From Padmasambhava to Gö Tsangpa: Rethinking Religious Patronage in the Indian Himalayas between the 8th and 13th Centuries

Abstract

This chapter addresses a problematic perception of the authenticity of patronage that results from the different viewpoints of academic historical research and religious worship. This primarily art historical study focuses on a selection of objects and monuments from the areas of Kinnaur and Lahul, two districts in the Indian region of the Western Himalayas. Local tradition attributes the artefacts to important Buddhist personalities from the 8th to the 13th centuries. I show that these artefacts, which are associated with the mystical actions of the legendary patrons, are very closely linked to topographical peculiarities of the landscape and occupy a special place in the sacred geography of the area. The aim is not to draw a historically authentic picture of the past, but rather to explore the relationship between art, architecture, landscape, and the local concept of patronage and religious heritage, not only in modern times.