest, his assistant, the aja ā a and his family, and a fire pit. It also informed us on the specific forms of these constituents, and it revealed patterns in the composition and execution of the homa images. In some cases, we went further than describing the iconography and traced possible meanings and functions of a certain motif within the homa scenes. A circular object filled with dots in the centre and the cardinal and intermediate directions, for example, was interpreted as an abstracted image of a maṇḍala, which was then linked to forms of maṇḍala worship accompanying Newar fire rituals, such as the offering of the guru-maṇḍala. I o de to ead a i age as histo i al evidence, in this case as a testimony of a specific ritual, we also need to be familiarised with the cultural context of a work of art (Burke 2001, 36). The aim of Chapter 4 is to examine the artistic, social, and ritual contexts of the creation of Nepalese pau hās. At first, we will turn to the larger artistic tradition in which the Nepalese art of painting was embedded. This will help us to understand possible external influences in the iconography and composition of the lower registers of pau hās, in which our homa images are almost invariably present. We will in particular analyse painted manuscript covers, a stone slab and pedestals from the northeastern regions of present day India and Bangladesh, dating roughly from the 10th to 12th century CE. A pau hā was created in a specific social environment in the Kathmandu Valley. Within this social context, artistic conventions and rules on iconography which are related to a Buddhist or Brahmanical tradition, lead the Ne a Cit akā s i thei o k. This is the subject of Section 4.2. A pau hā could serve in various ways in different ritual environments. In Section 4.3, we will look at such a specific usage of a scroll-painting in the celebration of Newar old-age rituals, and how this religious context may influence the iconography. Finally, we will move to the central issue of this chapter. How can historians of religion employ the homa images as historical evidence? 60 4.1. The artistic tradition Before the Malla period (ca. 1200 - 1769 CE), to which most of the pau hās studied in this thesis date, the Kathmandu Valley already maintained cultural contacts with the northern plains of the Indian Subcontinent for many centuries (Slusser 1982, 31-32; 46). Artistic motifs from Northeastern India predating the Malla period, are still traceable in its painted artworks. Specific examples of such motifs are the subject of Sections 4.1.2 and 4.1.3. At first, we will examine issues in the definition of an Inner Asian International style in which the Nepalese painting tradition participated. 4.1.1. Composing the artworks: An Inner Asian International Style The idea of the adoption of motifs, styles and iconographies within various regions of South and Central Asia has been framed by scholars in previous decennia by the term Inner Asian International Style.110 Increased cultural interaction in these regions appeared between ca. the 12th and 14th centuries CE, although regional relationships predate this period. Recently, scholars have come to the conclusion that the idea of an Inner Asian International Style is problematic. Although there are identifiable common features with regard to style, composition and iconography between the artworks of South and Central Asia, there are also clear local differences (Klimburg-Salter 1998, 2). A characteristic that remains consistent in all the variants of this International Style is a specific composition, and in particular the way in which the central deity is depicted in sculptures and paintings. The central god or goddess for example, mostly appears as a single figure on the axis of the artwork. He or she is larger than the surrounding figures, and is flanked by two or more attendants. Their identity depends on the religious tradition to which the image belongs. In a Buddhist context, these attendants are often bodhisattvas (Klimburg-Salter 1998, 4). This compositional idiom was especially determined on the basis of comparative studies between artworks, mainly sculptures, f o Pāla I dia a. th - 12th century CE) and Tibetan thangkas. In Section 4.1.3, however, we will examine a compositional pattern and motifs in pedestals a d a sto e sla f o the late Pāla pe iod a. th - 12th century CE), that can be traced in the lower registers of the Nepalese pau hās studied in this thesis. I will argue that a compositional idiom which occurs in the organisation of several motifs in the foundational pie es of Pāla steles a d sla s, as adopted in the lower registers of Nepalese scrollpaintings. In a study of decorative motifs in Tibetan thangkas dating from the 11th to the 13th century CE, Claudine Bautze-Picron states that it is e ide t that these pai ti gs introduce iconographic aspects which can be directly related to stone sculptures of Bihar 110 A revision of the term with related problems and advantages was undertaken during a conference in 1995, in Graz (Austria). The papers presented during this forum (published in 1998) served as the main source for this disucssion. 61 a d Be gal , . “he p oposes that the Ti eta pai ti gs a e st u tu all ide ti al to Pāla s ulptu es, he e aisi g the suggestio that o positio al idio s a shift f o o e medium to another, in this case from sculpture to painting. Nevertheless, the medium also affects the forms in which motifs are presented. Therefore, it is preferable to compare the Nepalese pau hās with artworks of the same medium (Allinger 1998, 112). The only paintings that e ai f o Pāla I dia a e a us ipt illu i atio s and painted manuscript covers. John C. Huntington suggests that there was a clear indigenous Nepalese painting tradition already developing in the 9th to 10th centuries CE, that started to exist side by side with a o e Pāla-inspired tradition (1990, 258). For this thesis, I was not yet able to analyse a representative number of Indian and Nepalese manuscript illuminations and covers to compare their iconography, composition and styles to those of the lower registers of pau hās. Therefore, I will restrict myself in Section 4.1.2 to some preliminary remarks on the composition and execution of motifs in Indian and Nepalese painted manuscript covers. It is in such covers that we encounter images of donors, occasionally – in a few Nepalese manuscripts – participating in a fire sacrifice. 4.1.2. Composition and motifs in Indian and Nepalese manuscript covers The o l pai ti gs p ese ed f o Pāla I dia a e a us ipt illu i ations and painted covers, the oldest of which date to the early 11th century CE (Kramrisch 1933, 129). In the Kathmandu Valley, paintings on the folios and covers of manuscripts, as well as scrollpaintings survived. The oldest known, illuminated palm-leaf manuscripts from the Valley date to the late 10th or 11th century CE.111 Painted divinities, buddhas, bodhisattvas, and sacred places appear mostly in the covers of manuscripts, but at times also in between the text on the folios.112 F o Pāla I dia, o l Buddhist manuscript paintings were preserved, while both Buddhist and Brahmanical images appear in manuscript illuminations and covers from the Kathmandu Valley. Compositional features and motifs in the Nepalese art of manuscript illuminations and painted covers may have influenced the arrangement and choice of motifs in the lower registers of pau hās. In the modern town of Bhaktapur, traditional Newar painters are responsible for many different types of paintings, such as pau hās, masks, woodblocks, door-lintels, and even bodies (Blom 1989, 5-9). It is imaginable that they were also responsible for the illumination of manuscripts. In Indian manuscript covers, the surface can be divided into panels, as can be seen in the cover of an Aṣṭasahās ikā P ajñāpā a itā manuscript, dated to the 12th or 13th century CE (fig. 34).113 In a similar fashion, the surface of a Nepalese manuscript cover can be divided 111 Kramrisch 1933, 129; 1964, 43; Pal 1978, 36. Pal 1978, 36; Slusser 1982, 50. 113 As the miniatures and characters of the script in the folios show mixed Nepalese and eastern Indian features, it is not completely clear whether this manuscript is derived from Eastern India or the Kathmandu Valley (Zwalf 1985, 117). 112 62 into panels, but it can also be continuous (Allinger 1998, 110), just like the lower registers of pau hās. In a Śi adha a manuscript cover, dated to the 12th century CE and preserved in the National Library of Kathmandu (fig. 35), the figures are enclosed by niches separated by ornamented pillars supporting images of a kī tti ukha, with snakes protruding from its mouth. The panels of a lower register of a pau hā can also be indicated by such ornamented pillars (fig. 30). Eva Allinger and Gudrun Melzer observed that the framing of figures in architectural structures, such as arches, already developed as a trend in eastern Indian manuscript illuminations from the time of Ki g ‘ā apāla onwards (late 11th century CE; 2010, 407). The same Śi adha a manuscript cover shows ritual attributes, such as a spouted water vessel and high lamp stands, also encountered in the homa images discussed in Chapter 3. In front of the donor, appearing as an old man seated on a red cushion with his hands in the añjali ud ā and accompanied by his wife, appears a circular object, identified earlier as a maṇḍala. It is red with orange and white dots in the centre, the cardinal directions and intermediate directions. Eight dark dots surround the central one. Not only the form, but also the position of the object, right in front of the donor, recalls the maṇḍalas as presented in the lower registers of pau hās. Homa scenes start to appear in Nepalese manuscript covers, to the best of my knowledge, from the 15th century CE onwards. The fire ritual is, for example, part of a compartmentalised cover of a manuscript containing five protective hymns, dated 1532 CE (fig. 36). It is, likewise, contained in a manuscript cover, dated 1659 CE (fig. 37). The arrangement and execution of the iconographic elements reminds us of the way in which homa images appear in the pau hās. The Vajrā ā a priests, wearing their five-buddha crowns, sit in lotus-position to the ie e s left of the sacrificial fires. Both the higher fire pit, constricted in the centre and crowned by a red, three-pointed flame (fig. 36), as well as the lower, stepped form of kuṇḍa with a red, one-pointed flame (fig. 37), recur in these painted covers. The Vajrā ā as are accompanied by their assistants, seated behind them and carrying manuscripts. The priest in the earliest dated cover does not hold the ladles to pour oblations into the flames. Instead, these appear just behind him. In his left hand, he holds a bell, while he seems to show the abhaya ud ā with his right hand. The priest in the later cover extends the two ladles towards the fire. Also in this later cover, a spouted pū ṇakaláa fla ks the fi e to the ie e s ight. Canopies cover the priest, assistant and donors in the first cover, while such a baldachin only appears above the fire in the second one. The priests with their assistants, and the aja ā a and his family appear at the edges of the covers with a stūpa in the centre, in the earliest manuscript flanked by two bodhisattvas. Undoubtedly, homa as an artistic motif as recognised in the scroll-paintings, was at times applied in manuscript covers as well, accompanying the pious likeness of the commissioners of these artworks. 63 These manuscript covers illustrate that images of the donors were included in this type of Nepalese painting as well (Vajracharya 2003, 43). They appear in the act of worship, in some cases attending a homa. Not only in painted artworks, but also in sculptures from Pāla India, we encounter the donors in this attitude. 4.1.3. Composition and motifs in pedestals and a stone slab fro Pāla India We o ti ue ou e plo atio of o positio al idio s a d otifs sha ed the Pāla and Malla artworks with an investigation of pedestals (fig. 38; 40) and a stone slab (fig. 39), dated between the 10th and 12th centuries CE.114 The pedestals function as supports for images of larger divinities, buddhas, and bodhisattvas, but the precise function of the rectangular slab is not clear (Bautze-Picron 1995, 59). Its inscription records the donation of a caitya by a vajra-teacher (ā ā a aj i aḥ)115 with the name Rahulabhadra, so perhaps the slab was part of a caitya. One pedestal was found in Lakhi Sarai (Bihar; fig. 38), while the slab originates in Bodh Gaya (Bihar; fig. 39). We will examine the motifs of the seven jewels (saptaratna) of the universal monarch (cakravartin), monks and lay people, and some ritual attributes. Most of the slabs and pedestals displaying these motifs come from Bodh Gaya, and appear especially in the Buddhist art from the region (Bautze-Picron 1995, 59-60). The support of a stele sho i g Lokeś a a Khasarpaṇa in the centre, flanked by his four atte da ts Tā ā, “udha aku ā a, Bhṛkụī a d Ha ag ī a (fig. 40; de Mallmann 1975, 107), shows another motif to which I turn in this section, namely a dancer flanked by musicians. The stele is currently preserved in the Bangladesh National Museum, and is dated to the 8th or 9th century CE.116 114 The pedestals and slabs studied for this section were described and analysed by Claudine BautzePicron (1995). In this study she pays specific attention to the evolution of these motifs in the prePāla a d Pāla a t i the p ese t states of I dia a d Ba gladesh. 115 I am not sure about the correct transliteration of the Sanskrit here, as I was not able to access the original script or a transcription of the inscription following the I.A.S.T. scheme. The transcription offered on the website of the Victoria and Albert Museum does not include diacritical marks. A transcription of the section recording the donation of the caitya made by Gouriswar Bhattacharya reads: siddham (symbol) srimad-rahula-bhadrasya pandit-acarya-vajrinah // krta[m pu]nyena satva[r]tham caitya-bhattarako mahan. Bhattacharya translates this section as the g eat, venerable caitya made by the illustrious Rahulabhadra, the learned teacher belonging to Vajrayāna with religious merit for the living beings. This t a s iptio a d t a slatio e e pu lished o the website of the Victoria and Albert Museum on July 13, 2006 (Victoria and Albert Search the Collections, 2006). 116 According to Claudine Bautze-Picron images of dancers and musicians appear in various pedestals and slabs from East Bihar and Southeast Bangladesh. They can all be dated between the 11th and 12th centuries CE. The date proposed by Odette Monod-Bruhl for the stele under study is earlier (8th to 9th century CE). I therefore suspect that the stele may be of a later date than she assumed. 64 A pedestal showing the seven jewels of the universal monarch (fig. 38): The first pedestal under discussion appears as a stepped structure, with protruding plinths, dividing the surface into seven panels. Each of these panels bears an image, carved in high relief, displaying one of the seven jewels of the cakravartin. F o the ie e s left to ight, the images show an elephant, a wheel (cakra) supported by a double lotus, a minister,117 Jambhala, a queen, a three-pointed jewel (maṇiratna), and a horse. Jambhala in the centre ep ese ts the hief of t easu es and appears at times instead of the general in these types of pedestals (Bautze-Picron 1998, 44). His identification is facilitated by the flanking jars, turned upside down to indicate a distribution of material wealth by this god (BautzePicron 1995, 60). Although I did not encounter an image of Jambhala among the seven treasures in the lower registers of pau hās, the position of the horse and the elephant recalls the arrangement of these motifs in the registers. Both these animals flank the other treasures, while facing them. Furthermore, the division of this pedestal into panels reminds us of the compartmentalised category of lower registers. In the pau hās studied, however, the seven jewels never appear separately in individual panels, and the jewels of the cakra and maṇiratna are always carried by an elephant and a horse. According to my knowledge, these jewels never appear independently in a Nepalese lower register. Monks and lay people in a Bodh Gaya slab (fig. 39): The seven treasures also appear in the centre of a slab from Bodh Gaya. They are flanked by a o of fou de otees at the ie e s left a d a a us ipt p ese ted o a sta d to the right. The elephant and the horse, flanking and facing the other treasures, each carry an object on their back, which is difficult to identify in this slab.118 Between the queen and the horse, a monk is seated in pad āsa a on a low cushion.119 He is identifiable as such from Following Claudine Bautze-Picron s suggestion that in some lists of the seven treasures of the cakravartin, the hief of the a is epla ed the hief of t easu es koṣādh akṣaratna; 1998, 44), I identify this image here as a minister, instead of a general. However, the object carried by this figure, which resembles a sword, seems more appropriate for a general than for a minister. It remains for further research whether a minister can also bear a sword in images of the seven treasures. 