Dharmatala

CHINA; Qing dynasty

This painting depicts the lay Buddhist Dharmatala, the 17th Arhat. He sits at ease on a blanket placed on a large rock, holding a whisk in his right hand and a vase in his left. His colorful clothes in the style of the Qing dynasty suggest that he is not a monastic. A sutra case topped with a canopy is placed behind Dharmatala. On the left, partially concealed by the rock, a tiger and a cub lie peacefully on the ground. Another tiger sits below the Arhat’s feet. In the lower right corner, a figure leans against a sutra case. On a rock to the left, an animal-shaped golden sculpture emits a jet of water that shoots upwards and supports the Buddha of Infinite Light. To the right of the Buddha, an accomplished Indian practitioner, wearing a sash and a dhoti, sits on colored clouds.