THE NEPALESE MEDIEVAL TEMPLE: AN EXAMPLE OF THE BUDDHIST MONASTERY OF VAJRAYOGINI (GUM BAHA) IN SANKHU
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Abstract
An article deals with the religious history, iconography, art and architecture of ancient Buddhist monastery Gum Baha in Sankhu, situated in North-Eastern part of the Nepal valley. A unique Buddhist complex, which history predates the first centuries AD, lacks a deeper research, although Gum Baha, which came to be widely known as Vajrayogini and associated with this Tantric goddess, whose sanctuary is housed in vihara’s pagoda, in fact represents (in architecture and arts) a history of Buddhism in Nepal, its development, doctrine & ideas, in Nepal. Here we speak of Nepalese Buddhism, also known as Newari Buddhism. Iconography of tympanums (torana) of pagoda style temples is being analysed carefully because it helps to find out an identity of divinities depicted on this fine toranas (tympanums). That analysis tries to reveal Tantric ideas, which had different religious, philosophical, social, political connotations, through medieval religious symbolism of art. Thus the special logic of development of Buddhism in Nepal, the core evolution of it’s ideas is revealed in architectural and artistic evolution of Gum Baha: as for example, the growth of religious importance of the female sanctuary instead of traditional baha cente (stupa – chaitya), which was an indication of popularity of shakti cults in Nepal (also related with the royal ideology and political rituals) on the one head, and the strengthening of the Tantric tradition on the other. As the author argues in the paper, the main deities of the two-roofed Swayambu pagoda (Jogeswara temple) represent the 5 Buddhas (Pancha Buddhas), with Amitabha being situated on the western (main, entrance) torana of the temple. The investigation of toranas’ iconography helps to find out dan iconographical program and the textual base of the monastery and its pagodas: our assumption gives a way to state that the Svayambhu myth and Svayambu Purana text (15 century) is that religious and ideological basis. The Swayambhu Purana tells the mythical story of creation of Nepal by Manjushri, bodhisattva of wisdom. The author shows that importance of the myth on different levels. It was an argument to state the Buddhist identity, an importance of Buddhist understanding of their role in social and political spheres. At the same time the history of Gum Baha could be a marvellous example of Hindu-Buddhist coexistence and contacts, often resulting in special syncretic trends. The state favoured cult of Vajrayogini, Buddhist devi widely popular among the Hindus and associated with royal power (as protectress) was another page of this process, which was the part of more global one, century’s long process of sanscritisation in Nepal. The long period of coexisting of Buddhism and Hinduism caused the formation of unique Hindu-Buddhist complex.
How to Cite
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architecture, Gum Baha, history of ideas, iconography, Nepalese Buddhism, socio-religious history, Tantrism
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