Thönmi Sambhota – The Creator of Tibetan Writing
Thönmi Sambhota is a historical figure credited with establishing the Tibetan writing system in the seventh century CE, forming the foundation of the written Tibetan language as we know it today.
Created in the Karma Gadri style of thangka painting, this work was specially commissioned by Tashi Mannox and depicts the rarely portrayed scholar and calligrapher Thönmi Sambhota.
The painting was the result of a particularly special collaboration with the talented young thangka painter Sahil Bhopal. Sahil entrusted Tashi Mannox with the task of personally inscribing the two principal letters ཨ on the golden discs, as well as adding the Mani mantra within the thangka.
The painting incorporates several historical references to Thönmi Sambhota. Among these are rainbow beams emanating from his figure, displaying two golden discs inscribed with the letter ཨ, the final and essential letter of the Tibetan alphabet.
On the left, ཨ appears in the classical Uchen script, while on the right, the same letter is rendered in the Umed class of scripts. These represent the two principal streams of Tibetan script styles traditionally attributed to Thönmi Sambhota, both of which remain in use today.
Resting in his lap is a tablet inscribed with the Mani mantra, oṃ maṇipadme hūṃ. According to tradition, this was presented to King Songtsen Gampo as a sample of the first Tibetan Uchen script created by Sambhota.
This thangka of Thönmi Sambhota was first published in Tashi Mannox’s book Sacred Script: A Meditative Journey Through Tibetan Calligraphy. Its rare and strikingly clear depiction of this important historical figure soon attracted wider interest. The image has since been shared in numerous other publications and used as the principal image on Thönmi Sambhota’s Wikipedia page.
Limited-Edition Art Prints
Superb limited-edition giclée art prints of this Thönmi Sambhota thangka are available to pre-order. Each print measures 50 × 36 cm and is specially hand-gilded with gold leaf on the two spheres bearing the letter ཨ.
If you are interested in acquiring one of these distinctive prints, please get in touch via the contact page.
