The Female Buddha Vajravarahi (Delusion Tamed by Wisdom)

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There are many forms of Vajravarahi according to attributes she carries in her hands. The first form of Vajravarahi is invoked in those rituals that are performed with the specific purpose of bewitching men and women. She is very popular in Tibet, Nepal and in many Northern Buddhist countries.

She dances in ardhaparyanka on a corpse on a lotus flower. Her expression is ecstatic and wrathful, three eyes are angry and staring. Her mouth is open, showing her teeth, and beard fangs. She wears a crown of skulls with snakes. Her golden hair is upswept in loose. Moreover she is wearing elephant hide and human skin as upper garments; a tiger skin as a lower garment, necklace if serpent, gold earrings, necklace, anklets, waistband, a long garland of severed human heads, and bon ornaments. There is wisdom fire aureole behind her.

Her upraised right hand is holding a vajra-marked chopper, and the left hand near the breast, a cranium. There is vajra-marked khatvanga staff, symbolizing her non-dual union with Chakrasamvara. The ritual staff also signifies that the entire retinue of the sixty-two-Deity Chakrasamvara/Vajravarahi mandala accompanies her. The lower middle ground and foreground are beautifully rendered with high peaks, covered with snow, waterfall, lakes and rocks etc. The bottom center and corners depict auspicious offerings. The black background is filled with clouds. The figure is brilliantly drawn. The thangka is suitable for esoteric sadhana and practices.

Select Bibliography

A. Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, Tokyo, 1962

B. Bhattacharyya, The Indian Buddhist Iconography,Calcutta, 1968

J.C. Huntington and D. Bangdel, The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, Ohio, 2004

Marylin M. Rhie & Robert A.F. Thurman, Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1999

Marylin M. Rhie & Robert A.F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, Thames and Hudson, 1996

R. Linrothe & J. Watt, Demonic Divine: Himalayan Art and Beyond, New York, 2005

This description is by Dr. Shailendra K. Verma, whose Doctorate thesis is on "Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (From its inception to 8th century A.D.)".

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Unveiling the Divine Art: Journey into the Making of Thangkas

A Thangka is a traditional Tibetan Buddhist painting that usually depicts a Buddhist Deity (Buddha or Bodhisattva), a scene, or a mandala. These paintings are considered important paraphernalia in Buddhist rituals. They are used to teach the life of the Buddha, various lamas, and Bodhisattvas to the monastic students, and are also useful in visualizing the deity while meditating. One of the most important subjects of thangkas is the Bhavacakra (the wheel of life) which depicts the Art of Enlightenment. It is believed that Thangka paintings were developed over the centuries from the murals, of which only a few can be seen in the Ajanta caves in India and the Mogao caves in Gansu Province, Tibet. Thangkas are painted on cotton or silk applique and are usually small in size. The artist of these paintings is highly trained and has a proper understanding of Buddhist philosophy, knowledge, and background to create a realistic and bona fide painting.

The process of making a thangka begins with stitching a loosely woven cotton fabric onto a wooden frame. Traditionally, the canvas was prepared by coating it with gesso, chalk, and base pigment.

After this, the outline of the form of the deity is sketched with a pencil or charcoal onto the canvas using iconographic grids. The drawing process is followed in accordance with strict guidelines laid out in Buddhist scriptures. The systematic grid helps the artist to make a geometrical and professional painting. When the drawing of the figures is finalized and adjusted, it is then outlined with black ink.

Earlier, a special paint of different colors was made by mixing powdered forms of organic (vegetable) and mineral pigments in a water-soluble adhesive. Nowadays, artists use acrylic paints instead. The colors are now applied to the sketch using the wet and dry brush techniques. One of the characteristic features of a thangka is the use of vibrant colors such as red, blue, black, green, yellow, etc.

In the final step, pure gold is coated over some parts of the thangka to increase its beauty. Due to this beautification, thangkas are much more expensive and also stand out from other ordinary paintings.

Thangka paintings are generally kept unrolled when not on display on the wall. They also come with a frame, a silken cover in front, and a textile backing to protect the painting from getting damaged. Because Thangkas are delicate in nature, they are recommended to be kept in places with no excess moisture and where there is not much exposure to sunlight. This makes them last a long time without their colors fading away. Painting a thangka is an elaborate and complex process and requires excellent skills. A skilled artist can take up to 6 months to complete a detailed thangka painting. In earlier times, thangka painters were lamas that spent many years on Buddhist studies before they painted.