118 I othe Pāla sla s a d pedestals, su h a o je t has a o e outspoke , t efoil-shape, recalling the form of the maṇiratna. This precious jewel also occurs independently in the slab. Claudine Bautze-Picron suggests, in the case of a similarly executed pedestal from Bodh Gaya, that the objects carried on the back refer to the three jewels of Buddhism (triratna), namely the Buddha, the dharma and the saṃgha (1998, 67; Plate 160). This suggestion is in my view a bit too far-fetched. The bearing of an additional jewel on the back, with or without further symbolic meanings, appears appropriate for these animals as the carriers of wealth. 119 A monk replacing the chief of the army or Jambhala is another variation within the theme of the se e t easu es fou d i Pāla slabs and pedestals (Bautze-Picron 1995, 62). Gouriswar Bhattacharya indeed identifies this monk as one of the seven jewels, namely as the mantri-ratna (Victoria and Albert Search the Collections, 2006). The Sanskrit term mantrin, hi h a ea i iste , efe s i a more literal sense to k o i g sa ed te ts o spells Mo ie -Williams 2012 [1899], 786). Hence, a monk as someone who knows sacred texts, seems plausible as a representative of this jewel. 117 65 his pointed cap and his attributes. He holds a vajra in his right hand in front of his chest, and a bell (ghaṇṭā) in his left hand, resting on his lap. These attributes recall the iconography of the buddha Vajrasattva (de Mallman 1975, 420). Claudine Bautze-Picron relates this image of a monk to an initiation ritual, in particular that of the aj ā ā ā hiṣeka, as recorded in the Yoga and Anuttara Yoga Tantras. In these texts, the iniatiant has to meditate on the buddha Vajrasattva and permanently hold the vajra and the bell as attributes as long as the ritual lasts.120 Also ou Vaj ā ā a p iests f o Nepal a e ituall identified with the buddha Vajrasattva during the performance of a fire sacrifice, through their attributes of the crown, the vajra and the bell. The iconography of the monk in the Bodh Gaya slab reminds us of the image of the Vaj ā ā a p iest i seated positio i the homa scenes. In the Los Angeles Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala painting fo e a ple, the p iest s od is sho f o tall , like ou o k i the Pāla sla , ut his face is fixed on the fire (fig. 7). The five-buddha crown replaces the pointed hat, but this headdress is still pa t of the atti e of Vaj ā ā a Ja arāja in the rightmost panel (fig. 11 . The Vaj ā ā a p iest i ost ases holds one or two ladles in his right hand, but the ghaṇṭā remains an invariable attribute in the left hand, except when the ladles are carried by both hands. The vajra and ghaṇṭā can also flank the throne of the priest as ritual attributes (fig. 8; 9). Claudine Bautze-Picron argues that another monk appears in the rightmost corner of this slab (fig. 41). His both hands rest in his lap and he holds the vajra in his right hand and the bell in his left.121 He is taller than the other images, perhaps referring to his higher status. He sits in the pad āsa a, next to a stand with the shape of a pillar, supporting a manuscript, covered by a piece of cloth (Bautze-Picron 1995, 62). The iconography of this figure conflates with the rendering of Jambhala in the pedestal from Lakhi Sarai (fig. 38). He wears a similar type of pointed cap and his pot-bellied appearance is even more outspoken 120 For this interpretation, Claudine Bautze-Picron relies on a section, quoted by Ariane Macdonald from a Tibetan treatise by Mkhas-grub-rje (1385-1438 CE). This disciple of Tsongkhapa offers an analysis of several rituals from the Kriyā, Yoga and Anuttara Yoga Tantras in folios 1 to 94 of a Tibetan manuscript, kept at Tohoku University Japan (n. 5489; Macdonald 1962, 52). Due to a lack of knowledge of Tibetan, I was not able to access the transcription offered by Ariane Macdonald. Having pointed out that the initiant needs to take three vows, Mkhas-grub-rje continues, in translation by Ariane Macdonald: Pou le oeu du vajra, le disciple doit se méditer en tant que Vajrasattva, puis après lui avoir expliqué la nature réelle du vajra, on le lui fait tenir. Pour le voeu de la clochette, on lui explique la nature réelle de la clochette et on la lui fait tenir (1962, 69). The ritual outlined in this section prescribes the meditation by the initiant on the buddha Vajrasattva, combined by an explication of the real nature of the attributes of the vajra and the bell. After this explanation, the initiant needs to hold the vajra and the bell, just like the monks in the Pāla sla s and pedestals studied by Claudine Bautze-Picron (1995). 121 I was not able to confirm this identification of the attributes (Bautze-Picron 1995, 62), as I did not have an image showing enough details to study this. It seems however, that the right hand of the figure was broken and lost. 66 than in the case of the Jambhala image. He is likewise, adorned with round earrings. However, the lotus-position of the figure in the slab, immediately flanking the manuscript on a stand, supports Bautze-Pi o s ide tifi atio as a o k, as this is a pattern frequently e ou te ed he i Pāla s ulptu es. She suggests a confusion between the iconographies of the pot-bellied figures of Jambhala and the monk in the Bodh Gaya slab. This labelling of a monk is supported by Gouriswar Bhattacharya, who suggests that this large figure in the rightmost corner represents the donor Rahulabhadra, as recorded in the inscription (Victoria and Albert Search the Collections, 2006). This proposition seems plausible because of the rightmost position of the figure in the slab, which is usually reserved for the donors of the artworks (Bautze-Picron 1995, 63). Another fascinating feature of this slab is the small image of a kneeling devotee, with hands raised in the añjali ud ā, just beneath the stand with the manuscript (fig. 41). The figure is sculpted in a niche, facing a circle enclosed by a square, identified by Claudine Bautze-Picron as a maṇḍala (1995, 64). The first type of maṇḍala studied in Chapter 3 recalls the form as well as the position of the object in front of the devotee. In the leftmost corner of the slab, four devotees are shown kneeling, the three largest figures with their left knee raised, while the smallest devotee rests with both knees on the ground (fig. 42). They face the seven treasures and present flower garlands, except for the smallest figure, who displays the añjali ud ā. Claudine Bautze-Picron suggests that these images of donors portray particular groups of families, but in an idealised rendering (1995, 63). In the inscription, four names are indeed mentioned, matching the number of figures kneeling in the leftmost corner of the artwork. Goursiwar Bhattacharya reads their names as Valo, Mujja, Tingala and Sumati. He also proposes that the figure worshipping the maṇḍala represents Valo, whom he identifies as the pater familias, depicted twice in the slab (Victoria and Albert Search the Collections, 2006). However, there does not seem to be textual evidence in the slab to support this last suggestion. As seen in Section 3.5, kneeling donors with their hands in the añjali ud ā are also a recurring motif in the lower registers of pau hās. Monks as well as particular groups of lay people most often appear at the edges of the slabs and pedestals (Bautze-Picron 1995, 63). Likewise, groups of donor figures with idealised portraits, and positioning of monks and lay people in the corners, characterise the lower registers of pau hās. This particular arrangement of the donors of an artwork, accompanied by a ritual specialist at the lower border of the object, is a compositional idiom suggesting influences of the Pāla tradition as remaining in the later Malla artworks. Pedestal showing a dancer with musicians (fig. 40): The final motif in pedestals from the later Pāla period to be considered here, is a dancing scene, consisting of a dancer, flanked by two musicians (Bautze-Picron 1995, 63-64). An 67 example of such a scene is described by Odette Monod-Bruhl in an article on a pau hā illust ati g Vaj adha a ith his o so t Vaj adhāt īś a ī.122 She relates the image of a female dancer flanked by two musicians, one playing the drums and the other the cymbals, in the central panel of the pau hā s lo e egiste (fig. 43), to sculpted dancers in the base of a Pāla stele showing Lokeś a a Khasarpaṇa and his four attendants (fig. 40). The pedestal is composed of four protruding, rectangular plinths, erecting seven planes for relief sculpture. The dancing scene appears in the centre. Four images of donors, in a kneeling position with their hands in the añjali ud ā, appear at the right- and leftmost corners of the pedestal (1959, 306-309). Furthermore, a water vessel (kaláa) with a globular belly and decorated by a ribbon around the neck, and an elephant flank this dancing scene to the ie e s left and right. Other specific motifs that appear i Pāla pedestals, with a ritual bearing, are a conch-shell on a tripod (fig. 44), a miniature caitya, a mirror, and a lamp stand (fig. 45). The conch shell (́aṇkha) on the tripod recalls in a remarkably similar way a ́aṇkha on a stand in a Vasundha ā-maṇḍala painting from the former Jucker collection (fig. 19). Miniature caityas, mirrors and lamp stands appear in the lower registers of pau hās as well, as we saw in Section 3.6. A stand supporting a manuscript, flanked by two plates with a cone cake, is a e u i g otif i ost Pāla sla s a d pedestals e a i ed Claudi e Bautze-Picron (1995). Nowhere however, did I encounter it in a Nepalese pau hā. Pāla pedestals a d sto e sla s a be divided into panels or have a continuous relief. We encountered both this compartmentalised and the continuous way of composing the lower register in Nepalese pau hās as well. Equally familiar are the seven treasures of the cakravartin, the donors of the image, ritual objects, and dancers flanked by musicians. Othe otifs that o u i the Pāla i ages, no longer play a role in the Nepalese set up, such as the stand supporting a manuscript. The o k i the Pāla s ulptu es seems to have given his position over to the Vaj ā ā a priest. So far, I did not encounter a homa image among the Pāla pe iod motifs.123 This suggests that the fire ritual developed as a motif unique to the painting tradition of the Kathmandu Valley. Of course we can not fully exclude the e ote possi ilit that Pāla pe iod depi tio s of homa were lost. The compositional idiom and motifs thus illustrate that there probably was an influence of a Pāla idiom, as one of many sources of inspiration, in the development of the iconography of the lower registers of pau hās. Nevertheless, the Newar art of painting developed as a strong independent tradition, in particular in the Malla period.124 In the next section, we will analyse the social 122 This painting is dated 1488 CE, based on a reading of the inscription. It is part of the collection of the Musée Guimet in Paris (M.G. 22800). 123 This observation was confirmed by Claudine Bautze-Picron, who is not aware of any homa image i Pāla s ulptu es pers. comm. via Dr. Ellen Raven; April 3, 2017). 124 Slusser 1982, 46; Pal 1978, 135. 68 context in which traditional Newar painters worked, and the conventions in which this process of creating a pau hā was embedded. 4.2. Artistic conventions: Rules on iconography and idealisation Religious art is considered to be conservative and the painter, whether of a scroll-painting or a manuscript illumination or cover, is guided by rules on the composition and iconography of the deities or sacred events that are to be depicted.125 How did instructions on the iconography of a pau hā reach the Newar artists? In her study of Nepalese sket h ooks, ased o field o k i the atelie s of t aditio al Cit akā s i Bhaktapu , Margriet Blom (1989) describes that Buddhist and Brahmanical priests assist the Newar painters in the creation of sacred icons. These religious specialists not only perform the rituals accompanying the creation of a pau hā, but they also inform the painters on the correct iconography of the deities. The priests usually interpret the iconographies from their ancient manuscripts or recall these by heart. In many cases the Cit akā s make sketches during these instructions, in which they may include short abbreviations serving as clues to specific colours (Blom 1989, 5). Sketchbooks from the Kathmandu Valley have been preserved in various museums, such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The oldest among these manuscripts dates back to the early 15th century CE. They are a valuable source for the study of the evolution of the iconography of Newar deities and motifs, such as architectural structures, decorative scroll-patterns, but also maṇḍalas (fig. 46; Blom 1989, 10). So far, I did not come across a drawing of a homa image, but many sketchbooks still await further scrutiny. A few, exceptional inscriptions of pau hās inform us on the name of the painter, such as in the Los Angeles Viṣṇu-maṇḍala painting. It records the his name as Jayateja Puna, who completed the artwork in ten days.126 Furthermore, also Vaj ā ā a priests have been attested by Pratapaditya Pal as painters of manuscript illuminations and scrolls, raising the suggestion that they have been engaged in this profession from earlier times onwards (Pal 1978, 17-18). The lower registers of pau hās display events that are associated with religious ceremonies, providing them with a historical value. Hence, rules on iconography do not apply to these i sig ifi a t o de s , as Gautama Vajracharya holds (2003, 51). Still, one may wonder to what an extent the homa images were subject to artistic and religious conventions. How free was the painter in his rendering? The patterns in the iconography of the homa scenes 125 Pal 1978, 88; Bautze-Picron 1998, 39. In transcription, this section reads: idaṃ paṭa lekṣita ja ateja pu e a dáa hiḥ dine likṣitamiti. For a transcription and translation of the complete inscription by Ian Alsop e.a., see Appendix 2, pau hā no. 4. 