ABS 329
Code: ABS 329
Country: Tibet
Style: Late Pala Style
Date: 1100 - 1200
Dimensions in cm WxHxD: 9.5 x 11.5
Materials: engraved gilt copper sheet
Nila Achala – The “Blue Immovable One”
Engraved on a gilded copper sheet, Achala appears in a dynamic stance, stepping out to the right and trampling on two brahmanical deities, with Ganesha to his left. His right hand brandishes a sword and his left holds a noose. Fierce and corpulent, his hair, eyebrows and moustache are blazing and his eyes are wide opened. Dressed in a loincloth tied around his waist, he is adorned with the jewellery of the divine manifestations. As a wrathful deity, he stands amidst a blazing mass of fire and wears poisonous snake in his hair, as armlets, and as the sacred thread across his chest. Above his head sits his tutelary Buddha Akshobhya.
Achala is a wrathful meditation deity, destroyer of delusions and protector of the Buddha’s teachings. His name literally means “The Immovable One” in Sanskrit, referring to the stability of wisdom and the immutability of Buddhahood. He is frequently represented on a rock or a mountain. His most usual manifestations can be white, blue or red.
He is particularly important in Japanese Tantric Buddhism. In Tibet, along with Shakyamuni Buddha, Avalokiteshvara, and Tara, he belongs to a group of four deities especially worshipped in the Kadam school.
Engraved on a gilded copper sheet, Achala appears in a dynamic stance, stepping out to the right and trampling on two brahmanical deities, with Ganesha to his left. His right hand brandishes a sword and his left holds a noose. Fierce and corpulent, his hair, eyebrows and moustache are blazing and his eyes are wide opened. Dressed in a loincloth tied around his waist, he is adorned with the jewellery of the divine manifestations. As a wrathful deity, he stands amidst a blazing mass of fire and wears poisonous snake in his hair, as armlets, and as the sacred thread across his chest. Above his head sits his tutelary Buddha Akshobhya.
Achala is a wrathful meditation deity, destroyer of delusions and protector of the Buddha’s teachings. His name literally means “The Immovable One” in Sanskrit, referring to the stability of wisdom and the immutability of Buddhahood. He is frequently represented on a rock or a mountain. His most usual manifestations can be white, blue or red.
He is particularly important in Japanese Tantric Buddhism. In Tibet, along with Shakyamuni Buddha, Avalokiteshvara, and Tara, he belongs to a group of four deities especially worshipped in the Kadam school.