Fig. 6.10 Jetsün Trakpa Gyaltshen seventeenth or eighteenth century 28 7⁄8 x 18 7⁄8 in. (73.3 x 47.9 cm) Private Collection (HAR 11566) Literature: Sotheby’s, Indian and Southeast Asian Art, New York (March 25, 1999), no. 99
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rings his bell, he holds his vajra in his hand; it does not float in the air. The minor figures include, at the lower left, an exotic deity who kneels in submission; perhaps he is the harmful spirit that Jetsün Trakpa tamed. In the sky, at the upper left, appears the Buddha Amitāyus, invoking longevity for the patron. At the lower right is a Brahmin blowing a thigh-bone trumpet; he may be the Sakya Mahākāla adept who appears in this form (Bram ze’i gzugs).
Amitāyus is portrayed fully frontal, the humans are in three-quarter view, and the submissive deity is shown in profile. The Buddhist master at the upper right is probably an Indian pandit; he wears a yellow pandit hat, not a Tibetan lama’s vest, as part of his monk’s attire. I take him to be Śākyaśrībhadra, who was an important Kashmiri guru of Jetsün Trakpa Gyaltshen’s nephew, Sakya Paṇḍita. They met at least once: the guru visited Sakya in 1210, spending the rainy season there.353 He was also involved, directly or indirectly, when Jetsün Trakpa miraculously floated his vajra in the air, as mentioned in connection with Figure 6.9. Figure 6.11, at Kunzang Tse College, confirms that the previous two portrayals of Jetsün Trakpa were standard enough to be copied in later murals of Gongkar. The color of his inner and outer robes here are the same as those in Figure 6.10, but here he sits on a mat with flower motifs. Note the identical backrest of his Chinese-style throne, with the same golden dragon head on the arm rest. Also, the pleats of his white outer cloak are remarkably similar in both paintings. Otherwise, this mural section is a simplified extract from a more complicated thangka composition. Figure 6.12 shows Jetsün Trakpa in another painting, made about the time of Khyentse Chenmo. Again, the great lama is smiling, as if enjoying a spiritual mystery. He holds a vajra and bell together at his heart, like Vajradhara. The painting depicts him in gold, which is a more uncommon approach for a set of lineage portraits; it is difficult to do successfully. (This painting is from the same set as Figure 6.2, the golden Virūpa.) Besides lines drawn with lac dye, the only parts of the main figure painted with colors are his reddish-brown mouth, white eyes, white facial hair, and the wooly clumps of white hair atop his head. His face is portrayed in three-quarter view. Behind the main figure, the artist has