Tabo Monastery Central Hall: Fifty-Three Visits of Sudhana - Manjusri Bodhisattva

INDIA, Himachal Pradesh

This mural is painted on the lower right section of the east wall in the assembly hall within the central hall of Tabo Monastery. It depicts a scene from the Avatamsaka Sutra in which Manjusri Bodhisattva teaches the Dharma to Sudhana at the stupa of Vicitrasaladhvaja in the city of Dhanyakara in ancient India.
Manjusri sits in half lotus position on a lotus throne beneath a sala tree. His facial features and clothing are depicted in typical Kashmiri style. The Bodhisattva is adorned with ornaments and wears a three-pointed crown decorated with long streamers. The right hand forms the vitarka (teaching) mudra and the left hand is extended outwards. On the left, heavenly beings and monks sit side by side as they listen to the Dharma with their palms joined in reverence. On the right, the Vicitrasaladhvaja Stupa is painted in the upper register. Sudhana and the devotees of Dhanyakara, dressed in Tibetan clothing, are depicted below.
This mural, presented with a methodical layout using meticulous brushstrokes and brilliant colors, is regarded as an excellent example of narrative illustrations.