Himalayan Art Resources

Mandalas: Cemeteries on the Outside

Mandala Iconography

Subjects, Topics & Types:
- Cemeteries on the Outside of a Mandala Description (below)
- Cemeteries on the Inside of a Mandala
- Eight Great Cemeteries
- Siddhas in Cemeteries
- Masterworks
- Confusions
- Others...

The Eight Great Cemeteries, or Charnel Grounds, surrounding the celestial palace in the mandala of a wrathful deity, can be depicted either inside the nested ring of concentric circles or on the outside. Shown here are examples of both early and late mandala paintings from all traditions of Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhism with the charnel grounds on the outside of the mandala.

Jeff Watt [updated 1-2019]