Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Vajradhara Buddha

རྡོ་རྗེ་འཆང། སངས་རྒྱས། 金刚持
(item no. 92014)
Origin Location Ladakh, Northern India
Date Range 1800 - 1899
Lineages Gelug
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection U. of Michigan Museum of Anthropology
Catalogue # #17464, Koelz Collection
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Interpretation / Description

Vajradhara, Buddha (Tibetan: dor je chang, sang gye. English: the Vajra Holder, Enlightened One). The primordial buddha, personification of the dharmakaya - truth body of enlightenment and progenitor of the Vajrayana system of buddhism.

Sanskrit: Vajradhara Tibetan: Dor je chang

Standing at the left is the bodhisattva Maitreya with Manjushri on the right. Mahasiddhas and Gelug lamas are seated above and the wealth deity and worldly protector Vaishravana sits atop a snow lion at the bottom right. At the bottom left corner is a donor figure, wearing monastic robes and accompanied by attendants. (U. of Mich. cat. 17464 {Likir Monastery}).

Jeff Watt 5-2001

Related Items
Thematic Sets
Region: Ladakh, Northern India
Buddhist Deity: Vajradhara Main Page
Collection of University of Michigan (Koelz Collection)
Buddhist Deity: Vajradhara, Solitary
Buddhist Deity: Vajradhara (Lineage Sets)
Painting Style: Guge Kingdom (Western Tibet)