scrolls (pataor paubha) to be shown during appro-
priate ceremonies, a tradition that continued well into
the eighteenth century. The earliest dated piece is a
mandala of the deity Vasudharafrom the year 1367.
These scrolls are characterized by detailed and elegant
execution, the use of primary colors (especially red),
the hieratic frontality of central figures, and visual or-
der and spatial symmetry.
Another characteristic field of Buddhist painting in
Nepal are illustrations in manuscripts on palm leaf or
paper, an art practiced since the first half of the
eleventh century. The roots for this form may be found
in Eastern India, but the Nepalese paintings are more
expressive and painterly than Indian Pala versions.
During the first half of the seventeenth century, a new
stylistic tradition developed as Nepalese artists came
under the influence of Rajput paintings.
Ladakh and western Tibet
Buddhist art in the regions of Ladakh, Spiti, and Guge
in western Himalaya mainly came to life under the in-
fluence of the “second spread” (bstan pa phyi dar) of
Buddhism, which was started by Rin chen bzang po
(958–1055) and sponsored by the local royal families.
Rin chen bzang po is said to have founded many tem-
ples, although only few such reports can be substanti-
ated historically. The new religious trends, with roots
in Northern India and Kashmir, were characterized by
a cosmic conception centered on the transcendental
Buddha Vairocana and the four tathagatas. This focus
is reflected clearly in iconography. Influences from
Nepal can also be traced. Later, artists in central Tibet,
under the influence of the Bka’ gdams pa (Kadampa
order), introduced sexually tinted yab-yumfigures in
sculpture and painting (“yab-yum,” literally “father-
mother,” is a couple in an erotic embrace—he a tantric
deity, she the embodiment of transcendental wisdom,
or prajña). After the sixteenth century, when the DGE
LUGS(GELUK) order became the leading power, Ti-
betan art shows Chinese influence, especially in
monastic architecture, and monasteries of this period
often look like fortresses.
Nyar ma, near the capital Leh, is the only monastery
in Ladakh that can be confirmed as having been
founded by Rin chen bzang po, in about 1000 C.E. This
monastery was an influential religious center during
the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but only ruined
foundations of the buildings remain. Another early
building is a small temple at Lamayuru Monastery
(Gyung drung dgon pa) in the Indus valley. This build-
ing contains murals and a sculpture of Vairocana
flanked by the four tathagatas. The other buildings at
Lamayuru were redecorated later.
The temples in the village of Alchi (A lci) on the left
bank of the Indus, to the east of Leh, occupy an ex-
ceptional position in the Himalayan history of Buddhist
architecture and wall painting. While the structures of
the walls follow the local Ladakhi-Tibetan tradition,
the wooden facade and pillars, elements of the ceilings,
and especially the wall paintings, clearly represent
Kashmiri traditions, and were probably executed by
Kashmiri artists invited to western Tibet by Rin chen
bzang po. Whereas the congregation hall (Du khang)
was erected and decorated early in the twelfth century,
the three-storied temple (Gsum brtsegs) dates slightly
later to around 1200 C.E. The murals at Alchi are ex-
tremely elegant and stylistically quite different from
paintings in Tibetan style. The secular scenes depict-
ing male and female donors in royal attire show In-
dian and Central Asian influence, whereas the Great
Stupa, which is actually a pañcayatanachapel, and its
murals belong to the same period as the early Alchi
temples. Rich wall paintings of male and female deities
united in the yab-yumposition correspond to a typi-
cal Tibetan style. The only known temple complex in
a style closely related to that of Alchi are the four
chapels and a pañcayatanabuilding in the small village
of Mang rgyu, which is located in a valley near Alchi.
Whereas many of the earlier temples in Ladakh were
built on flat ground near villages, beginning in the fif-
teenth century most monastic complexes were con-
structed on hills. These fortresslike complexes consisted
of several courtyards with temples. Painted and
sculpted icons used the tantric iconography of Tibetan
Buddhism. A typical example is Spituk (Dpe thub)
near Leh. The temples at Tiktse (Khrig rtse) and Likir
(Klu dkyil) show later repainting and restoration. The
wealthy ’Brug pa monastery at Hemis consists of sev-
eral large buildings, some with murals from the eigh-
teenth century.
Five cave temples above the village of Saspol (Sa spo
la) opposite Alchi house rich murals with a wide spec-
trum of iconography. These show S ́akyamuni, the
Sukhavat Paradise, many bodhisattvas, protective
deities, and monks.
The important temple complex at Tabo (Rta bo) in
Spiti was founded in 996 by Rin chen bzang po and
the religious king Ye shes ’od. The walls (lcags ri) sur-
round eight asymmetrically arranged temple buildings.HIMALAYAS, BUDDHISTART IN