126 69 indicate the existence of an artistic tradition – adapting where or when required – that lives on, elements of which I have shown previously in the part on Pāla e sus Malla a t. Nevertheless, in the specific execution of the image, we can and do trace individual choices by the creators, which involve the painter, but may also include priests or the donors themselves (Pal 1978, 19), taken up in Section 4.4. Besides rules on the iconography of divine beings and sacred events, idealisation, especially in portraits, is another convention dominating the Newar painting tradition. As described in Chapter 3, the donor portraits are idealised, rendering it impossible to recognise individual characteristics (Pal 1978, 123-124). There are, however, exceptions where personal traits are traceable to a certain degree, such as in the likeness of Ki g Bhūpatī d a alla i a pau hā showing a Viṣṇu shrine, dated 1716 CE (fig. 47).127 Our emperor has quite an explicit nose and wears a black beard and moustache. These characteristics recur in several other images of this monarch, such as a portrait in a mural from the Bhadgaon palace in Bhaktapur (fig. 48).128 Apart from these more naturalistic features in the portraits, Pratapaditya Pal convincingly argues that a considerable degree of idealisation was maintained as well, especially in the image in the pau hā.129 One can indeed wonder whether all the Malla kings had a beard, as we find it in most royal portraits dating before the conquest of the Kathmandu Valley by Prithivi Narayan Shah in 1769 CE, or whether it was an artistic convention. A beard does not seem to be part anymore of the artistic vocabulary of royal portraits displaying the later Shah kings (Pal 1978, 129; Plates 120, 159, 195). Given that Newar painters, especially in the Malla period, tended to create idealised images of people involved in the rituals in the lower registers, we may wonder what role this idealising tendency could have played in the rendering of the homa scenes in general. Do the homa images provide us with faithful representations of the ritual or are they an idealised representation of how a fire sacrifice was supposed to look like? We will return to this issue in Section 4.4. In sum, a Nepalese pau hā was created in an environment in which rules on iconography and idealisation acted as artistic conventions shaping the appearance of the artworks. If we want to study the homa images as historical evidence, we need to be aware of these conventions, as they provide us with a lens through which we see a modified picture of the ritual. Not only artistic conventions and rules may have influenced the iconography of a pau hā, but also the specific ritual in which the painting had to function as an icon. 127 This painting was part of the former Jucker collection. It is rendered in water colours and gold on cloth and measures 165 x 155 cm (Kreijger 1999, 62; Plate 18). 128 Pal 1978; Plate 193; Kreijger 1999, 62. 129 Pratapaditya Pal suggests that the painter of the mural probably had the opportunity to study the facial features of the monarch, who was responsible for the building of the palace, while the artist of the pau hā had to rely on secondary representations (1978, 129). 70 4.3. Pau hās as sacred icons The iconography of a pau hā may have been affected by the ritual for which it was created, and specific iconographies may have existed for particular events. A study by Alexander von Rospatt (2014) shows how a pau hā serves as a primary icon during Newar old-age rituals. As outlined in Chapter 2, scroll-paintings are still commissioned for the celebration of oldage rituals (New. j ā jaṃko), such as the Bhī a athārohaṇa (von Rospatt 2014, 105). These paintings have a unique iconography. The central subject is usually a stūpa enclosing an image of the goddess Uṣṇīṣavijayā. The e a e t o lo e egiste s at the otto of the pau hā. One of them contains images of the main rituals performed during the jaṃko, such as the procession of carrying the elders in a chariot ( atha āt ā) and a fire sacrifice (homa). The register underneath shows images of the sponsors of the ritual ( aja ā a), who are usually the sons and grandsons of the celebrant, and their family members. Below these lower registers, there is often a dedicatory inscription (fig. 49). I was not able to trace a paubhā with this specific iconography dating back before the mid - 19th century CE, but according to Alexander von Rospatt they can be traced back to the Malla period (2014, 112). Paintings commissioned for the celebration of this ritual with different iconographies date back as early as the 14th century CE. The Sūrya-maṇḍala painting from the Zimmerman collection was made, according to a reading of its inscription by Pratapaditya Pal, as an icon for the celebration of a Bhī a athārohaṇa fo Bhis udeś a a.130 This assumption is supported by the central image of the Sun god, to whom the Bhī a athārohaṇa is dedicated (von Rospatt 2014, 114). The image in the central panel of the lower register seems to portray the celebrant, Bhis udeś a a (fig. 50). He sits on a white, double lotus and holds two lotus-flowers in his hands, while showing the añjali ud ā. Red halos surround his head and body. These iconographic features recall the image of Sūrya in the centre of this pau hā, a d isualise the s oli deifi atio of the ele a t du i g the performance of 131 the old-age ritual. Alexander von Rospatt thus offers one example of a modern, ritual usage of a pau hā, and its link to the specific iconography of the painting. The homa scene as part of this iconographic program seems to be an exception. I was not able to relate images of fire rites in the lower registers of pau hās to particular central scenes. This suggests that the lower registers were not necessarily conceived as being part of the correct iconography of a painting related to a religious ceremony. Nevertheless, as this previous example on the 130 Pal 1978, 76. The reading of this inscription by Pal cannot be confirmed anymore, as the inscription – unusually positioned at the back of the pau hā – has been partly concealed in the process of conservation (von Rospatt 2014, 114; fn. 14). 131 von Rospatt 2014, 109-110; For a full image of the painting, see Appendix 2, pau hā no. 3. 71 ritual usage of pau hās illustrated, the iconography of the homa scenes can be treated as part of the religious icons that support the construction of an experience of a religious event. But what is the specific role of the homa images in the creation of this experience? 4.4. The nature of homa images: Eyewitness accounts or artistic motifs? Now that we have looked at artistic, social and ritual contexts that may affect the iconography and composition of a Nepalese scroll-painting, we need to move back to the issue of the nature of homa scenes. A religious image provides us with a view on the supernatural in a specific period of time and cultural context. It not only shows, but also creates a view of the divine, acting as a mediator between the material and the heavenly worlds (Burke 2001, 46). The lower registers of pau hās seem to form such a bridge between the material and divine realms. In the case of the Pāla pedestals, Claudine BautzePicron points out that the depiction of donors in a separate pedestal creates a distance between them and the central divine image. It also creates a clear hierarchy, by the smaller size of the images, as well as by their position, lite all u de the deit . Ne e theless, the donors are still part of the very same image (Bautze-Picron 1995, 63). The pedestal – and this can be extended to the lower registers of pau hās as well – seems to represent a liminal space, where the material world meets the divine.132 As homa is an artistic motif, its appearance shows patterns, as analysed in Chapter 3. A chronological series of images depicting a single theme is a particularly valuable source for art history and religious studies, as it enables us to study continuities, transformations and alterations in the pattern.133 To illustrate this, we can turn to a feature of our homa images, namely the manuscript held by the assistant to the priest. In pau hās dating from the 14th to the mid - 17th century CE, the assistant carries a long palm-leaf manuscript (tālapat a) with both hands. After the mid - 17th century CE however, the manuscript changes to a smaller, rectangular object, displayed by the assistant on the palm of his right or left hand. From the 14th century CE onwards, palm-leaf was gradually replaced by paper 132 This appears to be a more convincing explanation of the relationship between the lower register and the central image than the one proposed by Odette Monod-Bruhl. She describes this lower egiste as la zo e te est e , , as a ea thl zo e pla ed under the central section illustrating a divine zone. I am not convinced by her suggestion. As we discussed in Chapter 2, the Vaj ā ā a priest is ritually identified with a divine being – the buddha Vajrasattva – when he wears his five-buddha crown to perform the fire rituals. This is supported in some paintings by the occurrence of a halo around the head (and body) of the priest (fig. 12, 25, 29). This symbolic equation of figures in the lower register with divine beings indicates that the register is not just a representation of the human realm. The sacred atmosphere of the lower register may also be enhanced by the presence of the canopies, at times covering the figures of the priest and the donors, as argued in Chapter 3. 133 Burke 2001, 46; Bautze-Picron 1998, 39. 72 in the Kathmandu Valley.134 A detailed study of the evolution of the shape of the manuscript in a larger sample of pau hās could be an additional, visual source on this historical process of turning to another writing material. There are a few instances in which the painter seems to offer indications for a specific ritual in the iconography of the images. In the homa scene of a Vajradhara pau hā from the National Gallery Bhaktapur, for example, the priest and the women – the queen in the panel of the seven treasures of the universal monarch included – wear a yellow ribbon around their neck, marking the o pletio of the Vasu dha ā vrata (fig. 22; Bühnemann 2008, 20). Another example of such a more precise ritual reference appears in a pau hā with an image of the three Mother Goddesses, Cā uṇḍā, Mahālakṣ ī, a d Kau a ī, dated CE, now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (fig. 51). On the ladle of the Vaj ā ā a p iest lie three pieces of red cloth. The priest extends the ladle towards the fire, as if he is about to pour the red ribbons into the flames.135 It is however, unclear with which specific ritual(s) these red pieces of cloth can be associated. Nevertheless, such individualities are interesting for a historian of religio ho a ts to stud the itual ealit of homa in a Medieval and Early Modern Newar context, as such elements do not seem to have been guided by an artistic pattern. This raises the suggestion that the painter relied to a certain extent on his own observation when he painted the homa image. There are, however, several problems related to the historical reliability of such an eyewitness a ou t as well. Did the painter faithfully represent an observation of the ritual? How long ago was the ritual witnessed by him before he painted it? And, did he witness it directly or indirectly? Also the issue of idealisation needs to be considered in this regard. It remains a scholarly issue to what an extent a ritual manual is a reliable source on actual performance, or whether it offers an ideal model of how a ritual should be carried out.136 In a similar way, we may wonder how reliable the homa scenes are as a source on the enactment of the Newar fire rite. Do they show us how the fire sacrifice was performed in reality or how it ideally had to look like? To conclude, a historian of religion, when studying homa images as evidence on fire rituals, needs to take into account several considerations. The Nepalese art of painting developed in interaction with the artistic traditions of external regions, in which Pāla I dia appeared as a major source of influence. We do not know yet where the motif of homa in the Newar pau hā art originated. The painted fire ritual appears on the covers of Nepalese manuscripts from the 15th century CE onwards. I did not encounter it in the covers of eastern Indian manuscripts, although the Indian manuscript illuminations did influence the 134 Blom 1989, 10; Nirajan Kafle pers. comm., May 8, 2017. In the homa scene of a Vasu dha ā-maṇḍala pau hā from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, dated 1495 CE, a yellow ribbon appears in a similar fashion o the ladle of the Vaj ā ā a p iest. This painting is part of the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck collection (M.77.19.7). It is rendered in water colours on cloth and measures 110 x 84,2 cm (Pal 1985, 213-214; Plate 17). 136 ”la̧ zka 2007, 2; Szántó 2015, 660. 135 73 composition and stylistic execution of the figures and motifs in the Nepalese tradition. A detailed study of several pedestals and a stone slab from the late Pāla pe iod, from the region of Bihar, revealed a shared set of motifs and ways of bringing these together in the lower sections of pau hās. This tradition played a considerable role in the development of the Nepalese lower register. Testimonies of homa images in the Indian Pāla tradition, however, either seem to be lost, are not yet discovered, or were non-existent. This situation raises the suggestion that the motif of homa was a local invention in the Kathmandu Valley, or that we need to search for its origins somewhere else. Even though the Indian Pāla tradition considerably influenced the art of pau hā painting, it was not the only source of inspiration for the Newars. The material heritage, and especially the thangkas, of their Tibetan neighbours, with whom the Newar artists maintained close contacts, 137 may enclose additional clues to the development of the motif of the fire ritual. We know from textual sources, such as the Mañjú ī ūlakalpa (ca. 8th century CE), that the fire sacrifice was already performed by Buddhists in Pāla India. The wide-spread representation of homa in the visual art of painting appears to be a development unique to the Kathmandu Valley. Of course, we do not know if the motif was present in the eventual scroll-paintings from Northeastern India, as these were not preserved. It is more likely that such painted scrolls were carried by travelling monks on their way to the Himalayan regions, while sculptures were probably studied in situ. Does the material culture represent here different social and ritual circumstances of the Buddhist communities in Northeastern India and the Kathmandu Valley? Did homa become a more important part of the ritual repertoire of Newar Buddhism, due to its isolation in the Valley and increased interaction with Brahmanical cultures? We may recall in this regard that, as far as I know, only in the Kathmandu Valley, the ten life-cycle rituals accompany the consecration of an image. Vaj ā ā a priests monopolise the performance of these life-cycle rites in Newar Buddhist ceremonies, of which homa forms an integral part (Locke 1980, 20). Further research of the different ritual dynamics within the Buddhist communities from the Kathmandu Valley and Northeastern India, may offer further explanations regarding the different choices in the visualisation of rituals in the artworks from these regions. Newar painters were subject to specific local, artistic conventions and rules on iconography. It is unclear to what an extent the homa images were indeed guided by such rules. A Newar painter probably had more oo fo a t in the rendering of these lower registers than in that of the central scenes of the painting. In an analysis of a ritual context in which a pau hā may function, we saw that iconographies could be informed by the religious ceremonies. In most cases studied in this thesis, however, the homa scene seems to be no part of such a specific iconography. Finally, the lower register of a pau hā appears to function as a liminal space, where the divine and material worlds meet each other. They are both an artistic 137 Kramrisch 1964, 43-44; Pal 1978, 145-147; Huntington 1990, 258-259. 74 motif and a visual account of a ritual reality, with the dynamics between these two aspects depending on the social and ritual context in which an image was created. 75 4.5. Images Fig. 34: Manuscript cover showing scenes from the life of the Buddha, Aṣṭasahās ikā P ajñāpā a itā th th manuscript, 12 or 13 century CE, Eastern India or Nepal, OMPB (Or. 14203). Fig. 35: Śi adha a manuscript cover, 12 century CE, Nepal, National Library Kathmandu. th 76 Fig. 36: Manuscript cover with a homa scene (leftmost panel) for a manuscript containing five protective hymns, 1532 CE, Nepal, OMPB (Or. 2205). Fig. 37: Manuscript cover with homa scene for a manuscript containing five protective hymns, 1659 CE, Ta u ūla Mo aste Kathmandu, OMPB (Or. 13852). th th Fig. 38: Pedestal showing the seven treasures of the universal monarch, 10 to 12 century CE, Lakhi Sarai (Bihar, India), Museum für Indische Kunst Berlin (I 580). th th Fig. 39: Slab showing the seven treasures of the universal monarch, 10 to 12 century CE, Bodh Gaya (Bihar, India), Victoria and Albert Museum London (IS699-1883). 