shouugyou mandara　請雨経曼荼羅

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Lit. *mandara 曼荼羅 (mandala) of the Sutra for Praying for Rain. A variety of specific mandara *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅, based on the DAIUNGYOU KIU DAMPOU 大雲経祈雨壇法, a text used in rituals to pray for rain and related to the DAIUNRIN SHOUUGYOU 大雲輪請雨経 (Sk:Makhamegha Sutra), also abbreviated to SHOUUGYOU, whence the name shouugyou mandara. Also known as the shouuhou mandara 請雨法曼荼羅 (mandala of the Ritual for Praying for Rain) *Shaka 釈迦, displaying the *tenbourin-in 転法輪印 mudra, is depicted seated inside or in front of a central pavilion representing the palace of the sea dragon king; he is flanked to the right by *Kannon 観音 and to the left by Kongoushu 金剛手 (Sk:Vajrapani), while in the foreground are three dragon kings. Shaka, Kannon (or Rengeshu 蓮華手; Sk: Padmapani) and Kongoushu form a typical triad dating back to the Buddhist art of Mathura in India, and they later evolved into the three divisions or 'families' known as the Buddha family butsu-bu 仏部, Lotus family renge-bu 蓮華部 and Adamantine family kongou-bu 金剛部. This mandala lacks the geometrical features that mark later types, and the small-scale depiction of deities centered on a triad as part of a landscape. May be considered to approximate to the original format of the mandala. Typical examples of tthe shougyou mandara are a line drawing *hakubyou 白描 preserved at Touji 東寺 (Kyoto) and that in the *KAKUZENSHOU 覚禅抄, a ritual compendium, but there are minor differences in the disposition of the deities. . There are also some rare examples of a shouuhou shiki mandara 請雨法敷曼荼羅 in which the triad centered on Shaka is omitted and only the dragon kings are depicted .

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