Download Ashtasahasrika_prajnaparamita

B.A. 1st year
Indian Painting
Dr. O. P. Parameswaran,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Fine Arts,
Post Graduate Govt. College for Girls,
Sector-11, Chandigarh
Indian Painting
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
(Perfection of wisdom in 8000 verses)
Palm Leaf Painting,
Buddhist, Period-Palas
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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Introduction:
After the mural, the most important form of
painting in India is illustration of religions and
secular text.
A major school of manuscript illumination
flourished in the Buddhist monasteries of
eastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal during
the reign of the Palas (c.A.D.800-1200), who
were ardent followers of Mahayana
Buddhism.
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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A later development, Vajrayana Buddhism
stressed on meditation and worship of cosmic
Buddhas, bodhisattva and a lot of divinities.
Images of the divinities were therefore
realized in stone metal and in wall paintings,
banners and manuscript illuminations,
according to strict and detailed iconographic
rules.
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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Depictions of Buddhist deities, the major
events of the life of Buddha and occasionally
of narrative sequences from Jatakas, became
an inseparable part of the art of the religious
book.
The manuscripts, with calligraphy of quiet
grandeur and superbly painted iconographic
details, became primarily objects of
veneration.
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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The format and nature of painting:
A collection of tadapatras or slender,
rectangular, palm leaves, strung together and
held between two wooden binding boards
constituted the basic format of a Pala
manuscript.
The text was carefully inscribed in Kutila
script and on certain folios, oblong spaces
(5.5* 7.5cm), was left for the painter.
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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The wooden covers were embellished
with the paintings of cosmic Buddhas,
Bodhisattvas and numerous protective
deities. Sometimes these embellished
exteriors were obscured by repeated
ritual daubing of sandalwood paste,
vermillion, oil and milk.
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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Commissioning, as well as transcription
of religious texts and their donation to
the great Buddhist libraries was
believed to bring merit to the pattern
and to the scribe (lekhaka). Ironically,
not a single manuscript bears the name
of the painter through colophons record
the name of the donor, the scribe, the
place and year of execution
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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Numerous Buddhist texts were copied
and illustrated in the monastic scriptoria
as well as in the professional ateliers to
cater to the needs of the monasticcum-educational
establishments
of
Nalanda,
Kurkihar, Vikramshila,
Uddantapuri and Sri Halm.
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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The Ashtashasrika prajnaparamita of 1015
(perfection of wisdom in eight thousand
verses) is considered to be one of the most
favored texts used for illustration. Other
important texts were Pancharaksha (five
protective charms) and the Dharani samgraha
(collection of charms). None of them,
however, offered the painter a narrative core
appropriate for illustration
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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Stylistic features:
The main characteristics of the Ashtashasrika
prajnaparamita of 1015 are as follows. The
use of following lines and colors applied in a
blended sequence, to raise the plasticity of
the figures marked the works of the early and
mid 11th century.
By the beginning of the 12th century, quickly
applied crisp, angular patches replaced this
technique and the lines displayed ‘a nervous
energy’.
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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Pigments:
The pigments were made from minerals and
organic sources and tempered with glue. A
similar process to that used in the wallpaintings of Ajanta.
The palette consisted of white (burnt conch
shell), yellow, blue (lapis lazuli), vermillion
(cinnabar), crimson (lac-dye), Indian red (red
ochre), green (terre-verte) and black (lamp
black).
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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Preparation leaves:
The leaves were cut into a fixed size
and burnished with a stone to make the
surface smooth.
Application of colours:
The final sketch was drawn with red
ochre on a thin coat of white priming.
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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Different parts of the composition were filled
with colour (Varnakarma), which were then
softened with repeated application of
transparent, darker tones (vartanakarma) to
produce an effect of roundness and volume.
Every detail was then strengthened carefully
with a thin brush. The wooden covers were
also painted in the same manner but where
given final protective coat of resinous varnish.
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita of 1015
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Many monastic libraries were destroyed by
the Turkish invaders, Muhammad of Ghur and
Bakhtiyar Khalgi, who swept across the plains
of northern India and eastern India after
A.D.1192.
Their
ruthless
iconoclasm
compelled the Buddhist monks and painters
to flee to the Himalayan regions and Nepal in
search of security and congenial conditions.