Vajrabhairava, 18th century, 49 1/2 x 29 in. ( x cm), Opaque colors and gold on cotton, Tibet, 18th century, This black-ground thangka would have guided an advanced practitioner in meditation focused on overcoming the fear of death. The central deity, Vajrabhairava, is depicted in his most ferocious form with numerous heads, including a water buffalo's as his central head. Each of his 32 arms bears a weapon and he tramples demons and Hindu gods underfoot. The image's ferocity was intended to protect the practitioner from their own fears and delusion when meditating on this

---

Size: 4479px × 7310px
Location:
Photo credit: © Penta Springs / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 18th, 32, advanced, arms, bears, black-ground, bodhisattva, bottom, buffalo, center, central, century, colors, cotton, death, deities, deity, delusion, demons, depicted, difficult, empower, fear, fears, ferocious, ferocity, focused, form, functioning, gelugpa, goddess, gods, gold, guided, gurus, hat, head, heads, hindu, horseback, image, intended, lhamo, lineage, manjushri, meditating, meditation, numerous, opaque, order, overcoming, overhead, palden, practitioner, protect, protector, subject, surround, thangka, tibet, tramples, underfoot, vajrabhairava, water, weapon, yellow