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Buddhist Iconography Identification Guide
4. Vehicles (Sanskr.: vahana; Tib.: bzhon pa)
Drawn by Alex Kocharov
We shall use the Sanskrit term vahana, generally accepted in the scholarly literature, to refer to animals and other types of vehicles used by a minority of figures in the Buddhist pantheon. As in the other tables, it was not our intention to show all the diversity of material that may be encountered. We do not, for example, distinguish the breed or colour of deer, whereas some traditional texts give these and many other at times exotic details.
Some researchers would also place among vahanas those creatures shown trampled by various deities. We understand vahanas in the narrow sense – strictly as vehicles. Clouds do not belong to the class of vehicles, as transportation by means of a cloud may be more easily interpreted as flight or levitation. Therefore, we suggest that figures flying on clouds be regarded from the point of view of postures (see Table II, No. 14).
1 |
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1. Horse (Sanskr. aśva; Tib. rta), the most common vehicle. |
2
3
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2, 3. Mule, hinny, wild horse (Sanskr. aśvatara; Tib. a shwa ta rа, bong bu rta). Representations of these animals share a certain affinity with that of the horse, differing from it only in lacking a saddle. |
4 |
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4. Animals often appear in icons in stylized form, making it difficult to identify them. The animal depicted under No. 4, for instance, would at first sight seem to be a horse rather than a wolf or rabid jackal. |
| 5 |
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5. Wild ass, koulan (Sanskr. goddrabha, khara; Tib. rkyang). It was noted in the relevant iconographic sources that vahanas 2, 3, 5, and even 1 are often interchangeable. |
6 |
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6. Female deer (Sanskr. mṛga; Tib. sha mо, ri dwags mo), the vahana of a number of figures. |
7A
7B |
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7. Male deer (Sanskr. mṛga; Tib. sha ba), the vahana of a number of figures. |
8A
8B |
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8. Bull or buffalo (Sanskr. vṛṣa, mahiṣa; Tib. glang, ma he), the vahana of a number of deities, most often of Yama. |
9A
9B |
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9. Male goat or ram (Sanskr. aja, meṣa; Tib. ra, lug thug), both represented in a similar manner. 9A shows the vahana of the fire god, Agni, and 9B – the wild male goat – is the vahana of Damcan. |
10A
10B |
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10. Bear (Sanskr. ṛkṣa; Tib. dom), the vehicle of Kṣetrapala. Stylized representations of this animal may in some cases resemble a pig. |
| 11 |
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11. Jackal (?) (Sanskr. śṛgāla, jambūka, kroṣṭṛ; Tib. ce spyang, lba), the vahana of Charapala. This representation differs from the pig (No. 12) only in having paws with sharp claws. |
| 12 |
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12. Wild boar, pig (Sanskr. vārāha, sūkara; Tib. phag rgod, phag), the vahana of Marichi. |
| 13 |
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13. Wolf (Sanskr. vṛka; Tib. spyang ki), the vehicle of a number deities. |
| 14 |
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14. Rat or mouse (Sanskr. undara, mūṣika; Tib. byi ba, tsi-tsi), the vahana of Ganapati. |
15 |
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15. Tiger or tigress (Sanskr. śārdūla, vyāghra; Tib. stag pho/mo), the vahana of a number of figures in the pantheon. |
16A
16B
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16. Lion (Sanskr. siṃha; Tib. seng ge), one of the most common vahanas. Lions are not native to Tibet or Mongolia, and their representations, based on Indian tradition, are thus highly stylized and at times unrecognizable. |
| 17 |
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17. Elephant (Sanskr. gaja, hastin; Tib. glang ро chen po, glang chen), the vahana of a number of figures. |
18 |
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18. Male or female camel (Sanskr. uṣṭra; Tib. rnga mong /mo), the vahana of a number of minor deities. |
| 19 |
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19. Tortoise (Sanskr. kūrma; Tib. rus sbal) or makara snail, the “sea monster” (Sanskr. makara; Tib. chu srin). Serves as the vahana of many deities, particularly Varuna and Vasudeva (nor lha). |
| 20 |
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20. Nine-headed turtle, the vahana of the female deity Dorje Zulema or certain other female deities in the same iconographic group of the twelve earth goddesses, tenma (Tib. brtan ma). |
21A
21B |
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21. Both varieties, 21A and 21B, may represent the serpent (Sanskr. sarpa; Tib. sbrul) or the naga (Sanskr. nāga; Tib. klu). Nagas are mythical serpent creatures inhabiting the waters and underworld. The serpent or naga is the vahana of Varuna. |
| 22 |
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22. Dragon (Sanskr. ahi; Tib. 'brug), the vahana of a number of deities. |
| 23 |
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23. Woman (Sanskr. narī, strī; Tib. mi mo, mo), the vahana of Blue Yaksha. |
24 |
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24. Man-beast (Sanskr. ?; Tib. ?), the vahana of Vidyadevi. |
| 25 |
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25. Garuda, the “Lord of Birds” (Sanskr. garuḍa; Tib. nam mkha' lding, khyung), supported by a human, is the vahana of Marutse. |
| 26 |
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26. Usually, though not in all cases, Garuda is the vahana of Vishnu. Cf. vehicle 25. |
| 27 |
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27. Peacock (Sanskr. māyūra; Tib. rma bya), traditionally associated with Amitābha. However, within the scope of the sources studied, there is only one case in which the peacock serves as a vahana – in the icon of Vajradharma. |
28A
28B |
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28. Water birds (Sanskr. haṃsa; Tib. ngang pa). Nos. 28A and 28B may be so termed, inasmuch as the Sanskrit word haṃsa refers to both swans and geese. The haṃsa is the vahana of a number of deities, above all of Brahma. |
| 29 |
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29. Cart (Sanskr. ratha; Tib. shing rta), the vehicle of Sūrya. |
| 30 |
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30. Seven horses harnessed to a cart (Sanskr. saptāśvaratha; Tib. shing rta'i rta bdun), the vehicle of Red Aditya. |
| 31 |
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31. Seven pigs harnessed to a cart (Sanskr. saptasūkararatha; Tib. shing rta'i phag gi bdun), the vahana of Marichi. |
| 32 |
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32. Boat (Sanskr. udupa, pota; Tib. gru ). Symbolizes, as a rule, the “means of passage to the other bank” (i.e., to Nirvāṇa). The Mahāsiddha Samudra is often represented as the boatman. |
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