1800 AD INDIA BLISS WHIRL SATKONA

A Tibetan thangka centring a dancing red wrathful deity inside a shatkona (hexagram, six-pointed star), itself set within a ring of flame and a wider mandala circle. The archive's own title, "Bliss Whirl," reads as a plain-English rendering of Chakrasamvara, whose Tibetan name (bde mchog) translates literally as "Supreme Bliss" or "Wheel of Bliss," the principal deity of the Chakrasamvara Tantra, usually shown in union with his consort Vajrayogini as a symbol of the fusion of method and wisdom. The three views in this set, a tight crop on the hexagram, the same mandala with its surrounding flame band, and the full thangka with lineage figures painted around the border, appear to document one painting rather than three.

The card

• Date — 1,800 AD
• Where — Tibetan thangka painting tradition; no findspot or present holding institution confirmed for this specific work. No coordinates are given on the map for this reason.
• Evidence grade — WEB-PHOTO

Sources

• himalayanart.org
• gammas.com

Works Cited

• Source, Title, Publisher, Year.