Pandita is a Sanskrit word from India that means a scholar gifted in the "Five Studies", which include the arts of Buddhology, philosophy, music, medicine, and Buddhist painting and sculpture. For a student monk, Pandita was the ultimate title of praise.

Tibetan Buddhist art was introduced to China proper in the Yuan dynasty during the rule of Khubilai Khan. Two Panditas of the Sakya Sect, Fourth Patriarch Sapan (1182-1251) and Fifth Patriarch Phagspa (1235-1280), played essential roles in this respect.

The profound wisdom of Sapan centered in his Buddhist view of worldly matters, foreseeing that chance and the inevitability of history were governed by a "reciprocal fate". For this reason, he was chosen in 1247 to stave off the onslaught of Mongol armies on Tibet by meeting with the Mongol general Godan (1206-1251), son of the khan Ogotai. Although Tibet submitted to the Mongols, Sapan was allowed to rule as a Mongol official over the autonomous Tibetan region as Buddhism became favored under the Mongols. Consequently, the Sakya Sect for the next hundred years or so (1247 to 1349) enjoyed the highest authority in the Tibetan region. Even after the Yuan dynasty, emperors and empresses of the ages would "revere Buddhism, especially revering the Three Treasures (the Buddha, canon, and clergy)". They even became "benefactors" of Tibet, contributing monetary and human resources to support the region, thus supporting the vigorous development of Tibetan art.

The profound wisdom of the Pandita Phagspa centered on his understanding of the universality of art--one of the Five Studies--in the Buddhist faith. He realized the magical power that art possesses, and so he took with him the admired Nepalese artist Arniko (1244-1306) to the capital Ta-tu (Peking). Arniko, "with his heart as his master and guided by his spirit," fused Buddhism from the foothills of the Himalayas with late Buddhist art to form a new manner. With his unique "power" and "beauty" at creating art, he injected new force into the traditional Buddhist art of China. Within the short 90 years of Mongol rule, his influence left an indelible impression in China.