Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Vajrapani (Bodhisattva & Buddhist Deity) - Mahachakra

ཕྱག་ན་རྡོ་རྗེ། 金刚手菩萨
(item no. 12079)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1500 - 1599
Lineages Buddhist
Material Metal, Mercuric Gild
Collection Private
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Appearance: Wrathful

Gender: Male

Interpretation / Description

Mahachakra Vajrapani.

Description: (from the Mitra Gyatsa) "...above a lotus and sun seat, Brahma and Indra, is Vajrapani with a blue cape, three faces and six hands. The right [face] is white, left red, each with three eyes. With six hands, the first two hold a vajra and a wrathful gesture upraised. The middle two are folded respectfully embracing the consort...possessed of beauty, blue [in colour], holding a curved knife and skullcup. The lower two grasp a snake, at the [level of the] waist, as food. The right leg is bent, left straight." (Description: rgyud sde kun btus, vol.23, folio 215).

Lineage: Vajradhara, Vajrapani, Dakini Simhamukha, mahasiddha Shavaripa, Maha Pandita Javaripa, Pandita Devapurnamati, the translator Gar Chokyi Zangpo, kalyanamitra Rinchen Ngodrup, Mar Chokyi Gyaltsen, Mar Sherab Dorje, Mar Tubpa Sherab, Mar Tsondru Dorje, Mar Chogyal Sherab, Mar Shakya Drubpa, etc. (Lineage: rgyud sde kun btus, vol.30, folio 75-6).

Bibliographic reference: Arya Nilambaradhara Vajrapani Rudratri Vinaya Tantra-nama, Toh 454, 455 and No.46 in the Gyu de kuntu set of mandalas.

Jeff Watt 5-2003 [updated 8-2014, 5-2017]

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