Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 21. (Budapest, 2002)
Béla KELÉNYI: „...May They Here Increase! May All Gather Together!" A Woodprint and its Inscriptions from the Mongolian Collection of the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts, Budapest
Beneath the protective circle filled with mantras, in the middle part of the woodprint, gallops the Wind-horse itself, festively caparisoned. Behind it, on a hilltop, are the ten stacked syllables (spungs yig rnam bcu dbang Idan) of the mantra symbolising the Kalachakra tantra, which contains the astrological tradition of Indian origin. On the woodprint there are texts connected with the basic five deities of the rlung rta that are contained in a work by the 3 rd Panchen Lama (1737-1780). 13 These appear on prayer flags in essentially unchanged form even today. Beneath the Horse's belly the following text can be found: 14 he he rdzu 'phrul shugs Idan rta mchog rin po che I myur mgyogs che bai rlung rta yar la bskyed II srog lus dbang thang tshe dang bsod nams 'phel I rta dang stag seng khyung 'brug 'dir yar bskyed I kun dus sarba 'du 'du ho I badzra ayushe svaha I "He-hel May the hugely swift 15 wind-horse of the magically strong Precious Horse increase! May life energy, health, power, lifespan, and merit increase! May the Horse, Tiger, Lion, Garuda, and Dragon here increase! May all gather together! May SARVA gather, gather, HOH! VAJRA AYUSHE SVAHA!" The Wind-horse is presented in the following way in a text written by Peking's famous Lalitavajra, a contemporary of the 3 rd Panchen Lama: "The deity dwelling in the middle, the warrior-deity rising the wind-horse [i.e., increasing good fortune], is none other than the Precious Horse, King Bhalaha. The swift, warrior-deity's offering of smoke causes my good fortune to rise, and I pray that declining good fortune should increase!" 16 In the text of the TSHETHAR, on the other hand, we find the following: "Kyel Of magical strength, swift as the wind, the tips of its two ears are sharp, mist pours from its two nostrils, is two eyes are like the Sun and Moon, its neighing is tsher tsher in sound, its mane and tail are both thick, its back is like a throne, its four hooves are stronger and harder than iron, its flesh is plump, the colour of its coat is lovely, it is kept clean through bathing and the offering up of smoke, it is covered with mantras, and embellished with fabric in tiger and leopard [pattern], as well as with different silks." 17 Of the four animals traditionally surrounding the "Wind-horse", the Lion can be seen in the bottom left-hand corner of the woodprint (and in the bottom right-hand corner of the PC woodprint): he he stobs Idan pa i gdong Inga i dbang po ni I gzi brjid che bai rlung rta yar la bskyed II srog lus dbang thang gong nas gong du bskyed I bsam pa'i don kun myur du 'grub par mdzod I kun 'dus sarba 'du 'du ho[l] badzra ayushe svaha I "He-hel May the hugely resplendent wind-horse Of the strong, five-faced Mighty One increase! May life energy, health and power increase higher and higher, And may every conceivable wish be quickly fulfilled! May all gather together! May SARVA gather, gather, HOH! VAJRA AYUSHE SVAHA" Or as Lalitavajra's text puts it, "The deity dwelling in the easterly direction, the warriordeity causing the wind-horse to rise, is none other than the shell [i.e. shell-white] Lion with a turquoise mane." 18 In the top right-hand corner can be seen the dragon (here I quote the PC text, since both MC texts are fully illegible):
