Item: Humkara (Buddhist Deity) - (Four Arms)

Vajra Humkara.

With one face and four arms, he holds in the upraised right hand a vajra scepter. In the extended left hand is a pestle(?). The two principle hands at the level of the heart display a variation of the 'humkara' gesture unique to the deity himself. The crown is adorned with the five Buddha families along with various other ornaments such as earrings with ribbons, armlets bracelets and a belt. Attired in only a short skirt he bends a knee and leans to the right side.

Humkara (resounding with the sound HUM) is a meditational deity belonging to the literature and practice of Vajrayana Buddhism. He functions in both a supporting role as a retinue figure and as a central figure in a Tantric mandala. From the textual and visual descriptions he is male and generally appears as semi-peaceful/wrathful or in a completely wrathful appearance. Typically from the known examples, he can have two or more arms and have up to three faces. Some examples also depict a consort with two or four arms.

Jeff Watt [updated 7-2019]