# TANGKAWORLD

> TANGKAWORLD is an English-language Thangka image library and educational guide site covering Buddhist deities, mandalas, symbols, iconography and visual identification.

The site includes two complete digital archives containing the same 1,512 Thangka images: a convenient JPG collection and a high-resolution TIF archive. Long-form guides support careful visual study. TK numbers are internal archive identifiers. Artist, date, school, collection history and provenance remain uncertain unless an independent source is cited.

## Core pages

- [Home](https://thangkaworld.com/): Overview of the image library and latest guides
- [Learn](https://thangkaworld.com/learn/): All educational articles
- [Deities and Iconography](https://thangkaworld.com/category/deities-iconography/): Identification guides for Buddhist figures and attributes
- [Thangka Basics](https://thangkaworld.com/category/thangka-basics/): Introductory reading methods and visual principles
- [Download](https://thangkaworld.com/download/): Complete collection details, price, delivery and FAQ
- [Pricing](https://thangkaworld.com/pricing.md): Machine-readable product and price details
- [Sitemap](https://thangkaworld.com/sitemaps.xml): Index of published pages, articles and categories

## Recent educational guides

- [Buddha Preaching Assembly: How to Read Teaching Scenes](https://thangkaworld.com/buddha-preaching-assembly-teaching-scenes/): Read Buddha preaching scenes through teaching gestures, halos, monastic and jeweled attendants, guardians, ritual objects, and cautious identification.
- [Maitreya in Buddhist Art: Symbols and Visual Forms](https://thangkaworld.com/maitreya-buddhist-art-symbols/): Identify Maitreya through the stupa, water flask, bodhisattva and Buddha forms, inscriptions, regional traditions, and a practical visual checklist.
- [How to Study Thangka Iconography with High-Resolution Images](https://thangkaworld.com/study-thangka-iconography-high-resolution-images/): A practical method for studying thangka iconography with high-resolution images, from central figures and attributes to inscriptions and provenance.
- [JPG vs TIF for Thangka Art: Which Format Should You Choose?](https://thangkaworld.com/jpg-vs-tif-thangka-art-format-guide/): Compare JPG and TIF for thangka art by image quality, file size, compatibility, printing, preservation and research workflow.
- [Where to Download High-Quality Thangka Images](https://thangkaworld.com/where-to-download-high-quality-thangka-images/): Compare museum open-access collections, specialist databases and curated archives when looking for high-quality thangka images to download and study.
- [Black Thangka Painting: Gold Lines, Technique, and Care](https://thangkaworld.com/black-thangka-painting-gold-line-technique/): Learn how black-ground Thangka paintings use luminous lines, limited color, iconometric hierarchy, and careful preservation.
- [Amitabha Pure Land Painting: A Visual Reading Guide](https://thangkaworld.com/amitabha-pure-land-painting-visual-guide/): Read an Amitabha Pure Land painting through its central triad, palace, lotus pond, assemblies, rebirth imagery, and narrative side panels.
- [Four Heavenly Kings in Buddhist Art: A Visual Guide](https://thangkaworld.com/four-heavenly-kings-buddhist-art-guide/): Identify the Four Heavenly Kings through directions, armor, attributes, placement, and regional variations in Buddhist art.
- [Milarepa Thangka: Singer’s Gesture and Yogi Symbols](https://thangkaworld.com/milarepa-thangka-singers-gesture-and-yogi-symbols/): Identify Milarepa through the hand cupped to the ear, white cotton robe, ascetic body, cave setting, deer-hunter narrative, and Kagyu context.
- [Vaishravana Thangka: Mongoose, Banner, and Snow Lion](https://thangkaworld.com/vaishravana-thangka-mongoose-banner-and-snow-lion/): Recognize Vaishravana through the victory banner, jewel-spitting mongoose, armor, royal dress, snow lion mount, northern guardian role, and comparisons.
- [Hayagriva Thangka: Horse Heads and Wrathful Symbols](https://thangkaworld.com/hayagriva-thangka-horse-heads-and-wrathful-symbols/): Identify Hayagriva through the horse heads, red wrathful body, multiple faces and arms, flames, skull ornaments, tiger skin, and important comparisons.
- [Chakrasamvara Thangka: Twelve Arms and Sacred Union](https://thangkaworld.com/chakrasamvara-thangka-twelve-arms-and-sacred-union/): Read a complex Chakrasamvara painting through four faces, twelve arms, Vajravarahi, ritual implements, flames, retinue figures, and cautious attribution.

## Citation and interpretation notes

- Cite the specific guide URL and article title when using TANGKAWORLD material.
- Distinguish visible iconographic observations from undocumented historical attribution.
- Consult the museum and specialist references listed in each guide for comparative evidence.
- Image count, archive size and price refer to the complete digital collection described on the Download page.

## Policies and contact

- [Contact](https://thangkaworld.com/contact/)
- [Terms of Service](https://thangkaworld.com/terms-of-service/)
- [Privacy Policy](https://thangkaworld.com/privacy-policy/)