Bönkyab, 20th/21th century, Kathmandu, Nepal
Cotton and silk brocade, painting technique: gouache, L: 200 cm, W: 130 cm
Shenten Dargye Ling Monastery, France

The central figure of the thangka is Tapihritsa, an 8th-century practitioner of Dzog chen. He is said to have attained the so-called rainbow body after nine years of religious practice. Thus, Tapihritsa is usually depicted with a white body in the meditation position surrounded by a rainbow. In order to impart the Zhang zhung nyen gyud, Tapihritsa is said to have manifested as a young boy Nangsher Lopö, who became his student.