Item: Vajrayogini (Buddhist Deity) - Vajravarahi, Red

Vajravarahi (Tibetan: dor je pag mo): Vajravarahi is one of the most popular and commonly depicted meditational deities of Tantric Buddhism. She is also found in the same Sanskrit literature (Abhidhana Uttaratantra) that describes the deity Chakrasamvara. Vajravarahi is a form of the deity Vajrayogini. The only difference in appearance is that Vajravarahi has a boar's head attached to her own, either placed on the top of the head or on the right side of the head. Following a Densatil style this sculpture was most likely created in the Sho Village workshops below the Potala Palace in the 17th or 18th century.

Sanskrit: Vajravarahi Tibetan: Dor je pag mo

Vajravarahi is typically red in colour although there are other forms and traditions where she can appear in any colour. She has one main face and two hands. The boar's head can be on top of Vajravarahi's head or on the left side depending on the tradition. The right hand holds aloft a curved knife and the left a skullcup to the heart. In the bend of the left elbow a katvanga staff is held against the left shoulder. Adorned with bone ornaments and a necklace of heads she stands in a dancing posture on a corpse seat.

This Vajravarahi sculpture is surely one of the finest ever created. The face is beautiful although likely re-painted in the recent past. The body proportions and movement are excellent. The ornamentation is precise and detailed, also textually accurate. The elaborate scarf (not part of the textual description) is beautifully excessive with studded semi-precious stones - likely original to the piece - framing the central figure and bringing the entire sculpture to a fullness that is greater than the sum of the parts. Sculptural perfection - art and iconography!

Jeff Watt 10-2010

Thematic Sets
Tibet: Densatil Monastery Style Sculpture
Sculpture: Figurative, Three Parts
Tibet: Densatil (Vajrayogini)
Buddhist Deity: Vajrayogini (Miscellaneous Masterworks)
Buddhist Deity: Vajrayogini, Varahi (Sow Head on the Right Side of the Face)
Buddhist Deity: Vajrayogini, Varahi (Sculpture Masterworks)
Buddhist Deity: Vajrayogini, Vajravarahi Iconography
Tibet: Densatil (Masterworks)
Buddhist Deity: Vajrayogini, Vajravarahi Main Page