The Buddhist elders Panthaka, Nagasena, Gopaka, and Abheda

The Tibetan devotional paintings known as thangkas are aids for worship, meditation, and teaching. Thangkas are painted with vegetable and mineral colors on cloth primed with chalk and glue. Fluid brushwork, vibrant colors, and detailed line work in gold characterize these paintings. They are mounted on Chinese brocade, covered with thin silk, and sewn with two narrow strips of silk for securing the paintings in windy areas.
This series of paintings features the figures called arhats, a term that translates as “foe destroyers” in Tibetan tradition. These older men in monastic robes have all destroyed the foe of negative emotions (klesha), and in the process achieved enlightenment (nirvana). These elder disciples of the Buddha may superficially resemble one another, but key details differentiate each one. Thus Panthaka at the upper left carries a book, suggesting his study of the doctrine. At the upper right, Nagasena holds a vase and a mendicant’s staff, symbolizing self-sufficiency. Gopaka at the bottom left too holds a book, but this time it represents the true doctrine that blocks wrong paths. Abheda at the bottom right holds a stupa, the reliquary in which the remains of arhats are often enshrined.