Angaja (Tibetan: Yan lag ‘byung)

Tibetan Buddhist Thangka

The twelve Thangka paintings on show at the Albert Bender exhibition are part of a wider collection comprising twenty-one that illustrate the Arhats (disciples) of Buddha, and the Four Guardians of the Four Quarters of the World.

When they were acquired by the National Museum of Ireland in 1932, they were stated as having come from a single temple. Such a collection of Thangkas is rare.

Angaja (Tibetan: Yan lag ‘byung)

His name translates in Tibetan as ‘partly born’ because he was born from his dead mother’s body after flames consumed her. He is believed to live in a place called Mount Kailash with 1,300 arhats. Angaja is noted for the cleanness and fragrance of his body.

Two objects are portrayed alongside him, a fly-whisk made from animal tail and an incense bowl. He is portrayed in other images as an old man with a staff and a book containing Indian writing.

Learn more about this collection of Thangkas