Tuesday 24 March 2020

The Protector of the North



Namtöse at Jonang Gompa, Aba, Sichuan Province,
China, 20160222, photo by BK.
Four protector deities, lokapalas (Wylie: 'jig rten skyong) protect the four cardinal directions of the compass around Mount Meru, the axis of the world in the Buddhist world view. Mount Meru is not located in our universe, it exists outside reality and time.
The protector deities have fiery haloes and are shown against a background of clouds on murals and thangkas in Tibetan-Buddhist iconography. In Chinese Buddhism they are shown as three-dimensional larger-than-life statues.
The Protector of the North has an orange- or yellow-colored face and carries an umbrella as a symbol of his sovereignty. His Tibetan name is
Namtöse at Kopan Gompa, Kathmandu.
20130722, photo by BK.
Namtöse (Wylie: rnam thos sras). His Sanskrit name is Vaishravana, but this name is used in Tibetan-Buddhism as well. His Chinese (pinyin) name is Duōwén Tiānwáng. He is the leader of the four protectors of the cardinal directions,


Confusing iconography
Namtöse's iconography is somewhat confusing. As Namtöse he is depicted on murals in temple's entrance halls as one of the four protector deities, orange-faced and holding an umbrella in his right hand. Namtöse is also thought of as the god of wealth and in that aspect/capacity he is sometimes
Yellow Jambhala, with at the bottom the four
protectors of the cardinal directions. Source: Kwai.
called Yellow Jambhala (dzam bha la ser po) and as such is portrayed holding a citron, the fruit of the jambhara tree, in his right hand. Namtöse is also known as Vaishravana and in that manifestation he is seen riding a snow lion, sengay (Wylie: seng ge) but is again holding an umbrella in his right hand like Namtöse. Namtöse on temple murals is never seen riding a snow lion. The snow lion always has its head turned sideways so that it appears to be facing back to Vaishravana. It obeys iconographic rules: the snow lion is white with dark green manes and various tufts of dark green hair on its body, notable on the ankles. The snow lion is a mythic celestial animal and is a symbol for Tibet's snowy mountains.

One face, two eyes, and two arms
In all three manifestations he has one face, two eyes, and two arms, while holding a mongoose (ne'u le, a kind of rat) in the crook of his left arm, which spits precious jewels from its mouth, symbolising wealth. The shape and colour of his face are similar in all three aspects, usually yellow, sometimes orange or a shade in between yellow and orange.
So in Tibetan Buddhism, he is known by the three names: Namtöse,
Vaishravana. Source: Kwai.
Vaishravana, and Yellow Jambhala. But is each name referring to the same character? I would say not. He is one persona with three forms, aspects, shapes, appearances, manifestations, and these three aspects differ in small details from each other.
Yellow Jambhala sits on a lotus. Vaishravana sits on a snow lion. Namtöse is sometimes shown standing, sometimes seated. When Namtöse is seated, it can be on a throne, on a tiger skin, on clouds, on a moon disc, sometimes in lotus position, sometimes with knees dangling. When Namtöse is shown standing, it can be on a moon disc, on a smooth grassy surface, or sometimes on a spot that suggests height which can be interpreted as on top of (an indistinct) Mount Meru. Apparently Namtöse's lower torso does not obey strict iconographic rules, and depends on local style or artist idiosyncrasy.
Sometimes two of his aspects are seen on the same mural or thangka, which proves that Namtöse, Vaishravana and Yellow Jambhala are not the same character.
 
The five Jambhalas. Source: Kwai
The real iconographic confusion begins here. Both Vaishravana riding a lion and Jambhala have five different aspects/manifestations in the colours white, blue/black, green, red, and yellow/orange.
Only the yellow/orange manifestations of both are appearances of Namtöse.

 
White three-eyed Jambhala riding a dragon.
Source: Kwai.
Jambhala
Jambhala's five differents aspects are all mostly similar in posture and appearance, with a mongoose in the left arm and an object in the right hand, but the white and the blue/black Jambhala have three eyes. Green and Red Jambala are sometimes depicted with three eyes too. Red often has three faces and four arms. White Jambhala is often seen riding a dragon. Green holds a skullcup in its right hand, White a golden sword, Yellow a lemon fruit, Blue/Black a gem box, Red a norbu jewel. These are no strict descriptions, variations exist.....
All five Jambhala's are gods of wealth, but each has its own practice and mantra.


Vaishravana
Vaishravana has many different aspects, not all of which are riding a lion. But for clarity's sake I will only pay attention to those who are riding a lion. As such he is the leader of the Yaksha's (nature spirits) and also the leader of the four protectors of the cardinal directions.
The lion of Vaishravana's other colored aspects is not always green with white tufts of hair: it can be white with red tufts of hair, white with grey/black tufts of hair, blue with grey/black tufts of hair,
Vaishravana riding a blue lion with White, Yellow,
and Blue Jambhalas at the bottom. Source: Kwai.
light grey with brown/golden tufts of hair, white with blue tufts of hair, golden with greyish tufts of hair. It seems that there is much liberty among painters about the snow lion's colours, and no uniformly prescribed iconography
Generally all Vaishravana's are seated on their mount with two feet dangling to the left, facing the spectator, all having an umbrella in the right hand and a mongoose in the left arm. Blue/Black Vaishravana is also seen riding a blue horse (cf. HAR).

"There are three divisions in the study of Vaishravana iconography" (HAR www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=5383, consulted 20200324). Each category apparently is based on interpretations of different kinds of Buddhist (tantric) scriptures. I am only paying attention here to the first category, Vaishravana as part of the four protectors, which is based on narrative descriptions in the early Sutras.
 
Vaishravana, riding a red-haired snow lion. Source: Kwai.
Sources
HAR Himalayan Art Resources (www.himalayanart.org)
Iconographic image collection of the author.


Bernard Kleikamp, Leiden, Netherlands, 20200324


Vaishravana, riding a red lion. Source: Kwai.