Ngagwang Lobzang Gyatso, the 5th Dalai Lama (1617-1682).

Dalai Lama Biographical Details

He holds to the heart the stem of a lotus blossoming over the right shoulder. The left hand cradles a long-life vase in the lap. This long-life vase is an indication that the painting is a portrait commissioned during the life of the 5th Dalai Lama. (See a sculpture of the same subject). Wearing a pandita hat and a meditation cloak he sits atop a cushioned throne with a table of ritual objects in front. Two monastic attendant figures stand alongside the throne. (A name inscription runs along the front of the table).

Directly above is the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara Padmapani (Holder of the Lotus). At the left is the Tibetan King Chogyal Songtsen Gampo. At the right is the illustrious student of Jowo Atisha, Dromtonpa. At the middle left is the 1st Dalai Lama, Gendun Drub. At the right is the 2nd, Gendun Gyatso.

At the bottom left is the 3rd Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso and the 4th, Yontan Gyatso, at the far right. In the middle is the wealth Deity yellow Jambhala holding a bijapuraka fruit in the right hand and a mongoose in the left. (Name inscriptions are written in gold lettering beneath each figure).

Jeff Watt 5-2000 (updated 11-2006)