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Arapacana Manjusri

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Arapacana Manjusri

1200-1399
13th; 14th
5.75 x 5 x 1 in. (14.61 x 12.7 x 2.54 cm)

Unknown,

User Text 1
Creation Place: Asia, Nepal
Medium and Support: Gilt copper alloy
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Earnest C. Watson
Accession Number: 65.5.5
Lotus Mandala with Manjusri Arapachana attended by four of the Jina or Tathagata Buddhas: Amitabha, Aksobya, Amogghasidi, and Ratnasambhava, as well as his four companions: Kesini, Upakesini, Jalini Kumar, Chandraprabha Kumar. Petals open and close.
Comparable object with Manjusri at center: Banerjee, P., Radha Banerjee, and Deepak Sarkar. "A Medieval Bronze Sculpture of Arapachana from Nepal." Indian & Central Asian Art: Narrative Interpretations of Unique Fragments. Delhi: Abha Prakashan, 2008. np.
Alternate spelling of title: Arapachana Manjushri

Gautama Vajracharya, from 2016 Rubin Museum of Art exhibition catalogue entry: "The arrangement of the deities is based on the Sahana-Mala, a wellknown Sanskrit text, a collection of deity yoga manuals... According to the text, the great god Manjushri should be designated as Arapachana. This is an interesting name for a god because a ra pa ca na is the beginning of the Gandharan alphabet, which was prevalent at the beginning of the common era and continued to be so for several centuries in the region that extends to both sides of the Hindu Kush mountain range... In accordance with ancient bliefs, a child is a god and vice versa. Thus Arapachana Manjushri represents not only th egreat god of learning but also a six- or seven-year-old child who has just started learning the alphabet. In the case of the divine child the alphabet symbolizes omniscience... Although Arapachana is not related to Newari script, Newar Buddhists, perhaps following the Gandharan cult of Arapachana, kept the tradition of worshipping Manjushri on the first day of school."
Current Location: Chazen : 135 : Cab18 : A : 7

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Dimensions
  • note Dimensions: 6 x 3.88 x 3.88 in. (15.24 x 9.84 x 9.84 cm)

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