“Milarepa: A Story of Struggle, Anguish, Resolution, and Triumph”
“Milarepa: A Story of Struggle, Anguish, Resolution, and Triumph”
This painting is the story of struggle, anguish and triumph of Milarepa, a Tibetan poet and Siddha (the enlightened one), who led an inspiring life of human and spiritual accomplishment. Milarepa inspired people and became
a source of deep solace due to his energetic struggle against obstacles and odds on the way toward Nirvana.
The faith and resolution contributed for the achievement (Shrestha, 2023). The myth of Milarepa encourages us to resolve the crisis. In the painting, Marpa in right side is his guru who would lead him to the pinnacle of realization. His two pupils Sun and Moon on the left were his first disciples. Noropa, the Guru of Marpa is at right top and Trilopa the Guru of Noropa on the top left. His siter Peta, who had also become a beggar and his aunt along with many students, are at the right bottom along with hunter with bow and arrow. In the middle left background, Milarepa’s magic destroys his uncle and aunt’s house and other villager’s houses killing many people and animals and destroys the local harvest through hailstorm. At the middle right, Marpa ordered to build the nine storied building without assistants and plow the field. Marpa often beat him, because he was absolutely clear in his mind that Milarepa could not gain the desired transformation by any normal training.
Citation: Sharma, Y. P. (2023). Mukesh Shrestha's Paintings: Visual Narration of Buddhist Myths. Journal of Fine Arts Campus, 5(1).1-11. https://doi.org/10.3126/jfac.v5i1.60291
Mukesh Shrestha did his Master’s in Fine Arts from Banaras Hindu University, Varanashi, India. He is a recipient of Gold Medal for his excellent performance in MFA in India (2008 A.D.). Amongst many, one of his major themes is the aftermath of the distorted socio-political situations. He focuses on the emotions and sentiments originated from such circumstances. He tries to depict the transient nature of human beings, and simultaneously attempts to manifest his creativity in multiple forms. The human forms that are molten and twisted on his canvas suggest their ephemeral nature. Besides, he depicts spiritual thoughts of the Buddha, and creates a visual treat by mixing traditional style with the contemporary creating and exotic fusion. The artist chooses Buddhist elements as healing components. Inspired by Paubha painting, he wants to preserve the essence of this traditional art. He has held six solo exhibitions and has participated in numerous art shows in Nepal and abroad. He is a recipient of First Prize at National Exhibition organized by Nepal Academy of Fine Arts. Currently he is lecturer at the Central Department of Fine Arts, he is also Head of Department of Painting at Sirjana College of Fine Arts.
