Cleveland Museum of Art

Achala, King of the Wrathful Ones

Date

early 1200s

Medium

Thangka, silk tapestry with pearls

Culture

China, Zhejiang Province, probably Hangzhou

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The powerful blue body of Achala, meaning “immovable,” dominates the composition. He holds a sword to cut through ignorance and a noose for catching illusions that plague the path to enlightenment. Small personifications of furious destroyers of illusion ( maya ) emanate from him on either side, each with his own weapon. This image expresses what advanced practitioners would visualize in meditation rituals, as explained in Buddhist texts called tantras. Woven with a sophistication matched only by products of the Hangzhou looms, this devotional tapestry made its way to Khara-Khoto, capital of the Tangut Empire located in present-day Mongolia and Central Asia, where tantric Buddhism was prevalent. The elephant-headed figure under his left foot is a demonic divinity, a yaksha, who creates obstacles to enlightenment.

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