Potala Palace: Tapestry of Acala

CHINA, Tibet, Lhasa

Acala, who is one of the Five Wisdom Kings, is shown here with a blue body and his three eyes open wide with a fierce look. He raises his right hand holding a sword, while his left hand grasps a rope. The sword symbolizes the Buddha’s wisdom, while the rope expresses affliction and karmic hindrances; Acala is thus said to cut off defilement and give rise to great wisdom. He is surrounded by a small naga and stole, and crouches on a lotus pedestal as if ready to fight.
In the upper register are the Five Dhyani Buddhas, beneath whom are Tibetan verses of praise. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and four other Bodhisattvas appear in the lower register. Along the bottom edge is a Tibetan inscription stating the thangka was dedicated to Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen, the Third Patriarch of the Sakya school, by one of his students.