Image title: Shikarakuta (Nepal, 15th century)

This Copper sculpture shows an image of a Shikarakuta (small temple) Chaitya, from the 15th/16th century origination from Nepal.—Materials used: Copper alloy, gilt, semi-precious stones.

Alternative transcription: Śikharakūṭa (शिखरकूट, shikharakuta, sikharakuta)

Description: This exquisitely-wrought temple-like chaitya was undoubtedly destined for a monastery or household shrine. The chaitya is subordinated to the elaborate temple-like substructure, a two-story plinth arranged as a mandala of 20 angles. Each niche in the upper story holds a tiny, movable Transcendent Buddha. Between the projecting tympanums (toranas) at each corner are Kinnaras, mythical beings half-bird, half- human. Against the nine-ringed finial are shields embedded with jewels of the color associated with the Buddha enshrined below. The crest jewel, a crystal, represents the Buddha's cranial bump, the ushnisha. The pair of rings beside the finial probably once held a sacred canopy.

Notes: This image is number (5) in the series: The Chaitya: All-Pervasive Monument of Buddhism—An architectural monument unique to Buddhism, the stupa, chaitya, or (in Tibetan) Chörten, is a dominant feature throughout the Buddhist world, past and present. It exists in countless Silk Road ruins and the mounds of southern Nepal, as famous archaeological monuments like India’s Sanchi or Java’s awesome Borobudur, in Burma's or Thailand's actively worshiped myriads, or Nepal's imposing Bodhnath [Boudhanath] and Svayambhu. Chaityas are sometimes minor votive structures, two to four meters high. In Nepal such chaityas crowd the sacred precincts of Svayambhu, embroider the plinths of large stupas like Kathmandu’s Kathesimbhu, embellish monastery and domestic courtyards, sanctify ancient sunken fountains, and dot the waysides. Miniature chaityas a tenth the size of votive chaityas are carried as personal icons (7) or placed in household or monastery shrines (2, 4, 5, 6, 8). The chaitya is also an all-pervasive sacred emblem. It adorns the mystic crown of the Buddhist priest. It serves as a primary attribute or associate of gods and goddesses such as Maitreya (1) and Ushnisha-vijaya (9). It is the subject of countless Nepalese paintings, and appears carved as tiny motifs on the votive chaityas themselves. It is annually created in clay by the disposable thousands, and carved into the lintels of monastery portals to bless all who enter.

Gallery information:

The Patan Museum is located on the Durbar square of Patan (Lalitpur/Lalitapura, Kathmandu, Nepal) which is associated Keshav Narayan Chowk (Keshavnarayan)—a form of Lord Vishnu. Being listed as a World Heritage Site, the whole of Durbar square is filled with exquisite temples, sculptures and other ancient structures, of which the ancient history history can be traced to the Malla Kings of Lalitpur. It is an important site for both Buddhism and Hinduism.