77 Fig. 40: “tele sho i g Lokeś a a Khasa paṇa and his four attendants th th Tā ā, “udha aku ā a, Bhṛkụī a d Ha ag ī a, to 9 century CE (?), Eastern India, Bangladesh National Museum. 78 Fig. 41: Detail fig. 39: Monk (Rahulabhadra?) and devotee with maṇḍala. Fig. 42: Detail of fig. 39: Four donors and an elephant as one of the seven treasures of the cakravartin. 79 Fig. 43: Dancer flanked by two musicians in a pau hā sho i g Vaj adha a ith his o so t Vaj adhāt īś a ī, 1488 CE, Nepal, Musée Guimet Paris (M.G. 22800). Fig. 44: A conch shell in a pedestal of a Tā ā image, Itkhauri (India); photo by J. Bautze. 80 Fig. 45: A caitya, a mirror, a cone cake, an incense burner and a lamp stand in the lower left part of the pedestal of a Buddha image, Betagi (Chittagong, Bangladesh). Photo by J. Bautze. Fig. 46: Maṇḍala in a sketchbook in th āsaphū form consisting of 29 pages, th 19 century CE, Nepal, private collection. 81 Fig. 47: Portrait of Ki g Bhūpatī d a alla a d his so in a pau hā showing a Viṣṇu shrine, 1716 CE, Bhaktapur (Nepal), former Jucker collection. Fig. 48: Portrait of Ki g Bhūpatī d a alla in a mural of the Bhadgaon Palace, 1696-1721 CE, Bhaktapur. 82 Fig. 49: Pau hā showing a stūpa with Uṣṇīṣa ija ā a d Bhī a athārohaṇa ritual, 1830 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection. 83 Fig. 50: Bhis udeś a a in a “ū a-maṇḍala pau hā, 1379 CE, Nepal, Zimmerman collection. Fig. 51: Homa in a pau hā showing the three Mother Goddesses, Cā uṇḍā, Mahālakṣ ī, a d Kau a ī, 1679 CE, Bhaktapur, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.81.271.1). 84 85 Chapter 5 Conclusion The central issue approached in this thesis is the nature of the homa scenes that appear almost invariably in the lower registers of Nepalese pau hās. Are these painted fire rites artistic motifs or eyewitness accounts of ritual realities? Moreover, we wondered if it is possible to relate these homa images to specific rituals on the basis of a study of their iconography. Finally, we examined the value of these homa scenes as historical evidence for scholars of religion. A systematic analysis of the iconography of the painted fire rituals from a selected set of pau hās, revealed that the images in the first place function as artistic motifs in the lower sections of the artworks. 5.1. Homa as an artistic motif A study of the position of homa images in the lower sections of pau hās revealed patterns in the location of these scenes in relation to the other motifs in the lower register. Furthermore, I was able to recognise patterns in the composition and iconographic execution of the elements constituting a homa. These constituents converge with the key aspects of Newar fire rituals, determined in Chapter 2 on the basis of textual sources. 5.1.1. Positioning and composing the homa image The lower registers of the pau hās studied, can either be compartmentalised into several panels or continuous. In the first category, the homa scene appears especially in the leftmost panel, and the priest can stand, but more often sits to the ie e s left of the fire. A Los Angeles Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala pau hā (fig. 7; Appendix 2, pau hā no. 2), and a “ū a-maṇḍala painting from the Zimmerman collection (fig. 9; Appendix 2, pau hā no. 3) illustrate this type of composition. The priests are attended by an assistant, who shows a manuscript. The aja ā a and his family members mostly kneel in the rightmost panel. The subjects of the central panels may vary, and display for example, the seven treasures of the universal king. In the continuous type of register, the fire ritual appears in the centre or near the centre to the left or to the right. The priest may, likewise, stand or sit, although the standing pose was seen more often. A Vasu dha ā-maṇḍala pau hā, from the former Jucker collection (fig. 13; Appendix 2, pau hā no. 5), shows such an arrangement. The donors kneel or stand behind the priest or at the opposite side of the fire. An exceptional image of a Brahmin priest 86 performing homa was encountered in a Viṣṇu-maṇḍala painting from Los Angeles (fig. 10; Appendix 2, pau hā no. 4), which likewise follows this second category of constructing the lower register. The homa scenes are thus part of a standardised set of motifs appearing in fixed positions in the lower registers. Also the composition of the elements constituting the images of the fire sacrifice themselves show patterns. The most commonly encountered arrangement is the one as we see it in the Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala pau hā, commissioned by Vajrācārya Jayarāja (fig. 7). 5.1.2. Central features of Newar homa and parallel iconographies Before analysing the iconography of the homa scenes, I examined the nature and key aspects of a fire sacrifice in a Newar Buddhist context on the basis of medieval, ritual manuals composed in Sanskrit, and anthropological accounts of modern performances of the rite. Together with the flask- and guru-maṇḍala worship, Newar homa is a basic ritual functioning as a component of larger religious ceremonies. Hence this tantric ritual appears in many varieties in the Kathmandu Valley. We may classify a Newar homa on the basis of several factors, such as the types of substances offered, the obligatory or optional nature of the performance, or the specific ceremony in which it functions. In order to analyse this textual evidence, I proposed four categories to study the key aspects of homa. These atego ies i luded the a to s i the itual, usi g spe ifi att i utes to pe fo a tio s at a spe ifi pla e , i di ated the i stallation of the fire pit. Buddhist Vajrācārya priests, accompanied by the patron of the ritual, the aja ā a, handle specific types of ladles, such as a sulāpā, to pour offerings into the fire. The oblations, basically consisting of ghee mixed with certain types of grains, are accompanied by visualisations of specific deities and the recitations of mantras, in accordance with the tantric nature of the ritual. The Vajrācārya wears his five-buddha crown, displaying his authority to perform the sacrifice. One other implement of high importance during a Newar homa is a water vessel (kaláa), in which one or more deities are invoked and worshipped. The fire is kindled in a fire pit, which can be permanently or temporarily built. Its form and colour are determined by the purpose of the ritual. This categorisation proved to be useful in the analysis of the visual materials. The key aspects of Newar Buddhist fire rites converge with the basic elements constituting the painted homa, such as the image of a fire sacrifice in the Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala pau hā (fig. 7). A Vajrācārya priest, wearing his five-buddha crown, pours offerings into the flames with a sulāpā, while holding a bell with vajra-handle (vajra-ghanṭā) in his left hand. He is accompanied by an assistant, seated behind him on a carpet and carrying a long, palm-leaf 87 manuscript (tālapat a). Between the priest and the fire pit is situated a maṇḍala, while a pū ṇakaláa appears to the left of the kuṇḍa f o the p iest s pe spe ti e. The offi iati g Vajrācārya is covered by an exquisite canopy, while other ritual implements, such as a spouted kaláa and plates with offerings, further complement this homa scene. The main donor of the pau hā, Vajrācārya Jayarāja, appears in the rightmost panel of the painting, accompanied by his family members. The paintings thus illustrate which specific elements constitute a Newar – mainly Buddhist – fire ritual. They also show us the specific position of these constituents in the arrangements of the scenes. Hence, the aspects of actors, place, attributes and actions are traceable in the parallel iconographic elements of the priest with his assistant to the ritual, the aja ā a and his family, particular ritual attributes marking a fire ritual, and the fire itself as the virtual centre of action. The iconographic analysis revealed that homa is a recurrent artistic motif in the lower registers of Nepalese pau hās, and that patterns can be traced in its composition, position and the iconographic rendering of the composing elements. 5.2. Rituals of consecration? The particular forms these key aspects of a Newar homa may take, are determined by the religious ceremony in which the fire ritual functions. In particular, we examined how homa works in tantric rituals of consecration performed by Newar Buddhists, according to the hypothesis put forward by previous scholars that the homa images in the lower registers of pau hās are supposed to portray such consecration rituals. Only the colour or shape of the fire pit (yajña-kuṇḍa or agni-kuṇḍa) may support this hypothesis. Most of the kuṇḍas bear a light colour, such as white, beige or yellow, occasionally inclining towards a more greyish tint. In most instances, it is not possible to determine the shape of the hearth, due to their two-dimensional side-view. However, we did come across one painted kuṇḍa suggesting a square form, in the Jucker Candra-maṇḍala painting (fig. 29). In the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā, Kuladatta prescribes such a square form for the fire pit. The Indian tantric master A ha āka agupta describes in his Jyotirmañja ī a yellow colour for the hearths functioning in rituals with increasing purposes. The white colour in the Candra-maṇḍala painting matches the round fire pit, employed in rites of pacification, while its square shape rather indicates an increasing function, as outlined by A ha āka agupta.138 Both the increasing and pacifying aims prevail in contemporary rituals of consecration performed by Tibetans in the annual re-consecration of the Bodhnāth stūpa in Kathmandu (Bentor 1996, 270). 138 Skorupski 2001, 188-189; quoted in Skorupski 2016, 92. 88 The iconography as encountered in the homa scene from this Candra-maṇḍala pau hā does not completely match the textual sources presented in this thesis. Many other textual accounts on homa, however, still await further examination to contribute to the analysis presented here. Leaving this need for further research aside, it is uncertain on what sources the Newar painters relied for their rendering of the images of the fire ritual, an issue to which I return in the next section. Moreover, we may wonder whether the creators of the paintings wanted to depict a specific fire ritual at all, or whether the presence of a motif recognisable as homa was their primary concern. 5.3. Ritual realities: Homa as an eyewitness account That the images of the fire sacrifice function as artistic motifs, does not necessarily exclude that they provide us with tribute accounts of the elements involved in a Newar homa and their possible arrangements. In this regard, the Newar homa scenes may be treated as historical sources on a fire sacrifice, which is unique in South Asia in its sort. In Chapter 4, we turned to the value of these painted fire rites as evidence for historians of religion. In order to use the paintings as such, the iconographic analysis was complemented by a study of the artistic tradition underlying the motif of homa, as well as the social and religious contexts in which the paintings were created and supposed to function. 5.3.1. A unique Newar development? The painting tradition of the Newars developed in interaction with external artistic traditions, with the material heritage from Pāla I dia (8th - 12th century CE) acting as a major source of influence. An analysis of the paintings in manuscript covers from Northeastern India and the Kathmandu Valley, the earliest of which date to 11 th century CE, shows elements in the composition of the surface and the choice and execution of certain motifs, that recur in the pau hās. In the cover of a Nepalese Śi adha a manuscript (fig. 35), for example, a maṇḍala appears in front of the donor, which is also a pivotal motif in the composition of a homa scene in the later pau hās. The fire ritual itself occurs in the covers of Nepalese manuscripts, as far as I know, from the 15th century CE onwards. Its arrangement and iconographic execution follows faithfully the motif as it was rendered in the scroll-paintings. I did not yet encounter homa in the covers of eastern Indian manuscripts. Nevertheless, scholars, such as John C. Huntington, maintain that the Indian manuscript illuminations did influence the composition and stylistic rendering of the figures and motifs in the Nepalese tradition. A detailed stud of se e al pedestals a d a sto e sla f o the late Pāla pe iod (10th to 12th century CE), all originating in the region of Bihar, revealed a shared set of motifs and ways of composing these with the lower registers of pau hās. Particularly intriguing 89 similarities with these Nepalese registers were discovered in the arrangement and iconographic rendering of the donors in a stone slab from Bodh Gaya (fig. 39). The donorfigures in this slab are probably supposed to represent a particular group of people. This assumption is supported by a reading of the inscription, which records four names, corresponding with the number of four, idealised figures in the artwork. The donors appear at the edges of the slab, while facing the centrally depicted, seven treasures of the cakravartin. They show flower garlands or the añjali ud ā, and they are accompanied by a monk, who appears in the rightmost corner of the slab. We may identify him as active within the Vajrayā a branch Buddhism on the basis of the inscription. In our Nepalese pau hās, the aja ā a and his family also appear at the extremities of the lower registers, facing the centre, and showing the gesture of worship. They are equally accompanied by a monk, in this case a Newar Vaj ā ā a ho a ts as a p iest pe fo i g the fi e sa ifi e. As this example illustrates, artworks from the Indian Pāla tradition played a considerable role in the development of the Nepalese lower register. However, among all the motifs in the Pāla i ages studied for this thesis, painted as well as sculpted, no homa image appears. Although textual sources, such as the Mañjú ī ūlakalpa (ca. 8th century CE), inform us that the fire sacrifice was already performed by Buddhists in Pāla India, homa scenes seem to be a development unique to the painting tradition of the Kathmandu Valley. We may not exclude here the possibility that homa images are not yet discovered, or that these were lost in the art from Pāla India. We do not know, for example, if the motif was present in scroll-paintings from Northeastern India, as these were not preserved. Do the visual materials represent here different social and ritual circumstances of the Buddhist communities in Northeastern India and the Kathmandu Valley? Did homa become a more important part of the ritual repertoire of Newar Buddhism, which became ever more exposed to Brahmanical cultures in its geographically isolated state? 5.3.2. Between artistic rules and ritual realities A historian studying the homa images also needs to take into account that a Nepalese pau hā is created in an environment in which rules on iconography and artistic conventions, such as idealisation, determine the appearance of the work of art. It remains unclear to what an extent such rules were applied in the images of homa and how free the painter was in their rendering. When a paubhā was commissioned as the central icon for a religious ceremony, this could determine its specific iconography. In a contemporary Newar context, paintings commissioned for the Bhī a athārohaṇa celebration, still display a unique iconography which is centuries old, and in which the homa scenes appear as a part of the iconographic program of the central images. The painted fire rituals in the lower registers analysed in this thesis, however, appear in most cases not to have been influenced by the central subject of the pau hā. 90 As historians studying these images, we need to be familiar with these conventions and ritual contexts, as they act as a lens through which we are allowed to see a modified picture of a ritual reality. The lower register, as a liminal space where the divine realm meets the material, also informs this way of looking at the image. It is both part of a divine experience by the viewers, but it also shows how a ritual was – or ideally had to be – enacted by the donors. Are homa images then artistic motifs or testimonies of ritual realities? They are both. The painted fire rituals can indeed be considered as tribute accounts on the constituents of the ritual in a Newar – especially Buddhist – context, and the possible arrangements of these. As artistic motifs, they allow us to reconstruct chronologies for the images, informing us on the development of shapes, compositions, and styles over time. Their nature as testimonies on rituals is especially revealed in those cases where the painter felt free to add marks of a specific ceremony. For example, in the lower register of the Vajradhara pau hā from Bhaktapur, the priest and the women wear yellow ribbons around ther neck to indicate a completion of the Vasu dha ā vrata (fig. 22).139 The homa paintings provide us with a unique set of data for artistic chronologies, but they also allow a look into the past to observe aspects of the performance of the Newar fire ritual. 