Mahakala Panjaranatha (Primary Title)
Tsherin Sherpa, born 1968 (Artist)
Like the example directly across the gallery, this traditional Tibetan scroll painting (thangka) was made by Sherpa before he ventured into more contemporary artistic terrain. It shows the same deity featured at the center of that mandala: Himalayan Buddhism’s preeminent wrathful enlightened protector, Mahakala, in his appearance called Panjaranatha (Lord of the Pavilion). He squats on a corpse, his characteristic oversized belly hanging low, and holds a flaying knifechopper, a gore-filled skull cup, and a long magical staff. The painting’s intricate details—like the many small figures of Mahakala’s ghoulish retinue in the fiery mandorla around him—are exquisitely painted, demonstrating Sherpa’s mastery of the medium. When he subsequently devised his Spirit character, Sherpa combined a human body with Mahakala’s characteristic face, with its three bulging eyes, fanged mouth, expressive flamelike facial hair, and crown of skulls.
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