Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Vajrapani (Bodhisattva & Buddhist Deity) - Mahachakra

ཕྱག་ན་རྡོ་རྗེ། 金刚手菩萨
(item no. 65628)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1800 - 1899
Lineages Buddhist
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection Rubin Museum of Art
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Appearance: Wrathful

Gender: Male

Interpretation / Description

Vajrapani, Mahachakra (Tibetan: chag na dor je, kor lo chen po. English: the Vajra Holder, Great Wheel): wrathful meditational Deity, representing the power of all Buddhas.

Sanskrit: Vajrapani Tibetan: chag na dor je

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).

At the top center are three teachers of the Gelugpa Buddhist Tradition. At the left is Nagaraja Buddha and to the right is Simhanada Avalokiteshvara. Below the seated teachers is Akshobhya Buddha. At the bottom center is Shri Devi Magzor Gyalmo. To the left is Manjushri Nagaraksha and on the right is Black Garuda.

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).

Jeff Watt, 3-2003

Related Items
Thematic Sets
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Painting Gallery 4
Buddhist Deity: Vajrapani, Mahachakra Page