5.4. Further research This study included a systematic overview of a selection of pau hās, but many paintings remained unexplored. In follow-up research, this dataset needs to be expanded in order to extent the compositional and iconographic observations, and their application to the Nepalese art of pau hā painting. Next to examinations of the general patterns outlined in this study, further research needs to pay attention to the specific social and ritual contexts in which a painting was created. A study of an individual homa image in relation to the central scene of the pau hā, and its social and religious contexts of creation, may reveal in which ways the image conforms to the iconography prescribed for a certain ritual. An examination of the individual elaborations by a painter of a homa scene may serve to e plo e the itual ealit e losed ithi the i age. I o de to ette u de sta d the lo al context in which a pau hā was created and functioned ritually, more sketchbooks and ritual manuals need to be examined. Many texts in Newari, preserved in Nepalese archives, still await analysis (von Rospatt 2015, 819). Moreover, it remains for further research on which specific sources the Newar painters, who were probably assisted by ritual specialists in their work, relied for their rendering of the homa scenes. 139 Bühnemann 2008, 20; Appendix 2, pau hā no. 6. 91 With regard to the influence of north Indian, artistic traditions in which the Nepalese art of painting was embedded and by which it was influenced regarding compositions, iconography and styles, follow-up research needs to focus on manuscript illuminations from Pāla I dia as codifying the lay-out and motifs in the lower registers of pau hās. Many materials of necessity remained unexplored, from Indian as well as Nepalese origins. We noticed how certain motifs appearing in the pedestals and stone slabs from Northeastern India, were preserved in the Nepalese, painted lower register, while others were not. A monk seated next to a stand supporting a manuscript may serve as an example of such a motif in the Pāla artworks, that was not taken over by the Newar painters. Instead, it seems, the Newars chose to portray a type of monk that was familiar to them, performing a ritual over which only these monks had the monopoly. The choice to take over a certain motif, or to adapt or to exclude it, seems to be embedded in social and ritual contexts. These specific religious environments deserve further attention. Was the presentation of a manuscript on a stand, perhaps as an object of worship, a common practice among the Buddhists in the regions of Bihar? In a similar fashion, we may extend this question to the situation in the medieval Kathmandu Valley. Does the almost invariable appearance of homa in the pau hās mirror the prevalence and the visibility of this ritual in Newar society? The Indian Pāla t aditio as however, not the only source of inspiration for the Newars. A study of the motifs enclosed in Tibetan thangkas for example, may reveal additional clues to the development of the motif of the fire sacrifice. Finally, the inscriptions of two pau hās under study confirmed the relation with consecration rituals. However, they also specifically mention the completion of an observance (vrata). In follow-up research, the specific features of homa within a vrata and the effects on the iconography of a painting consecrated for this celebration, need to be taken into account. Finally, we have wondered whether it was always the intention of the painter to portray a specific type of homa. This issue deserves due attention in order to fully appreciate the nature and original function of these homa images. 92 93 6. Glossary The translation of Sanskrit terms is based on the Monier-Williams dictionary 2012 [1899]. The meaning of Newari terms is derived from the secondary sources used in this thesis. Whe the te is i Ne a i, the a e iatio Ne . p e edes the e pla atio o t a slatio of the term. abhaya udrā. The hand gesture of fearlessness, reassurance and safety. a hi āra. Destroying, as one of the four purposes of a ritual according to the scheme outlined in the Hiraṇ a ālādáak i ā idhi, and prescribed by A ha āka agupta (ca. 11th century CE) in the J oti añja ī. ā āluyegu. New. See ā ārya-abhiṣeka. ā ārya-abhiṣeka. Additional initiation after the pravajya fo Vaj ā ā a o s. In this way the Vaj ā ā a e o es e titled to pe fo the fi e sa ifi e. āgaṃ. Ne . A se et sh i e at the fi st floo of a Ne a ahā where tantric rituals are performed. Only initiated members of the community of a ahā and their wives may enter this room. Agnihotra. An oblation to the fire god Agni, mainly consisting of milk, oil, or caru. agniśala. A building for keeping a sacrificial fire. ahorātra ho a. Da a d ight homa . This fire sacrifice is performed for a whole day and night. It usually accompanies the re-consecration rituals of major monuments such as the Svayaṃ hū ātha stūpa. anāt a . Lite all this te ea s o -self . It is o e of the asi do t i es of Buddhis . añjali udrā. The hand gesture of adoration or worship. a aprā́a a. The ritual of the first feeding of rice to the infant, as one of the ten life-cycle rituals. āhuti. Lite all , this te ea s alli g o i oki g . He e, it de otes the offe i g of oblations into the fire for deities. ahā. New. A type of Newar Buddhist monastery, hosting married Vajrācārya priests and tantric cults. It is different from a bahī, which indicates the – now lost – type of Newar monastery hosting a celibate monastic community. There are also architectural differences in the construction of these monasteries. Bare. New. Endogamous birth-group within Newar Buddhism. It consists of two subdivisions, the Śākyabhikṣu and Vajrācārya. bare chuyegu. New. See pravajya. Bhikṣu. A Buddhist monk. In Newar Buddhism, it denotes a member of a ahā or bahī. Bhī arathārohaṇa. Old-age ritual celebrated at the age of 77 years, 7 months and 7 days. īja. Seed-syllable. It is a mystical syllable that is part of the mantra of a specific deity, e.g. ūṃ for the fire god Agni. 94 bodhisattva. A being that postpones its own attainment of the enlightenment in order to strive for the liberation of all sentient beings. This bodhisattva-vow is a central idea in Mahāyā a forms of Buddhism. caitya. A miniature temple or stūpa, which can be used as a votive gift. It is also used as an equivalent term for stūpa. cakra. A heel o disk . A s ol of po e . It a also de ote the heel of la (dharmacakra) in Buddhist and Jain traditions. It serves as an equivalent term for maṇḍala. cakravartin. Literally, this te ea s heel-tu e o a ule the heels of hose ha iot oll e e he e ithout o st u tio . It designates an ideal, universal monarch, or sovereign of the world. He is the owner of the seven jewels (saptaratna). caru. An oblation, prepared from rice, barley and pulses, cooked in butter and milk. chattra. A parasol. Citrakār. A surname denoting affiliation with the hereditary group (jāti) of painters in Newar society. cūḍākaraṇa. The ritual of tonsure, as one of the ten life-cycle rituals. darpaṇa. A mirror. dáa saṃskāra. The ten life-cycle rituals. In the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā, these life-cycle rituals are referred to as dáa k i āḥ. dīkṣā. Initiation ritual. dīpa. A lamp. dhova. New. See sruva. dhruva. A type of ladle (sruc) from the Vedic tradition. It consists of a long handle with a vessel attached at one end. The depression (puṣkara) of this vessel is oval-shaped. Gelukpa. One of the major monastic orders of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Its foundation is attributed to Tsongkhapa (1357 - 1419 CE). The Dalai Lama is traditionally affiliated with this order. ghee. Clarified butter. guru. Lite all the te ea s hea , he e it a desig ate so eo e ho is e e a le or respectable, such as a spiritual master or teacher. guru-maṇḍala worship. One of the basic rituals of Newar Buddhism. It is performed at the beginning of every complex, Newar ritual. It is usually performed by the yaja ā a under the guidance of a Vajrācārya priest. The guru in question is the buddha Vajrasattva, who is considered to be the guru of Vajrācārya priests. homa. A fire sacrifice. jaj ā . New. See yaja ā a. jātakar a . The birth ritual, as one of the ten life-cycle rituals. jāti. An endogamous birth-group. juhu. A type of ladle (sruc) from the Vedic tradition. It consists of a long handle with a vessel attached at one end. The depression (puṣkara) of this vessel is rectangular-shaped. 95 jyā jaṃko. New. An old-age ritual, such as the Bhī arathārohaṇa. kaláa. A water vessel in which deities are invoked and subsequently worshipped. kaláa pūjā. The flask worship. One of the basic rituals of Newar Buddhism, as preceding a fire sacrifice. kamaṇḍalu. In an ancient and early medieval, Indian context, a kamaṇḍalu denotes a spouted water vessel, used for pouring holy water. kaṇṭáodha a. The throat-clearing ceremony, as one of the ten life-cycle rituals. Kar ācārya. A Newar Hindu priest involved in tantric rituals. kīrtti ukha. Fa e of glo . A t pi al de o ati e motive in Nepalese paintings, usually appearing at the top of an arched structure. koṭyāhuti. A type of homa, consisting of ten million oblations. kuṇḍa. A fire pit, also denoted by the terms yajña-kuṇḍa or agni-kuṇḍa. kúa grass. A kind of grass with long, pointed stalks, used for religious ceremonies. laukika homa. Worldly homa . Exoteric forms of the fire sacrifice as performed during the daytime. These can be attended by everyone, either as a patron or as an observer, and these especially generate worldly benefits for them. lokottara homa. Part of the ahorātra ho a, performed during the night. māṃsa. Meat. maṇḍala. A ritual attribute (yantra) that serves as an object of concentration, a visual equal to a mantra, or a representation of a deity. It contains a geometric composition of mystic figures and diagrams of symbolic attributes, seed-syllables ( īja), and gods and goddesses. It is believed to be endowed with supernatural powers. It can be created by means of various techniques and materials, such as sand, rice flour and stone. mantra. A sacred formula or prayer, directed towards a particular deity. The recitation of mantras forms a pivotal part of most tantric rituals. Mahāyā a. G eat Vehi le . A branch of Buddhism, that developed in the northern part of the Indian Subcontinent around the 1st century BCE. Central ideas in Mahāyā a Buddhism are the ideal of the bodhisattva, related to the bodhisattva vow, and the recognition of emptiness (́unyatā) as the highest goal of the practice. mi chuya. New. See homa. mukhaḥ. New. See mukuṭa. mukuṭa. A crown. ā akar a . The name-giving ceremony, as one of the ten life-cycle rituals. nara āhuti. Ma o latio . A type of esoteric homa performed by Newar Buddhists. nyāsa. The a t of i se ti g , or that what has been inserted , so the deposit . It denotes the divine essence that is infused into a receptacle during tantric rituals of consecration. padmāsa a. The seated lotus-position. pāṇigrahaṇa. The wedding ritual, as one of the ten life-cycle rituals. paṭa. A painted piece of cloth, or a scroll-painting. pau hā. New. Scroll-painting. 96 phalaprā́a a. The first feeding of fruits to the infant, as one of the ten life-cycle rituals. pratiṣṭhā. In this thesis, the term refers to rituals of consecration, ensuring the placement of a defi ite po e i a o je t , o the e do e t of a o je t ith di i e fa ulties. pravajya. The Buddhist ordination ritual. It is the first initiation ritual of a man who enters a Buddhist monastery. Pũ. New. See Citrakār. pūjā. Worship. pūjāri. A temple priest. puṃsavana. The ritual for ensuring the generating of a male embryo, as one of the ten lifecycle rituals. pūrṇakaláa. A vase of plenty. purohita. A family priest. puṣkara. A depression in a vessel attached at the handle of a ladle (sruc). puṣṭi. Increasing, as one of the four purposes of a ritual according to the scheme outlined in the Hiraṇ a ālādáak i ā idhi, and by A ha āka agupta a. th century CE) in the J oti añja ī. rathayātrā. A procession in which the deity or celebrant is carried in a wheeled chariot through the city. sādhana. Means of acco plish e t . An evocation and visualisation of a deity out of his or her seed-syllable (bīja). It is a central technique in tantric rituals and a means for the worshipper to identify him- or herself with emptiness (́unyatā), the ultimate goal of the practice. Śaiva. A follo e o o shippe of a a ifestatio of the god ”i a. Śaiva devotees recognise ”i a, athe tha B ah a o Viṣṇu as the supreme being and source of the universe. There are several branches within the Śaiva tradition, e.g. the Pāśupatas, who are especially influential in Nepal. Śākta. A worshipper of the divine energy (́akti) which can be personalised as a female goddess, such as Durgā. Śākyabhikṣu. One of the two endogamous groups within the Bare. Samaya. A samayasattva is a conventional ei g . It is the first form of a deity to be visualised out of its seed-syllable ( īja) by a practitioner during meditation. It has to be united consciously with a jñāsatt a o k o ledge ei g to realise the full identity of a deity. In tantric rituals of consecration, these visualisations also accompany the rites to make the deity enter into the receptacle. saṃgha. The Buddhist community. ́aṇkha. A conch-shell. ́ā ti. Pacifying, as one of the four purposes of a ritual according to the scheme outlined in the Hiraṇ a ālādáak i ā idhi, and by A ha āka agupta a. th century CE) in the J oti añja ī. 97 saptaratna. The seven jewels or treasures of the universal monarch (cakravartin). Various lists on the seven treasures exist. According to a reading of the Buddhist Divyā adā a by Jan Gonda (1966), these are a wheel, an elephant, a horse, a jewel, a wife, an adviser, and a minister. sī a to aya a. The ritual of parting the hair of the mother, as one of the ten life-cycle rituals. ́ira āhuti. Head o latio . A type of esoteric homa performed by Newar Buddhists. ́loka. A hymn of praise. sruc. A type of ladle, consisting of a long handle with a vessel attached at one end. The depression of this vessel (puṣkara) can be rectangular (juhu) or oval-shaped (dhruva). The vessel ends in a point, from which a liquid can be poured into the flames during a fire sacrifice. sruva. A type of ladle with a long handle ending in a spoon. It is used to scoop a liquid into the sruc. stūpa. A dome-shaped, Buddhist monument, originally erected over the relics of the Buddha or Buddhist saints. In miniature form, it may serve as a votive gift. See caitya. sulāpā. New. See sruc. ́unyatā. E pti ess . one of the basic doctrines and highest goal of Mahāyā a Buddhist practice. It can be considered as an extension of the doctrine of ā āt a . tālapatra. A palm-leaf manuscript. tantric. Related to texts from the scriptural corpus of Tantra. Specific features of tantric rituals, related to sādha a practices, are the recitation of mantras, the visualisation of specific deities, and the drawing of maṇḍalas. Prescriptions of these practices are offered in ritual texts, such as the K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā. tilaka. A mark on the forehead, made of coloured earth or sandalwood, which may indicate a religious affiliation. thangka. A Tibetan term for scroll-painting. thāpã. New. Ritual attributes. thyāsaphū. A type of manuscript or book, of which the paper sections are folded. It opens like an accordion. triratna. The three jewels of Buddhism, consisting of the Buddha, the dharma (the teachings), and the saṃgha. vajra. Literally, this term means thunderbolt o dia o d . Here it designates a particular ritual object. Vajrācārya. A Vaj a- aste . A Newar priest authorised to perform a fire sacrifice. It is an endogamous group within the Bare. Boys born into this group undergo an additional initiation ritual, the ā ārya-abhiṣeka. vajra-ghanṭā. A bell with vajra at the handle. It is a pivotal, ritual attribute of a Vajrācārya in the performance of rituals, such as homa. 98 Vajrayā a. Dia o d Wa . A branch within Mahāyā a Buddhism, developing in the northern part of the Indian Subcontinent in the early medieval period. Practitioners of this form of Buddhism especially engage in rituals to attain fast liberation. váya. Subduing, as one of the four purposes of a ritual according to the scheme outlined in the Hiraṇ a ālādáak i ā idhi, and by A ha āka agupta a. th century CE) in the J oti añja ī. vihāra. A Buddhist monastery. vrata A religious vow or practice, usually accompanied by fasting. A vrata may be directed to a ds a pa ti ula deit , su h as the Vasu dha ā ata – to the goddess Vasu dha ā – or the Anantavrata – to the god Viṣṇu. vratādéa. The ritual of taking the vows of a disciple, as one of the ten life-cycle rituals. vratamokṣana. The ritual of the release of the vows of a disciple, as one of the ten life-cycle rituals. yaja ā a. The master of sacrifice, who arranges for a ritual. It is often a hereditary function within a family. yajña. A sacrifice. See homa. yantra. A mystical diag a . It can denote a ritual attribute, such as a maṇḍala. yo íodha a. The ritual of the purification of the womb of the mother, as one of the ten life-cycle rituals. 