Araniko

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"Anige" redirects here. For the video game character, see Anige (Kirby).

Statue of Araniko at the Miaoying Temple, Beijing

Statue of Araniko at Nepal Bhasa Academy, Kirtipur

Aniko, Anig or Araniko (Devanagari: अरनिको, Chinese: 阿尼哥; 1245–1306) was one of the key figures in
the arts of Nepal and Yuan dynasty of China, and the artistic exchanges in these areas. He was born in
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, during the reign of Abhaya Malla. He is known for building the White Stupa at
the Miaoying Temple in Beijing. During the reign of Jaya Bhim Dev Malla, he was sent on a project to
build a golden stupa in Tibet, where he also initiated into monkhood. From Tibet he was sent further to
North China to work in the court of the emperor Kublai Khan, the founder of Yuan dynasty (1279–1368),
where he brought the trans-Himalayan artistic tradition to China. Araniko led a team of 80 artists to
China and Tibet to make a number of pagoda style buildings. In his later life, he renounced monkhood
and started a family.

Due to some confusion in translation, his name is variously written as Arniko or Araniko in old texts. A
mistake made by Baburam Acharya ascribed his Sanskrit name as Balabahu. However, later he contends
that Aniko might possibly be the Chinese pronunciation for Sanskrit name Aneka.[1] It is also plausible
that his name could mean Aa Ni Ka, meaning "respectable brother from Nepal".

Contents

1 Early years

2 Mission to Yuan-China

2.1 Historical background

2.2 Lhasa

2.3 Shangdu
3 Death

4 Legacy

5 Cultural references

6 References

7 External links

Early years

Araniko was born in 1245 in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, when it was ruled by King Abhaya Malla (1216–
55). While Nepalese history does not have any record of Arniko and everything that is known of him
comes from Chinese accounts, Chinese history and historian Baburam Acharya opines that Araniko could
possibly be from Patan, a place famous for sculptures and fine arts. As such, he would have been a
Buddhist but his Newar caste is open to speculation. However, it is known that Araniko lived in
Kathmandu Valley during the reign of Jaya Bhim Dev Malla, the successor of Abhaya Malla.[1][2]

In the Chinese records, the name of his grandfather is given as "Mi-ti-rha" and grandmother as "Kun-di-
la-qi-mei", Chinese pronunciation for Sanskrit names Mitra and Kundalaxmi respectively. His father's
name was "La-ke-na" (Lakshman) while his mother's name was "Shu-ma-ke-tai".[1]

As is often told in stories about professional artists, Aniko was an artistic prodigy even in his early
childhood. An anecdote from his epitaph relates that when he was three years old, his parents in took
the child to a temple to pay homage to the Buddha. Looking up at a stupa, he asked "who made its
wooden stambha, bhumis, anda?" Greatly surprised, the people around realized that he was a born
artist. When he was about seven, his temperament was sober like an adult. At school, he mastered his
textbooks and became a good calligrapher in such a short time that even the venerable elders
acknowledged their inferiority. He could memorize treatises on art as soon as he heard them read.
Before he left Nepal for Tibet, he was already an expert in painting, modeling, and casting images.[3]

Mission to Yuan-China

Drogön Chögyal Phagpa, one of the five founders of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, was
appointed as a king of Tibet by the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan (r. 1260–1294).
Portrait of young Kublai Khan by Anige (1245–1306), a Nepali artist in Kublai's court

Historical background

The event that brought Arniko to Tibet, and eventually to the Yuan court in Shangdu (today's Beijing),
was Kublai Khan's decree of 1260 CE to Drogön Chögyal Phagpa, the fifth patriarch of Sakya sect of
Tibetan Buddhism, to build a golden stupa for Suer chi wa (Tibetan: "Chos rje pa" or "the Lord of
Dharma"), that is the Sakya Pandita Kun dga' rgyal mtshan (1182–1251), the fourth patriarch of the sect.
[4] Kublai's order was one of the indicators of his acceptance of Sakya teaching.

