Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Buddhakapala (Buddhist Deity)

སངས་རྒྱས་ཐོད་པ། 佛陀嘎巴拉金刚
(item no. 36171)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1400 - 1499
Lineages Sakya and Buddhist
Material Ground Mineral Pigment
Collection Private
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Interpretation / Description

"Buddhakapala is blue with one face and four arms. The right two hold a double-sided drum and a curved knife. The left two hold a skullcup and a katvanga staff. Having three eyes and the pile of hair adorned with a vishva-vajra and crescent moon, a crown of five dry skulls and a necklace of fifty wet, adorned with the five mudras, an elephant hide as a lower garment, standing in a dancing manner, half vajra, expressing the nine moods of dance. [He] embraces the consort Vishvasukha Matri, red, [holding] in the right a curved knife and a skullcup in the left embracing the Lord, surrounded by the eight goddesses."

Jeff Watt 1-2012 [updated 4-2017]

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Buddhist Deity: Buddhakapala Main Page
Region: Mustang, Chotsang Cave Temple
Buddhist Deity: Buddhakapala (Masterworks)