99 7. References Agrawala, Prithvi K. 1965. Pū ṇa Kaláa, o the Vase of Plenty. Indian Civilisation Series. Varanasi: Prithivi Prakashan. Alli ge , E a. . The G ee Tā ā i the Fo d-Colle tio : “o e “t listi ‘e a ks. I The Inner Asian International Style, 12th-14th Centuries: Papers Presented at a Panel of the 7th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Graz 1995, edited by Deborah E. Klimburg-Salter, and Eva Allinger, 107-119. Proceedings of the 7th “e i a of the I te atio al Asso iatio fo Ti eta “tudies . Wie : Ve lag de ̈ste ei hischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Allinger, Eva, and Gudrun Melzer. 2010. "A Pañcarakṣā Ma us ipt f o ‘eig of ‘ā apāla." Artibus Asiae 70 (2): 387-414. Yea of the Anderson, Sean. 2006. Flames of Devotion: Oil Lamps from South and Southeast Asia and the Himalayas. Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. Bautze-Picron, Claudine. 1995. Bet ee Me a d Gods: Small Motifs in the Buddhist Art of Easte I dia, a I te p etatio . I Function and Meaning in Buddhist Art: Proceedings of a Seminar Held at Leiden University, 21-24 October 1991, edited by Karel R. van Kooij, and Hendrik van der Veere, 59-79. Gonda Indological Studies 3. Groningen: Forsten. ---. . The Ela o atio of a “t le: Easte I dia Motifs a d Fo s i Ea l Ti eta (?) a d Bu ese Pai ti g. I The Inner Asian International Style, 12th-14th Centuries: Papers Presented at a Panel of the 7th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Graz 1995, edited by Deborah E. Klimburg-Salter, and Eva Allinger, 15-65. Proceedings of the 7th “e i a of the I te atio al Asso iatio fo Ti eta “tudies . Wie : Ve lag de ̈ste ei his he Akade ie de Wisse s hafte . Bautze-Picron, Claudine, and Gouriswar Bhattacharya. 1998. The Art of Eastern India in the Collection of the Museum f̈ I dis he Ku st, Be li : Sto e & Te a otta S ulptu es. Monographien zu I dis he A ḧologie, Kunst und Philologie 12. Berlin: Reimer. B gui , Gilles. Nationaux. . Catalogue de la Donation Lionel Fournier. Pa is: ‘ union des Mus es ---. 2010. Mandala: Diagrammes Esoteriques du Népal et du Tibet au Musée Guimet. Paris: Findakly. 100 Bentor, Yael. 1996. Co se atio of I ages a d Stūpas i I do-Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. Leiden: Brill. Blom, Margriet L. B. 1989. Depicted Deities: Painters' Model Books in Nepal. Groningen Oriental Studies 4. Groningen: Egbert Forsten. Burke, Peter. 2001. Eyewitnessing: The Uses of Images as Historical Evidence. London: Reaktion. B̈h e a , Gud u , a d H l e B u e . . Maṇḍalas a d Ya t as i Traditions. Brill's Indological Library 18. Leiden: Brill. the Hi du Bühnemann, Gudrun. 2008. Buddhist Iconography and Ritual in Paintings and Line Drawings from Nepal. Lumbini: Lumbini International Research Institute. Chakrava ti, “h a alka ti. . Th ee Dated Nepalese Pạas i the I dia Museu . Indian Museum Bulletin 4 (2): 124-133. Chaulagai , Na a aj. . The Navarāt a Ho a: Li e , E ha t e t, a d E ge de i g the Divine Śaktis. I Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée, edited by Richard K. Payne, and Michael Witzel, 314-336. New York: Oxford University Press. Gell e , Da id N. . ‘itualized De otio , Alt uis , a d Meditatio : The Offe i g of the Guru Maṇḍala i Ne a Buddhis . Indo-Iranian Journal 34: 161-197. ---. 1992. Monk, Householder, and Tantric Priest: Newar Buddhism and its Hierarchy of Ritual. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gonda, Jan. 1966. Ancient Indian Kingship from the Religious Point of View. Reprinted from Numen 3-4. Leiden: Brill. ---. 1975. Selected Studies: Presented by the Staff of the Oriental Institute, Utrecht University on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday. Vol. I: Indo-European Linguistics. Leiden: Brill. Huntington, Susan L., and John C. Huntington. 1990. Lea es f o the Bodhi T ee: The A t of Pāla I dia (8th-12th Centuries) and Its International Legacy. Seattle and London: Dayton Art Institute, and University of Washington Press. 101 Huntington, John C., and Dina Bangdel. 2003. The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art. Chicago: Serindia. Hinzler, H. I. R., and Jan A. Schoterman. 1980. Het Ve haal a Su a ā i Nepal op ee 'Pauba' Anno 1859/60. Verhandelingen van het Etnografisch Museum van de Stad Antwerpen 5. Antwerpen: Etnografisch Museum. Isaa so , Ha u aga, a d F a es o “fe a. . Ta t i Lite atu e: O e ie “outh Asia. In B ill s E lopedia of Buddhis Volu e 1: Lite atu e a d La guages, edited by Jonathan A. Silk, Oskar von Hinüber, and Vincent Eltschinger, 307-319. Leiden: Brill. Jamison, Stephanie W., and Joel P. Brereton. 2014. The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India. South Asia Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Juramie, A. C., and K. Meahl-Blö dal. . Comparative Studies and Dating Questions between Nepalese Sculpture and Painting: The Case of Nepalese Buddhist Ritual C o s. I South Asian Archaeology 2003: Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference of the European Association of South Asian Archaeologists (7-11 July 2003, Bonn), edited by Ute Franke-Vogt, and Hans-Joachim Weisshaar, 461-470. Aachen: Lindensoft. Klimburg-“alte , De o ah E. . Is The e a I e Asia I te atio al “t le th to 14th centuries? Definition of the Problem a d P ese t “tate of ‘esea h. I The Inner Asian International Style, 12th-14th Centuries: Papers Presented at a Panel of the 7th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Graz 1995, edited by Deborah E. Klimburg-Salter, and Eva Allinger, 1-13. Proceedings of the 7th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies 7. Wien: Verlag de ̈ste ei his he Akademie der Wissenschaften. K a is h, “tella. (2): 129-147. . Nepalese Pai ti gs. Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art 1 ---. 1964. The Art of Nepal: Catalogue of the Exhibition Presented under the Patronage of His Majesty King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva. New York: The Asia Society; Abrams (distrib.). Kreijger, Hugo. 1999. Kathmandu Valley Painting: The Jucker Collection. London: Serindia. L i, “ l ai . (1-2). Le Ńpal: ́tude Histo i ue d'un Royaume Hindou. Paris: Leroux. 102 Le is, Todd, a d Na esh Baj a ha a. . Newar Buddhist Homa Ritual Traditions. I Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée, edited by Richard K. Payne, and Michael Witzel, 291-313. New York: Oxford University Press. Liebert, Gösta. 1976. Iconographic Dictionary of the Indian Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism. Studies in South Asian Culture 5. Leiden: Brill. Locke, John K. 1980. Karunamaya: The Cult of Avalokitesvara-Matsyendranath in the Valley of Nepal. Kathmandu: Sahayogi Prakashan. ---. 1987. The Upoṣadha Vrata of Amoghapāśa Lokeś a a. L Eth og aphie 83/100-101: 109-138. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Pauline. 2001. The Ka aṇḍalu Co tai i g the A ṛta: The Transformation and Reinterpretation of an Indian Water Vessel in A ie t Ja a. I Fruits of Inspiration: Studies in Honour of Prof. J.G. de Casparis, Retired Professor of the Early History and Archeology of South and Southeast Asia at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands on the Occasion of His 85th Birthday, edited by Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer, Marijke J. Klokke, and Karel R. van Kooij, 257-290. Groningen: Egbert Forsten. Macdonald, Ariane. 1962. Le Maṇḍala du Mañjú ī ūlakalpa. Collection Jean Przyluski 3. Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve. Macdonald, Alexander W., and Anne Vergati-Stahl. 1979. Newar Art: Nepalese Art During the Malla Period. Warminster: Aris & Phillips. Mall a , Ma ie Th se de, a d Mu iel Thi iet. . I t odu tio à l I o og aphie du T̂ t is e Bouddhi ue. Bi lioth ue du Ce t e de ‘e he hes su l Asie Ce t ale et la Haute Asie. Paris: Maisonneuve. Monier-Williams, Monier. 2012 [1899]. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Reprint New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. Monod-B uhl, Odette. (4): 296-310. . U e Pai tu e Nepalaise du Mus e Gui et. Arts Asiatiques 6 Morgan, David. 2005. The Sacred Gaze: Religious Visual Culture in Theory and Practice. Berkeley: University of California Press. 103 Pal, Pratapaditya. 1967. Two Buddhist Paintings from Nepal: Museum van Aziatische Kunst, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Bulletin van de Vereeniging van Vrienden der Aziatische Kunst 3, 15/16. Amsterdam. ---. 1967. Pai ti gs f o Nepal i the P i e of Wales Museu . Bulletin of the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India 10: 1-26. ---. 28. . The I o og aph of A oghapāśa Lokeś a a . Oriental Art: New Series 13: 21- ---. 1978. The Arts of Nepal: Painting, Vol. 2. Leiden: Brill. ---. 1985. Art of Nepal: A Catalogue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Association with University of California Press. Pal, Pratapaditya, Alsop, Ian, and Françoise Mahot. 1996. Idoles du Ńpal et du Ti et: Arts de l'Himalaya. Paris: Findakly. Pott, Piete H. . The A oghapāśa f o Indian Society of Oriental Art N.S. 4: 63-65. Bhatgao a d its Pa i ā a. Journal of the Regmi, Dilli Raman. 1965 (1-2). Medieval Nepal. Calcutta: Mukhopadhyay. ‘ospatt, Ale a de o . . ‘e a ks o the Co se atio Ce e o i Kuladatta s K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā a d its De elop e t i Ne a Buddhis . I Hindu and Buddhist Initiations in India and Nepal, edited by Astrid Zotter, and Christof Zotter, 197-260. Ethno-indology 10. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ---. . Buddhist Strategies of Keeping Its Sacred Images and Shrines Alive: The Example of the “ a a hū Cait a of Kath a du. I Art of Merit: Studies in Buddhist Art and Its Conservation, edited by David Park, Kuenga Wangmo, and Sharon Cather, 275-285. London: Archetype. ---. 2014. "Negotiating the Passage Beyond a Full Span of Life: Old Age Rituals Among the Newars." South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies 37 (1): 104-29. ---. 2015. Lo al Lite atu es: Nepal. I B ill s E lopedia of Buddhis Volu e 1: Lite atu e and Languages, edited by Jonathan A. Silk, Oskar von Hinüber, and Vincent Eltschinger, 819-830. Leiden: Brill. 104 ---. A Survival of Mahayana Buddhism in Nepal: A Fresh Appraisal. Numata Zentrum für Buddhismuskunde, Publikationen. https://www.buddhismuskunde.unihamburg.de/pdf/4-publikationen/buddhismus-in-geschichte-und-gegenwart/bd6k10rospatt.pdf. Accessed June 29, 2017. ---. Forthcoming. Ne a Buddhis : The “u i al of I dia Buddhis i Nepal. I The Blackwell Companions to Buddhism Vol. 1: Blackwell Companion to South and Southeast Asian Buddhism, edited by Michael Zimmermann. Shrestha, Bal Gopal. 2012. The Sacred Town of Sankhu: The Anthropology of Newar Ritual, Religion and Society in Nepal. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars. “ko upski, Tadeusz. . Buddhist Pe utatio s a d “ olis of Fi e. I Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée, edited by Richard K. Payne, and Michael Witzel, 67-125. New York: Oxford University Press. ”la̧ zka, A a A. . Temple Consecration Rituals in Ancient India: Text and Archaeology. Brill's Indological Library 26. Leiden: Brill. Slusser, Mary S. 1982. Nepal Mandala: A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ---. . O a “i tee th-Ce tu Art 38: 6-36. Pi to ial Pilg i s Guide f o Nepal. Archives of Asian Staal, Frits, C. V. Somayajipad, Adelaide DeMenil, and Pamela MacFarland. 1983. Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire Altar. Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press. Szántó, Peter-Da iel. . ‘itual Te ts: “outh Asia. I B ill s E lopedia of Buddhis Volume 1: Literature and Languages, edited by Jonathan A. Silk, Oskar von Hinüber, and Vincent Eltschinger, 655-661. Leiden: Brill. Tanemura, Ryugen. 2004. Kuladatta's K i āsaṃg ahapañjikā: A C iti al Editio a d Annotated Translation of Selected Sections. Groningen Oriental Studies 19. Groningen: Forsten. Toffi , G a d. . The Cit akā s: Caste of Pai te s a d Mask Make s. In Contested Hierarchies, edited by David N. Gellner, 240-264. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 105 Vaj a ha a, Gauta a. . Th eefold I ti a : The ‘e e t Dis o e Nepalese Po t ait. Orientations 34: 40-45. ---. . Co Je el of Ne a Pai ti g: Dis o e of a Outsta di g of a Maste pie e. Marg 56 (2): 12-27. Ve gati, A e. I age et ‘ituel: À P opos des Pei tu es Bouddhi ues N palaises. Arts Asiatiques: Annales du Musée National des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet et du Musée Cernuschi 54: 33-43. Victoria a d Al e t Museu . . ‘elief Pa el: Ma ks a d I s iptio s. Pu lished Jul , 2006. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O64463/panel-relief-panel-relief-unknown/. Accessed June 23, 2017. Voegeli, F a çois. Vedi ‘itual Ute sils. Youtu e Video, : i . Posted January 7, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbw7iA8zQwQ. Accessed June 25, 2017. Wallis, Glenn. 2002. Mediati g the Po e of Buddhas: ‘itual i the Mañjú ī ūlakalpa. SUNY Series in Buddhist Studies. Albany: State University of New York Press. Zwalf, W. 1985. Buddhism: Art and Faith. London: British Museum Publications for the Trustees of the British Museum and the British Library Board. 