The timing of the construction, 1260, is worth noticing. In April 1260, Kublai was elected as the Great
Khan by his own supporters, to rival the claim of his younger brother Ariq Böke. Thus was launched a
civil war between the brothers for the leadership of the Empire. In the twelfth month of 1260, he
appointed Phagpa his Imperial preceptor and granted him a jade seal and the position of leader of
Buddhism. By doing so Kublai officially acknowledged Phagpa as his highest religious authority and was
obliged to patronize the Sakya teaching. In return, he expected the Sakya sect to provide religious
sanction. The building of the stupa was not only a tribute to the Sakya Pandita but intended also as a
project to win religious blessing in a critical year.[4] Ariq Böke finally submitted to Kublai at Shangdu on
21 August 1264.

Lhasa

To build the stupa, Phagpa drafted artisans from Nepal. The iconographies and artistic values of the
Tibetans had a close affinity with those of the Nepali tradition. Therefore, it was natural for Phagpa to
turn to Nepal for gifted artists. He intended to recruit one hundred artists, but Jaya Bhim Dev Malla, the
king of Nepal at the time, was able to hand over only eighty. With his appointment as Imperial Preceptor
in 1260, it must have been his vision and ambition for the future propagation of his sect throughout the
still growing Mongol empire that he tried to scour for more artists.[4]

The artists bound for Tibet were ordered to choose a leader from among themselves. Perhaps due to
the uncertainty of their future, nobody was courageous enough to take up the responsibility, except for
the confident Arniko. When the king tried to discourage him because of his youth, he replied, "My body
is indeed young, but my mind is not.[3]" The king eventually made him the team leader of eighty
artisans and sent him to Lhasa. He was only seventeen when he departed from Nepal.[3]

In Tibet, Arniko impressed Phagpa at their first meeting in 1261. Phagpa immediately recognized his
exceptional artistic skill and administrative ability, and entrusted him to supervise the construction. The
stupa was built within the Main Hall of the Sakya Monastery.[4] Arniko spent two years on this project.
[4] After its completion, Phagpa was unwilling to let him leave when he asked for permission to return to
Nepal.

By this time, Kublai Khan had defeated Ariq Böke, and both Kublai and Phagpa must have felt that the
construction of the stupa in the Sakya monastery had gained religious merit that contributed to Kublai's
military victory and other achievements. As Imperial Preceptor, Phagpa was ready to go to the court and
disseminate his sect's teachings. Since no artist in China could make the bewildering array of Himalayan
Tantric deities which would be indispensable for his religious activities, he needed to bring with him
someone who could. Arniko was a natural choice. Instead of going back to Nepal, Phagpa encouraged
him to go to the Mongol court to present himself to Kublai Khan. Phagpa accepted Arniko as his disciple
and initiated him into secret Buddhist treaties, thus elevating his social status above an ordinary artisan.
Thus having discovered Arniko, Phagpa personally prepared and trained Arniko for his future tasks at the
court.[4]

Shangdu

The White Stupa in present-day Beijing

Portrait of Kublai Khan executed shortly after his death in February 1294 by Anige

Portrait of Kublai Khan's wife Chabi by Anige

Arniko arrived in Shangdu (Xanadu) by the end of 1262. The following account of the meeting between
Arniko and Kublai Khan is recorded by Cheng Jufu :

On hearing his recommendation, the Kublai immediately ordered the envoy to summon him. After he
arrived, the Emperor looked at him at length before asking, "Are you afraid to come to the big country?"
He answered, "The sage regards people in all directions as his sons. When a son comes to his father,
what is there to fear?" "Why do you come?" He replied, "My family has been living in the west for
generations. I took the imperial edict to build the stupa in Tibet for two years. I saw constant wars there,
and wish Your Majesty could pacify there. I come for sentient beings." "What do you practice?" He said,
"I take my mind as my teacher and know roughly painting, casting, and carving."[3]
The Emperor was greatly pleased and asked young Araniko to repair an important bronze idol presented
as a gift by a Song emperor. It took him two years to finish the restoration. In the second month of 1265,
Arniko finished the restoration and the statue looked so perfect that even the most skilled artists of
China greatly admired his work.[3]

