Abstract
This chapter details the respective iconography and identifications of a series of paintings dedicated to sixteen “highly realized ones” (Skt: arhat; Tib. དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།) who were among the Buddha Shakyamuni’s earliest disciples. While there are several traditions for depicting these realized masters, there is one stream in particular that has an outsized presence in the material culture of the Himalayan nation of Bhutan. By evaluating the material and textual record, this chapter situates this distinctive set of thangka.