Wheel of Life: Demon of Impermanence
Wheel of Life: ComponentsSubjects, Topics & Types:
- Description (below)
- Unadorned Demon
- Adorned Demon
- Confusions: Yama, Mara (Kama Loka)
- Others...
Videos:
- Demon of Impermanence
- Yama Confusions
The Demon that holds the Wheel of Life and Death is a personification of impermanence and is often confused with Yama the judge of actions who is typically depicted in the Hell Realms, or Mara who is a sentient being inhabiting the God Realm.
The Demon is generally depicted as either unadorned or adorned with wrathful ornaments, a crown, a tiger skin garment and three eyes. The unadorned, lacking ornamentation, appears to be more accurate to the early literature. This type of depiction is more commonly found with paintings from the Mongolian regions. The adorned Demon is common to the Himalayan regions and Tibet and follows the description of a typical deity in Wrathful Appearance.
Wrathful Appearance in Buddhist art is modeled after a raksha demon from the island of Lanka as described in the Ramayana and other early Indian literature. The body of a raksha is short and squat, the face angry with large bulging bloodshot eyes, a mouth gaping with a lolling tongue, and large canine teeth bared. The hair is bristling upwards and the body is adorned with skulls, bone ornaments, snakes and animal skins, completely surrounded by the massive flames of wisdom fire. A third eye placed vertically on the forehead is often added.
Jeff Watt 6-2022
Source Text: Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya Vibhanga: (translated from the Chinese version of the Sanskrit text)
'Above the wheel make the Great Demon of Impermanence with disheveled hair and a gaping mouth. In his outstretched arms he holds the wheel of life and death.'
(Reinventing the Wheel. Paintings of Rebirth in Medieval Buddhist Temples. Stephen F. Teiser. University of Washington Press, Seattle & London. 2006. Page 56).
(The images below are only a selection of examples of the unadorned Demon of Impermanence).
