Yogini Machik Labdrön (1055-1149) – Founder of the Chö tradition
See it in the Museum
India and Nepal
Orientation 3
Display 5
ABS 252
Code: ABS 252
Country: Nepal (west)
Style: Khasha Malla
Date: 1312
Dimensions in cm WxHxD: 11.5 x 15 x 8
Materials: Gilt copper
Yogini Machik Labdrön (1055-1149) – Founder of the Chö tradition
Seated in vajraparyaṅka on a lotus pedestal, the yogini brandishes a ḍamaru with her right hand and holds a ghaṇṭā bell before her chest. Adorned with the attire of the saṃbhogakāya she wears a dhoti tied with a sash, jewellery and a scarf across her bare torso. Of peaceful appearance, she is endowed with a third eye. These details identify her as Tibetan yogini Ma gcig Lab sgron (1055–1149). She was a famous female Tibetan teacher, initiator of the gCod or “Severance” tradition. Ma gcig and her tradition are traditionally connected to the Indian mahāsiddha Pha dam pa Sangs rgyas and his teachings of Zhi byed or “Pacification.”
The statue has an inscription in nagari on the base of the pedestal:
śrī madanimalla ściraṃ jayatu, śake 1234
“May Śrī Madanimalla live long: Saka (samvat) 1234” (1312 CE)
Madani Malla may be a queen of Ripu Malla. This was the same year that king Ripu Malla left a graffiti inscription śrī ripumalla ściraṃ jayatu on the Ashokan pillar of Niglihawa, in the Nepal Terai, which is the same inscription of White Tara painting (ABP 038).
- “In the Khasa Malla Tradition, A Thangka of Vikram Shahi (r. 1602-1631) King of Jumla” by Ian Alsop, Kashinath Tamot and Punya Prasad Parajuli
(https://www.asianart.com/articles/vikram_shahi/index.html#5)
Seated in vajraparyaṅka on a lotus pedestal, the yogini brandishes a ḍamaru with her right hand and holds a ghaṇṭā bell before her chest. Adorned with the attire of the saṃbhogakāya she wears a dhoti tied with a sash, jewellery and a scarf across her bare torso. Of peaceful appearance, she is endowed with a third eye. These details identify her as Tibetan yogini Ma gcig Lab sgron (1055–1149). She was a famous female Tibetan teacher, initiator of the gCod or “Severance” tradition. Ma gcig and her tradition are traditionally connected to the Indian mahāsiddha Pha dam pa Sangs rgyas and his teachings of Zhi byed or “Pacification.”
The statue has an inscription in nagari on the base of the pedestal:
śrī madanimalla ściraṃ jayatu, śake 1234
“May Śrī Madanimalla live long: Saka (samvat) 1234” (1312 CE)
Madani Malla may be a queen of Ripu Malla. This was the same year that king Ripu Malla left a graffiti inscription śrī ripumalla ściraṃ jayatu on the Ashokan pillar of Niglihawa, in the Nepal Terai, which is the same inscription of White Tara painting (ABP 038).
- “In the Khasa Malla Tradition, A Thangka of Vikram Shahi (r. 1602-1631) King of Jumla” by Ian Alsop, Kashinath Tamot and Punya Prasad Parajuli
(https://www.asianart.com/articles/vikram_shahi/index.html#5)
Bock, Etienne; Falcombello, Jean-Marc; Jenny Magali, 2022. Trésors du Tibet. Sur les pas de Milarépa. Paris: Flammarion. P. 196-197
Edou, Jérôme, 2003. Machik Labdrön, femme et dakini du Tibet: récit de la vie merveilleuse de Machik Labdrön et présentation de sa tradition spirituelle intitulée « le Chöd de Mahamoudra ».. Paris: Editions du Seuil.