The Earliest Mandala of Subhakarasimha (637-735 CE)

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This volume illustrates the scroll of Rtasamhära. It is the earliest known iconography of the Vajradhatu-mandala, probably drawn by śubhakara (637-735) himself. It bears his signatures at the end: the only signature of a master of Nalanda. He was an expert sculptor of images. It illustrates every deity in sambhoga-kāya, consort, dharmakäya and nirmäņakaya form. The four forms have been placed alongside for clarity. In 1982 Roger Goepper was describing the dharani-mandala in the Sumtsek of Alchi. He was puzzled by its central group whose figures were all female. The Lamas had no clue. He visited me for clarification. He was thrilled to find the precise identification in the Rtasamhära. What he had identified as 'Buddha Ratnasambhava in Female Form' was his consort Ratnavajriņi (no. 41 in the scroll). The parallel representation of the four forms was worked out for him and is being published after quarter of century. It is a basic work for the correct identification of the deities of a mandala.

Prof. Lokesh Chandra is currently the Director of the International Academy of Indian Culture which is a premier research institution for Asian cultures. He has been a Vice-President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research. He is a well-known historian and a renowned scholar of Tibetan, Mongolian and Sino-Japanese Buddhism. He has also served as a member of the Indian Parliament. In 2006 he was recognized with India's Padma Bhushan award. He is the son of the world-renowned scholar of Oriental Studies and Linguistics Prof. Raghuvira. He was born in 1927, obtained his Master's degree in 1947 from the Punjab University at Lahore, and followed it with a Doctorate in Literature and Philosophy from the State University of Utrecht (Netherlands) in 1950. Starting with an understanding of the most ancient of India's spiritual expression enshrined in the Vedic tradition, he has moved on to the interlocution between India, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Korea, Japan, South East Asia, and the Indo-European languages. He has studied over twenty languages of the world. He has to his credit 612 works and text editions.

This book reproduces a scroll of the mandala of Vajradhātu-Vairocana as enunciated in the Sarvatathāgata-tattva-samgraha in the very handwriting and delineations of a savant of Nalanda. It is the earliest known mandala as well as the only work autographed and sketched by a leading mastermind of Nalanda, duly signed by him and offered as a meritorious gift to his patrons in China. We may never again have the rare privilege of seeing a manuscript written by an academic of Nalanda. Subhakarasimha wrote this Rita-sogyara-gobu-shingan to illustrate the four aspects of the Vajradhätu-mandala to perform rites for imperial prosperity, safety and well-being. The illustrations of the 33 deities enable the sädhaka to visualise them, the heart mantra (hrdaya-mantra) is to summon (ahvana) them, the karma-mudra is to perform the appropriate ritual (karma), and the sandhä (no.17) or mahāsandhi-mudra (no.21) is to contemplate on them. The mantra corresponds to the dharana stage and sandhä/sandhi pertains to the dhyana stage in eightfold yoga. Sandhi is from the prefix san + dhi 'meditation, reflection'.