In Yuan China, he designed and built many buildings. His most renowned architecture is the White Stupa
of Miaoying Temple in Beijing, which was the largest structure at that time.[5] Taking almost ten years
(1279–1288 CE) to complete, the Stupa better known as White Dagoba, is still standing today. It rises to
a height of 50.9 meters and has a diameter of over 30 meters at its base. Thirteen broad circular bands
of molding, called the “Thirteen Heavens,” divide its surface. At the apex of the cone is an umbrella-like
bronze disc structure with 36 bronze bells hanging from its rim. At the very top is a small bronze pagoda,
in itself a work of art. In 1961, then Chinese Premier Zhou En-lai signed a Proclamation stating that the
Temple was to be protected as a National Treasure. This Proclamation kept the White Stupa safe during
the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. In 1976, the temple was seriously damaged by the Tangshan
earthquake. The top of stupa tilted to one side, and the bricks and mortar supporting the stupa
crumbled off, and many relics were broken. In 1978, the Beijing Department of Cultural Relics undertook
the task of repairing and renovating the temple. As of 2010, the Stupa complex is currently undergoing
another renovation.[6]

It is summarized in his epitaph that during his lifetime, Arniko completed three stupas, nine great
Buddhist temples, two Confucian shrines, one Daoist temple, and countless images and objects used in
and out of the court.[3] Arniko was also fine painter, and he executed a number of portraits of the
imperial family. The portraits of Kublai Khan and his wife Chabi, now located in the National Palace
Museum in Taipei, are believed to be his handiwork.[4]

Arniko was accorded with high honors during his lifetime. He was named Director of All Artisan Classes
in 1273 and trained many Chinese craftsmen in the Sakya style.[7] By 1274, he was given a silver plate to
wear with an image of a tiger on it. The emperor became very fond of him and gave him the title "Duke
of Liang" as an honour. Decorated with Ta Sa Thu, an equivalent of a minister, he is among the few
foreigners whose biography can be found in Chinese imperial history books. The most important source
of Arniko's life and career is his official epitaph written by Cheng Jufu (1249–1314) under Ayurbarwada's
(Renzong, r. 1311–20) order of 1316, Liangguo Minhui gong shendao bei (The Spirit-way Stele for
Minhui, the Duke of State of Liang), in Cheng Jufu, Cheng Xuelou wenji (The Collective Works of Cheng
Jufu). Another important source is Arniko's official biography in Song Lian and Wang Yi, Yuanshi (The
Yuan History), compiled under the supervision of the early Ming dynasty. It is largely based on the
epitaph but contains some new information as well.
Death

Arniko had six sons, two of whom, Asengge (阿僧哥) and Ashula (阿述腊) followed his career path as
artists working for the Yuan dynasty.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] He lived in China until his
death in March 1306 at the age of sixty-two. Of his death Cheng Jufu writes:

On the eighth of March of 1306, he looked at the people around himself and said, "If I am going, you
should set up curtains in the hall and a couch, so that I can pass away in peaceful sleep." The next day,
he took a bath and went to court. After returning, he appeared ill. Palace envoys and doctors visited, but
he passed away in sleep on the eleventh. The emperor grieved over his death after hearing the news
and halted the court session. He ordered palace officials to take care of the family, and reward the
family twenty-five thousand taels of silver. The Emperor ordered the authorities concerned to make
arrangements for the funeral. That night a star fell into the courtyard. The next day saw icicles on the
trees. Seven days after, on the seventeenth of March, his remains were cremated according to Nepali
custom. On the fifteenth of July, his ashes were buried in the stupa at Gangziyuan, Xiangshan, Wanping
County (near the capital).[3]