Tongdosa Temple Geungnagam Hermitage inscribed "Gagyeong23nyeon" Guardian Deities Painting, Yangsan

This Buddhist painting is a Guardian Deities painting (sinjungtaeng, depicting the assembly of deities who protect the Buddhist teachings) from Geungnagam Hermitage at Tongdosa Temple, showing a total of eighteen heavenly beings, including Mahesvara. At the top centre of the composition, Mahesvara, shown with three eyes and eight arms, occupies the centre, flanked by three figures including Brahma and Indra, each with a round halo around the head and hands joined in prayer. At the edges around Mahesvara, Brahma and Indra are depicted a boy attendant holding a canopy and two girl attendants holding banners, while below, at the margins of the composition, the Sun Palace and Moon Palace deities stand in attendance. In the lower part of the composition, on the left are arranged four heavenly maidens playing music and one heavenly maiden with hands joined in prayer, while on the right, Witaecheon (Skanda), two armoured guardian figures holding swords, the Dragon King Sagara and figures with joined hands are grouped together, set apart from the groups above by bands of cloud. The votive inscription shows that this Guardian Deities painting was made in the twenty-third year of the Jiaqing era (1818). Its iconography is almost identical to the Guardian Deities painting (1771) enshrined at Gigiam Hermitage of Eunhaesa Temple in Gyeongsangbuk-do, differing only in that the positions of the figures are reversed, suggesting that the two works were very likely based on the same underlying sketch.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yangsan, Gyeongnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료