Memory, Memento, and Sacred Bond

This painting represents Khadiravani Tara, Tara of the Khadira Forest, which is said to be located in the Pure Land of Mount Potalaka. Indo-Nepali texts locate Mount Potalaka off the coast of South India. Tara, born from Avalokiteshvara's tears of compassion, assists those who meet obstacles on their paths to enlightenment. Here she is seated on a lotus throne between the deities Marichi and Ekajati. The Buddha Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Paradise, seated with an alms bowl, appears in the niche on the upper floor of the palace behind Tara. The inscription on the bottom of this thangka dates the painting to the Nepalese year 973 (western year 1853) and suggests that it was acquired by a Nepalese visitor on pilgrimage in Tibet.