106 107 8. Images Front page: Homa in a pau hā displa i g the sto of “u a ā, 1859-60 CE, Kwa-Bahā Patan (Nepal), MAS Antwerp (AE.1953.0005.0017), water colours on cotton cloth, 85 x 317 cm, photo by the author; design by Michiel Desmedt. Fig. 1: Pau hā consecrated during a Bhī a athārohaṇa celebration, painted by Sarvajña Ratna Vajracharya, 21st century, Kathmandu, photo by Alexander von Rospatt (2014, Plate 4). Fig. 2: Homa in a pau hā displaying Viṣṇu-Kamalā, CE, Nepal, I dia Museu Kolkatta (At/68/25), water colours on cotton cloth, 92 x 66 cm (Chakravarti 1969, Plate 3). Fig. 3: Five-buddha, ritual crown, 12th century CE, Nepal, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation (M.81.67), copper with gilt and precious stones, 27,94 x 26,5113 x 21,2725 cm. https://collections.lacma.org/node/246464. Accessed June 26, 2017. Fig. 4: A Vaj ā ā a p iest pe fo i g homa in Bu-Bahā, Patan, photo by Mary Slusser (1982, Plate 493). Fig. 5: Lower register of an A alokiteś a a pau hā, ca. 1300 CE, Nepal, Lionel Fournier collection, water colours on cotton cloth, 0,65 x 0,53 cm (Béguin 1990, Plate D). Fig. 6: A oghapāśa Lokeś a a pau hā, 1430 CE, Nepal, Indian Museum Kolkata (At/69/32), water colours on cotton cloth, 67 x 51 cm (Chakravarti 1969, Plate 4). Fig. 7: Homa in a Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala pau hā, 1490 CE, Manasu monastery (Nepal), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.73.2.1), water colours on cotton cloth, 116,8 x 88 cm (Huntington and Bangdel 2003, Plate 70). Fig. 8: Homa in a pau hā displa i g the sto of “u a ā, -60 CE, Kwa-Bahā Patan, MAS Antwerp (AE.1953.0005.0017), water colours on cotton cloth, 85 x 317 cm, photo by the author. Fig. 9: Homa i a “ū a-maṇḍala pau hā, 1379 CE, Nepal, Zimmerman collection, water colours on cotton cloth, 92 x 53,3 cm (Leidy and Thurman 1997, Plate 14). Fig. 10: Homa in a Viṣṇu-maṇḍala pau hā, 1420 CE, Lohalanimha (Nepal), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.77.19.5), water colours on cotton cloth, 74,2 x 61,4 cm. https://collections.lacma.org/node/238795. Accessed June 26, 2017. Fig. 11: Donors in a Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala pau hā, 1490 CE, Manasu monastery (Nepal), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.73.2.1), water colours on cotton cloth, 116,8 x 88 cm (Huntington and Bangdel 2003, Plate 70). Fig. 12: Homa in a pau hā showing restoration of the Svayaṃ hū ātha stūpa, 1565 CE, Yampi monastery Patan, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (2000.15), The Robert A. and Ruth W. Fisher Fund, water colours on cotton cloth, 114,3 x 91,4 cm (Slusser 1985, 14). 108 Fig. 13: Homa in a Vasu dha ā-maṇḍala pau hā, 1777 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection, water colours on cotton cloth, 88 x 73 cm, photo by Mischa Jucker (Kreijger 1999, Plate 23). Fig. 14: Homa in a “ū a-maṇḍala pau hā, 1379 CE, Nepal, Zimmerman collection, water colours on cotton cloth, 92 x 53,3 cm (Leidy and Thurman 1997, Plate 14). Fig. 15: Lower register of a Viṣṇu-maṇḍala pau hā, 1420 CE, Lohalanimha (Nepal), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.77.19.5), water colours on cotton cloth, 74,2 x 61,4 cm. https://collections.lacma.org/node/238795. Accessed June 26, 2017. Fig. 16: Lower register of a pau hā showing a Padmapāṇi shrine, 1850 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection, water colours on cotton cloth, 160 x 143 cm, photo by Mischa Jucker (Kreijger 1999, Plate 30). Fig. 17: Nepalese lamp stand, 19th century CE, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History Los Angeles (X2001.11.85), brass and bronze (Anderson 2006, 84; Cat. No. 12). Fig. 18: Nepalese lamp stand, 19th century CE, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History Los Angeles (X2001.11.80), brass and bronze (Anderson 2006, Plate 13). Fig. 19: Vaj ā ā a p iest a d ai do o in a Vasu dha ā-maṇḍala pau hā, 1777 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection, water colours on cotton cloth, 88 x 73 cm, photo by Mischa Jucker (Kreijger 1999, Plate 23). Fig. 20: Carrying the kaláa in a pau hā showing restoration of the Svayaṃ hū ātha stūpa, 1565 CE, Yampi monasteryPatan, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (2000.15), The Robert A. and Ruth W. Fisher Fund, water colours on cotton cloth, 114,3 x 91,4 cm (Slusser 1985, 14). Fig. 21: Pouring water from the kaláa on the hands of Siddhā tha Gautama in a pau hā showing a Padmapāṇi shrine, 1850 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection, water colours on cotton cloth, 160 x 143 cm, photo by Mischa Jucker (Kreijger 1999, Plate 30). Fig. 22: Homa in a Vajradhara pau hā, CE, Yothalā ha Jh ālahāla he Kath a du), National Gallery Bhaktapur, water colours on cotton cloth, 66 x 92 cm, photo by Dina Bangdel (Gudrun Bühnemann pers. comm., February 16, 2017). Fig. 23: Maṇḍala i a Vasu dha ā-maṇḍala pau hā, 1777 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection, water colours on cotton cloth, 88 x 73 cm, photo by Mischa Jucker (Kreijger 1999, Plate 23). Fig. 24: Homa in a Lakṣacaitya pau hā, 1809 CE, Nepal, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Avery Brundage Collection (B61 D10+), water colours on cotton cloth, 96,5 x 61 cm (Huntington and Bangdel 2003, Plate 20). Fig. 25: Homa in a Candra-maṇḍala pau hā, 1525 CE, Nepal, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (AKMAK-325), water colours on cotton cloth, 74 x 59 cm; http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.2241. Accessed June 26, 2017. Fig. 26: Folio containing an image of a maṇḍala and accompanying instructions, 16th century CE, Nepal, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.82.169.9), water colours on paper, 8,9 x 23,8 cm (Pal 1985, Plate 10b). 109 Fig. 27: Maṇḍala stone, Pulchok-bahī Patan, photo by Mary Slusser (1982, Plate 179). Fig. 28: Maṇḍala stone, Itum- ahā Kathmandu, photo by Mary Slusser (1982, Plate 178). Fig. 29: Homa in a Candra-maṇḍala pau hā, ca. 1400 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection, water colours on cotton cloth, 62 x 53 cm, photo by Mischa Jucker (Kreijger 1999, Plate 4). Fig. 30: Homa in an A oghapāśa Lokeś a a pau hā, mid-15th century CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection, water colours on cotton cloth, 91 x 73 cm, photo by Mischa Jucker (Kreijger 1999, Plate 6). Fig. 31: Courtyard with fire pit in Uku-bahā, Patan, photo by Mary Slusser (1982, Plate 161). Fig. 32: Gaganasim Bharo and his two wives in the central scene of a pau hā, ca. 1470 CE, Kathmandu, Private collection, water colours on cotton cloth, 191,8 x 161,9 cm (Vajracharya 2004, Plate 1). Fig. 33: The performance of a homa and kaláa pūjā, Patan (?), photo by John K. Locke (1980, Plate 20). Fig. 34: Manuscript cover showing scenes from the life of the Buddha, Aṣṭasahās ikā P ajñāpā a itā manuscript, 12th or 13th century CE, Eastern India or Nepal, OMPB (Or. 14203), 339 folios, gouache on wood, 6,25 x 33 cm (Zwalf 1985, 117; Plate 159). Fig. 35: ”i adha a a us ipt o e , th century CE, Nepal, National Library Kathmandu, water colours on wood, 9,8 x 53,8 cm (Vajracharya 2003, Plate 5). Fig. 36: Manuscript cover with homa scene (leftmost panel) for a manuscript containing five protective hymns, 1532 CE, Nepal, OMPB (Or. 2205), 132 folios, gouache on wood, 5 x 32,5 cm (Zwalf 1985, Plate 179). Fig. 37: Manuscript cover with homa scene for a manuscript containing five protective hym s, CE, Ta u ūla Mo aste Kathmandu, OMPB (Or. 13852), 127 folios, gouache on wood, 8 x 36 cm (Zwalf 1985, Plate 180). Fig. 38: Pedestal showing the seven treasures of the universal monarch, 10 th to 12th century CE, Lakhi Sarai (Bihar, India), Museum für Indische Kunst Berlin (I 580), stone, 13 x 46 x 17 cm (Bautze-Picron 1995, Plate 2). Fig. 39: Slab showing the seven treasures of the universal monarch, 10 th to 12th century CE, Bodh Gaya (Bihar, India), Victoria and Albert Museum London (IS699-1883), sandstone, 15,24 x 63,5 cm (Bautze-Picron 1995, Plate 6). Fig. 40: “tele sho i g Lokeś a a Khasa paṇa a d his fou atte da ts Tā ā, “udha aku ā a, Bhṛkụī a d Ha ag ī a, 8th to 9th century CE (?), Eastern India, Bangladesh National Museum (Monod-Bruhl 1959, Plate 11). Fig. 41: Detail fig. 39: Monk (Rahulabhadra?) and devotee with maṇḍala. Fig. 42: Detail fig. 39: Four donors and an elephant as one of the seven treasures of the cakravartin. Fig. 43: Dancer flanked by two musicians in a pau hā showing Vajradhara with his consort Vaj adhāt īś a ī, CE, Nepal, Musée Guimet Paris (M.G. 22800), water colours on cotton cloth, 100 x 75 cm (Monod-Bruhl 1959, Plate 7). 110 Fig. 44: A conch shell in a pedestal of a Tā ā i age, Itkhau i I dia , photo by J. Bautze (Bautze-Picron 1995, Plate 8). Fig. 45: A caitya, a mirror, a cone cake, an incense burner and a lamp stand in the lower left part of the pedestal of a Buddha image, Betagi (Chittagong, Bangladesh), photo by J. Bautze (Bautze-Picron 1995, Plate 19). Fig. 46: Maṇḍala in a sketchbook in th āsaphū form consisting of 29 pages, 19th century CE, Nepal, private collection, black ink on paper (Blom 1989, Plate 50). Fig. 47: Portrait of Ki g Bhūpatī d a alla a d his so i a pau hā showing a Viṣṇu shrine, 1716 CE, Bhaktapur (Nepal), former Jucker collection, water colours on cotton cloth, 165 x 115 cm, photo by Mischa Jucker (Kreijger 1999, Plate 18). Fig. 48: Po t ait of Ki g Bhūpatī d a alla i a u al of the Bhadgao Pala e, -1721 CE, Bhaktapur (Pal 1978, Plate 193). Fig. 49: Pau hā showing stūpa with Uṣṇīṣa ija ā a d Bhī a athārohaṇa ritual, 1830 CE, Nepal, former Jucker collection, water colours and gold on cotton cloth, 89 x 58,5 cm, photo by Mischa Jucker (Kreijger 1999, Plate 28). Fig. 50: Bhis udeś a a i a “ū a-maṇḍala pau hā, 1379 CE, Nepal, Zimmerman collection, 92 x 53,3 cm, water colours on cotton cloth (Leidy and Thurman 1997, Plate 14). Fig. 51: Homa in a pau hā sho i g the th ee Mothe Goddesses Cā uṇḍā, Mahālakṣ ī, a d Kau a ī, CE, Bhaktapu , Los A geles Cou t Museu of A t M. . . , water colours on cotton cloth, 59,6 x 50 cm (Pal 1985, Plate 25). 111 Appendix 1: Sanskrit texts 1. The Kriyāsaṃgrahapañjikā, by Kuladatta I consulted two palm-leaf manuscripts (M1 and M2) and one Devanāgarī facsimile (M3) for the chosen sections. The first manuscript is preserved in the Cambridge University Library (Manuscript no. Add. 1646; hereafter M1). It is written in Nepālākṣara (Bhujimol) script with five lines at each side of the palm-leaf. The manuscript is dated between 1216 and 1235 CE, based on a reading of the colophon. Each folio measures 5 x 31 cm. The section on homa starts on folio no. 115, line 3 (115r:3). The second manuscript is likewise preserved in the Cambridge University Library (Manuscript no. Add. 1697.1; hereafter M2). It is written in Nepālākṣara script and dated to the 13th to 14th centuries CE. Each folio measures 5 x 31 cm. The homa section starts a folio no. 109, line 6 (109v:6). The third source is an apograph, transcribed in 1965 and published by Sharada Rani in Kriyasangraha: A Sanskrit Manuscript from Nepal Containing a Collection of Tantric Ritual by Kuladatta (New Delhi 1977). The facsimile was transcribed from a Nepalese manuscript, dated 1217 CE, currently preserved in the National Archives of Kathmandu (accession no. 4/318; NGMPP, no. reel A 59/1; hereafter M3). The homa section starts at folio no. 89, line 5 (89v:5). All translations of the following sections are primarily based on preliminary critical readings of the Sanskrit texts. Our guiding manuscript was M1 as it contains a grammatically correct reading, as far as we were able to determine, and it is the oldest among the sources. 2.1. The square-shaped fire pit The section on the shape of the fire pit starts at folio no. 155, line 1 (155v:1). In M 2, this section starts at folio no. 110, line 4 (110r:4). In M3 the section on the shape of the kuṇḍa starts at folio no. 90, line 3 (90v:3). Transcription ta a kuṇḍaṃ atu as a ku āt | aṣṭāṃga140 at asadṛ́aṃ141 pad ākā aṃ ā ak ākā aṃ ā Translation Moreover, one should make that fire pit quadrangular, resembling an eight-limbed jewel, lotus-shaped or wheel-shaped. 140 141 aṣṭāṃga° ] M1, M3; aṣṭāṃ́a° M2 sadṛ́aṃ° ] M1, M2; sadṛ́a° M3 112 2.2. The iconography of Agni In M1, this section starts at folio no. 156, line 1 (156v:1). In M 2, it starts at folio no. 110, line 6 (110v:6). In M3, it starts at folio no. 91, line 6 (91r:6). Transcription ūṃkā od ha aṃ142 pīta a ṇa eka ukhaṃ atu hujaṃ ā e 143 144 daṇḍaka aṇḍaludha aṃ || savye a adākṣa ālādha aṃ | pītāṃ a ā ha aṇaṃ145 ajñopa īti aṃ | t i et aṃ jaṭā akuṭadhā iṇaṃ146 aj asatt ālaṃkṛta auli aṃ sa a āg iṃ147 i hā a | Translation On should visualise the Samaya-Agni, who is born from the seed-s lla le ūṃ , ello i colour; [he has] one face [and] four arms. On his left, [he] is holding a staff and a water-pot; on the right [he is showing] the boon-granting gesture and holding a rosary. [He is] decorated with a yellow cloth [and he wears] a sacred thread. [Agni has] three eyes [and he is] wearing the crown of matted hair locks, the top of which is adorned by Vajrasattva. 2. A manuscript folio with instructions for drawing a maṇḍala The complete manuscript is preserved in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.82.169.9). It consists of forty-eight folios and is dated between the 14th and 16th century CE. For this thesis, I studied the folio containing the image of a maṇḍala and accompanying instructions. This folio is probably part of the sections of the manuscript dated to the second half of the 16th century CE. Dr. Nirajan Kafle indeed suspects that the date of this folio cannot be earlier than the 16th century CE, due to the paper material and the shape of the characters. Two leaves of the manuscript were published by Pratapaditya Pal (1985, 206; Plate 10b). The folio bears an image accompanied by fourteen lines of verses in Sanskrit and Newari. The image is painted with watercolours. Each folio of the manuscript has an average measurement of 8,9 x 23,8 cm. 2.1. Transcription and translation Transcription oṃ [|] ālikhet pad asaṃkāśam aṣṭapatraṃ sakarṇikam| karṇikā atu á ās a148 ijñe ā su asu da i|| ° ha aṃ ] em.; °bhava M1, M2, M3 °ka aṇḍalu° ] M1, M3; °ka aṇ..lu° M2 144 savye ] M1, M2; savya M3 145 ° ha aṇaṃ ] em.; ° ha aṇa M1, M2, M3 146 ° akuṭa° ] M1, M3; ° ukuṭa° M2 147 ° āg iṃ ] M1, M2; ° āg i M3 148 °á a° ] em.; °asra° MS 142 143 113 […]149 pū atā ā150catuṣkaṃ tu p a ía taṃ samālikhet| i ga o ā a ā geṇa pū eṇa dakṣiṇe punaḥ|| nairṛte nirgamaṃ151 tas a p a éo ā uṇe punaḥ| nirga o ā ukoṇeṣu152 saumyenaiva íet pu aḥ || aíā e i gamas tasya cakrasya varavarṇini| dinarkṣam āditaḥ kṛt ā dikṣu at ā i saṃlikhet || Translation Oṃ; one should draw [a maṇḍala] resembling a lotus, [having] eight petals [and] a pericarp. One should know that the pericarp of this [lotus-maṇḍala should be] square, oh beautiful goddess.153 […] One should indeed draw, [starting] from the east, four spokes154 [of this lotus-maṇḍala] as if [they are] entering [the centre]. At first, [one should draw a spoke] going out by the left track [and entering] again in the right. In the southwestern direction of this [lotus-maṇḍala, at first one should draw the petal] going out [and] entering again in the west. In the northwestern direction [at first, one should draw the petal] going out [and] entering again, indeed, through the north. In the northeastern direction of this wheel155 [one should draw the petal] going out [and entering again in the east]156, oh fair-faced one! In the four directions, one should write the day of the star and the like, having first determined [them]. 149 The Newari section explaining the Sanskrit verse has been omitted. °tā a° ] MSpc; °tā ā° ] MSac. There is a double sandhi between pū ataḥ and ā a. 151 We have standardised the sandhi from nirgaman to nirgamaṃ, and the neuter nirgamaṃ stands for the masculine nirgamaḥ. 152 This plural is probably meant to be singular. 153 The goddess referred to in this verse might be ”i a s o so t Pārvatī, accroding to Dr. Nirajan Kafle. The invocation of this goddess indicates a potential ”aiva affiliation of the manuscript. D. R. Regmi remarks that there is a close association between ”aivite and Buddhist practices in a tantric ritual context in the Kathmandu Valley (1965 [2], 719-720). 154 It seems that ā a, meaning spoke, refers to a petal of the lotus-maṇḍala in this verse. We see already a conflation of the elements of a wheel and a lotus-maṇḍala. Furthermore, ā a cannot refer to the lines inside the petals, seen in the accompanying painting, as only three of these are recognisable in the image and four spokes are described. 155 cakrasya seems to refer to the lotus-maṇḍala. 156 This section is assumed, otherwise the petal would not be complete, as seen in the drawing. In the Sanskrit we are missing at least a section saying p a éo ai d e/pū e pu aḥ. 150 114 115 Appendix 2: Selected pau hās No. Central subject Date Place of origin Museum/collection of current preservation Size Materials Condition Inscription Position in the pau hā Script Language Transcription Contents/translation Lower register (Left  right) Homa Figures Ritual objects Fire pit and flame Publications Image source Short characterisation 1 Svayaṃ hū ātha stūpa 1565 CE (N.S. 685) Patan, Yampi ihā a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, The Robert A. and Ruth W. Fisher Fund (2000.15) 114,3 x 91,4 cm Cotton cloth, water colours Scratched and colours faded, borders eaten away Centrally positioned at the bottom Nepalākṣara Mixed Sanskrit and Newari ́ e ostu || saṃ at 8 ā…disi ādit a ā a th a di a ku hu ́ ī at ́ ī́ ī aṃgu svayaṃ hū … p atisthā sa pū ṇa āṅaṇa th a di a ku hu … ́ ī́ īja a a asiṃṅadeva ́ ī́ īja apula dalasiṃṅadeva tribhaya thākulasa p aj ā asa aṇigla pū otta a … ́ ī a pi ihā a … ha a tu|| By Gautamvajra Vajracharya and A. Peter Burleigh (Slusser 1985, 34). Good fo tu e. “a at , the te th da of Ā[ṣāḍha ?], Sunday. On this day the reconsecration ceremony of ś ī Syaṃgu [o ] “ a a hū as o pleted. O this date at Yampi- iha a … hi h lies i the o theast o e of Maṇigla [Pata ], i the eig of the th ee o les ś ī ś ī Jayanarasiṃhade a, ś ī ś ī Ja apu a da asiṃhadeva, and ś ī ś ī Ja audhasiṃhadeva, may [so ethi g ?] e “lusse 1985, 7). x Part of central scene - Assistant - Priest None identifiable White, high levelled fire pit – red, one-pointed flame - Pal 1978, Plate 108. - Slusser 1985. - Huntington and Bangdel 2003, 111-114; Plate 19. Huntington and Bangdel 2003, Plate 19 The pau hā consists of an upper and a lower section, distinguished from each other by a different background colour. It displays a ap of the river systems and the sacred shrines and towns alongside them in the Kathmandu Valley (Slusser 1985, 16). The homa scene appears to the left of the stūpa f o the ie e s perspective, and is related to the re-consecration of the monument. 116 117 No. Central subject Date Place of origin Museum/collection of current preservation Size Materials Condition Inscription Position in the pau hā Script Language Transcription Contents/translation Lower register (Left  right) 2 Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala 1490 CE (N.S. 610)157 Kathmandu Valley (Manasu monastery, not identifiable anymore; Pal 1985, 215) Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.73.2.1) 116,8 x 88 cm Water colours, cotton cloth Good Under lower register Nepalākṣara Mixed Sanskrit and Newari Not available The painting was dedicated in N.S. 610 by the Vaj ā ā a Jayarāja of the Manasu monastery, in memory of his father Uhlasa.158 A second date is inscribed in the second line of the inscription, perhaps referring to the year of the death of Uhlasa.This second line also mentions that the death of Uhlasa took place on the 7th day of the bright halve of the month of Mansir (Huntington and Bangdel 2003, 263). Panel 1 Homa Panel 2 Mahākāla, flanked at each side by 3 manifestations of Cakrasaṃvara Panel 3 - Niche with deceased family member Uhlasa - Main donor Vaj ā ā a Jayarāja - 3 family members Homa Figures - Assistant - Vaj ā ā a priest Ritual objects - Pū ṇakaláa - Circular maṇḍala - Plate with ritual implements - Kaláa Fire pit and flame High, levelled fire pit – Yellow and red, one-pointed flame Publications - Pal 1985, 215; Plate 19 - Huntington and Bangdel 2003, 260-263; Plate 70 Image source LACMA– URL: https://collections.lacma.org/node/239857. Accessed June 27, 2017. Short characterisation The central image of this paubhā shows the esoteric deity Cakrasaṃvara, in union with Vaj a ā āhī, enclosed by a maṇḍala. The upper register contains images of 157 Pratapaditya Pal reads the date as N.S. 510 (Pal 1985, 215). Dina Bangdel spe ifies that the pai ti g as o se ated, a o di g to the i s iptio , du i g the one-year anniversary death- ite e e o , . 158 118 manifestations of the bodhisattva Mañjuś ī (Huntington and Bangdel 2003, 260). A particular feature of this painting occurs in the lower register (the lower right panel), in which the first figure of the row of donors has been isolated from the rest in a niche, probably referring to the deceased Uhlasa. He holds two lotuses in his hands, as it is likewise seen in depictions of Candra and Sūrya. 119 No. Central subject Date Place of origin Museum/collection of current preservation Size Materials Condition Inscription Position in the pau hā Script Language Transcription 3 “ū a-maṇḍala N.“. … 159 Kathmandu Valley (specific location unknown) Zimmerman collection 92 x 53,3 cm Cotton cloth, water colours Good Upper section of the back of the painting Nepalākṣara Mixed Sanskrit and Newari “… saṃ at … ́ukle pa a āti … ́ a e … it akā a? kitaharasa li[khi]taṃ ́u ha Pal , . Contents/translation The fifth da of the lu a fo th ight …, i the ea … pai ted Kitaha asa … Ma it e auspi ious. 160 Lower register (Left  right) Panel 1 Homa Panel 2 Bhishṇudeś a a Panel 3 Two horizontal rows of seven female family members each Homa Figures - 3 donors - Assistant - Vaj ā ā a priest Ritual objects - Pū ṇakaláa - Bell with vajra handle - kaláa - Parasol - Mirror - lamps - Plate with ritual implements Fire pit and flame High, levelled fire pit – yellow, one-pointed flame Publications - Pal 1978, 75-76; 78; Plate 82 - Pal 1991, 70-71; Plate 33 - Pal 1996, 78-79; Plate 33 - Leidy and Thurman 1997, 74-75; Plate 14 - Huntington and Bangdel 2003, 76-77; Plate 6 - von Rospatt 2014, 114 Image source Leidy and Thurman 1997, Plate 14 Short characterisation The central figure in this painting is the sun-god “ū a, flanked by four attendants. He is seated on a chariot pulled by seven dark horses. The central scene is The date is a el isi le i the i s iptio . The fi st u e of the date, ho e e , see s to e , indicating a date in the 14th century CE (Pal 1991, 70). 160 T a slated f o F e h: Le i ui e jou de la lu e lai e de …, e l a e XIVe si le … pei t par Kitaharasa (Chitrakā a? . Qu il soit auspi ieu . Due to a esto atio of the pai ti g, the inscription is difficult to read (Pal 1996, 202). 159 120 surrounded by cartouches with many deities, not all of them identifiable. The pau hā not only shows an exceptional image of the Sun god in the centre, it also records the name of the painter in the inscription (Pal 1978, 76). 121 No. Central subject Date Place of origin Museum/collection of current preservation Size Materials Condition Inscription Position in the pau hā Script Language Transcription 4 Viṣṇu-maṇḍala 1420 CE (N.S. 540) Lohalanimha161 Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.77.19.5); Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck collection 74,2 x 61,4 cm Cotton cloth, water colours Colours faded Under lower register Nepalākṣara Mixed Sanskrit and Newari [1] om ́ e o stuḥ saṃvat 540 hād a ́ukla caturddá ā tithau | dhaniṣṭa nakṣat e ́uk a a oge bṛhaspati āsa e | siṃha āsi gate sa ita iḥ ku ha āsi gate candramasiḥ | ananta patta pvaṣtaka p ati ā tṛya vidhi kṛtam | a a ta ata ud āpa a sampunedaṃ | oj a ā a Ś ī lohala iṃha d ija a a Ś ī teja ā a soma[́a a]na [2] [sya] bhāj a saha hātṛ Ś ī ja ata ā a So áa a as a bhāj a saha ud āpa a saṃpunedaṃ a e a ud āpa e a [ja]na dhanavṛddhi ā a | ananta sukha p āpti taduta e iṣṇu loka [nivā]sa kāmā a a ta vrata pratiṣṭā saṃpurṇṇamiti idaṃ paṭa lekṣita jayateja pu e a dáa hiḥ dine likṣitamiti || ́u hah astusa adā || ́u ha By Ian Alsop e.a. (Pal 1985, 236) Contents/translation I the ea A.D. , o Thu sda , the fou tee th day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhād a, du i g the dhanishṭha nakshatra and sukarman yoga, while the sun was in Leo and moon in Aquarius, (on this day) the Ananta painting, book, and image, the ritual (consecrations of all) three were performed. The Anatavrata was concluded. The donors were the twiceo ” īteja ā a “o aśa a of ” īlohala i ha togethe ith his ife a d ou ge othe ” īja ata ā a “o aśa a togethe ith his ife. The conclusion (of the ritual) was performed. From (the merit of this i gi g to o lusio , a the do o s family and wealth increase; form the desire to obtain endless happiness, and in the next world residence in Vishṇu s pa adise, the A a ta ata as pe fo ed a d consecrated. This painting was painted by Jayateja Puna in ten days. Ma it e good fo all ti e! By Ian Alsop e.a. (Pal 1985, 236) 161 This dwelling place of the donors, mentioned in inscription, is not identifiable anymore with a contemporary place (Pal 1985, 236). 122 Lower register (Left  right) Continuous - Row of five donors - Homa - Row of three donors Homa Figures - Tejarāma with his brother and other family members (Pal 1985, 207) - Brahmanical priest Ritual objects - Centre: 2 Pū ṇakaláas on tripod - Conch shell - Circular maṇḍala - Plate with ritual implements - Low pedestal with white and black pieces of cloth Fire pit and flame High, levelled fire pit – Yellow, one-pointed flame Publications - Pal 1966, 110-111 - Pal 1975, 131-132; Plate 80 - Pal 1978, 19-20; 93; Plate 1 - Pal 1985, 207; Plate 11 Image source LACMA; URL: https://collections.lacma.org/node/238795. Accessed June 27, 2017. Short characterisation The central image of this painting is Viṣṇu, placed within a maṇḍala. It is the earliest known Vaiṣṇa a painting from the Kathmandu Valley. The upper register, which is heavily damaged in the centre, bears images of Brahmanical deities, flanked by Sūrya and Candra (Pal 1985, 207). 123 124 No. Central subject Date Place of origin Museum/collection of current preservation Size Materials Condition Inscription Position in the pau hā Script Language Transcription Contents/translation Lower register (Left  right) Continuous 5 Vasundha ā-maṇḍala 1777 CE Kathmandu Valley (specific location unknown) Former Jucker collection 88 x 73 cm Water colours, cotton cloth Good Between central section and lower register P o a l Nepalākṣara Probably mixed Sanskrit and Newari Not available Not available - Homa + donor and family members - Central: representation of Svyaṃbhunātha stūpa Homa Figures - 5 donors - Assistant or main donor - Vaj ā ā a priest - Assistant or main donor - 7 donors Ritual objects - Basket - Vajra - Conch shell - Four plates - Pū ṇakaláa - Square maṇḍala Fire pit and flame Red, one-pointed flame – high, levelled fire pit Publications - Kreijger 1999, 72; Plate 23 Image source Photo by Mischa Jucker –Kreijger 1999, Plate 23. Short characterisation In the centre, the goddess Vasundha ā is seated, flanked by A alokiteś a a and Vaj apāṇi (Kreijger 1999, 72). They are seated on a lion throne carrying lotuses within a three-lobed mandorla. The upper register contains depictions of the five cosmic buddhas, flanked by two bodhisattvas. 125 126 No. Central subject Date Place of origin Museum/collection of current preservation Size Materials Condition Inscription Position in the pau hā Script Language Transcription 6 Vajradhara with 48 siddhas 1513 CE (N.S. 633) Yothalā ha Jh ālahāla he, Kathmandu National Gallery Bhaktapur 66 x 92 cm Water colours, cotton cloth Scratches over complete surface Under lower register Nepalākṣara Mixed Sanskrit and Newari (line 1) (siddham symbol) svastiḥ || ́ ī epāla i d e a, ājā[d]dhi ājapa a é a apa a a haṭṭā aka ́ ī́ īja a at a allade as a ija a āj e || o || dā apate ́ ikāṣṭamandapanagare tatraiva tolake othalā ha jh ālahāla he gṛh<ādhi āsī> (tā akā a?) … sīhṅasya bhā ā hṛdayalakṣmī tas āt ajáakti ājasiṃhasya bhā ā luṃgu ḍilakṣmīs a tas āt aja āsiṃhasya rakṣyasiṃhaṅa eteṣāṃ dā apatī āṃ yadattapuṇyaṃ tat bhavatā ā opādh ā a ātāpṛtṛpū aṃgamaṃ sakalasatvarāse a utta a (line 2) jñā aphalāpta<ya> itiḥ || o || <siddham> ́ e o stu || saṃvat 633 bhā da akṛṣṇatṛtī ā āṃ tīthau etatdi asa haga ā ́ ī́ ī́ ī aj adha apaṭṭa ́u a ṇṇālaṃkṛta bhagavati ́ ī asu dhā ā <r>atta saṃpū ṇa ́u ha …. || o ||thvati ́akti āja a a u ā a āta da akā ju o … (sa tā a?) santadidhanavṛddhi astu … ́u haḥ|| o || (Bühnemann 2008, 16-17) Contents/translation …, the o se atio of the gold-adorned paṭa of Vajradhara (and the performance of) the vrata of Vasu dha ā as o pleted o the thi d lu a da of the da k half of the o th of hā da a i.e. hād apada) in N.S. 633 (= 1513 CE) during the rule of Jayaratnamalla. The day specified is the day dedicated to the observance of the Vasu dha ā ata. The a e of the pat o (dā apati) is specified as ”aktirājasiṃha, resident of the quarter (tolaka Yothalā ha Jh ālahāla he i Kath a du. As stated in the inscription, he dedicates the painting to his parents whom he includes in the list of patrons, along ith othe e e s of his fa il B̈h e a 2008, 17). Lower register (Left  right) Panel 1 Guardian deity (Virūḍhaka) Panel 2 Homa Panel 3 Part of the treasures of universal monarch: - White elephant with cakra on back 127 Panel 4 Panel 5 Panel 6 Panel 7 - General - Minister Mahākāla Part of the treasures of universal monarch: - Queen with female attendants - Red horse with maṇiratna on back Row donor and family members Guardian deity (Virūpākṣa) Homa Figures - Donor - Assistant - Vaj ā ā a priest Ritual objects - Lamps - Square maṇḍala - Pū ṇakaláa - Kaláa Fire pit and flame High, levelled fire pit - Red, one-pointed flame Publications - Macdonald and Vergati-Stahl 1979, 129; Plate VI (detail) - Bühnemann 2008, 16-23 Image source Bühnemann 2008, 23 Short characterisation The central theme of this pau hā is Vajradhara, seated on a lion throne. He is flanked by a white and red attendant, probably depictions of A alokiteś a a and Maitreya. The central scenes are surrounded by portraits of eighty-four siddhas. The upper register contains depictions of the five cosmic buddhas in the centre, flanked by a bodhisattva and two guardians (Bühnemann 2008, 17-20). 128 129 No. Central subject Date Place of origin Museum/collection of current preservation Size Materials Condition Inscription Position in the pau hā Script Language Transcription Contents/translation Lower register (Left  right) Panel 1 Panel 2 7 Candra-maṇḍala Ca. 1400 CE Kathmandu Valley (specific location unknown) Former Jucker collection 62 x 53 cm Cotton cloth, water colours Scratched in upper and lower registers Not visible or described in literature x x x x x Homa 5 Pañcarakṣās with treasures of universal monarch between them (Kreijger 1999, 34) Panel 3 Row of 4 donors and family members Homa Figures - Assistant - Vaj ā ā a priest Ritual objects - Pū ṇakaláa - Parasol or banner - Circular maṇḍala - Circular maṇḍala in front of the first figure in panel 3 Fire pit and flame Low, levelled fire pit – red, one-pointed flame Publications - Kreijger 1999, 34-35; Plate 4 Image source Photo by Mischa Jucker - Kreijger 1999, Plate 4 Short characterisation The central image of the pau hā is the moon god Candra, flanked by Kānti and ”o hā. They are seated on a chariot pulled by seven geese. The upper register contains depictions of the seven buddhas of the past, flanked by Mañjuś ī and Pad apāṇi (Kreijger 1999, 34). 130 131 No. Central subject Date Place of origin Museum/collection of current preservation Size Materials Condition Inscription Position in the pau hā Script Language Transcription Contents/translation Lower register (Left  right) Panel 1 Panel 2 8 A oghapāśa Lokeś a a Mid-15th century CE Kathmandu Valley (specific location unknown) Former Jucker collection 91 x 73 cm Cotton cloth, water colours Good No inscription visible or described in literature X X X X X Homa Part of the treasures of universal monarch: - White elephant with cakra on back - General or attendant - King Panel 3 Dancing scene - Central: dancer - Flanked by three figures at each side, dancing and playing flutes Panel 4 Part of the treasures of universal monarch: - Queen - Red horse with maṇiratna on back - Minister or attendant Panel 5 Row with 9 female donors and family members Homa Figures - Two female donors - Vaj ā ā a priest Ritual objects kaláa Fire pit and flame Two fires with spiky flames - Low fire pit - High, levelled fire pit with triangular structure placed above the flame Publications - Kreijger 1999, 38-39; Plate 6 Image source Photo by Mischa Jucker – Kreijger 1999, Plate 6 Short characterisation The central image of this pau hā is A oghapāśa Lokeś a a with four attendants: “udha aku ā a, Tā ā, Bhṛkụī, a d Ha ag ī a. This central scene is surrounded by medallions containing unidentifiable images. Between the central scene and the upper register, there are seven niches, containing images of the five Pañcarakṣās, P ajñāpā a itā, a d Vasundha ā. The upper register contains images of nine unidentifiable buddhas, probably with A ita hā in the centre (Kreijger 1999, 38). 132 133