Item: Nairatmya (Buddhist Deity)
| Origin Location | Tibet |
|---|---|
| Date Range | 1600 - 1699 |
| Lineages | Sakya and Buddhist |
| Material | Metal, Mercuric Gild, Painted Face/Hair, Precious Stone, Stone Inset: Turquoise |
| Collection | Rubin Museum of Art |
Classification: Deity
Vajra Nairatmya (Tib.: dor je dag me ma. English: the Selfless One, or Egoless One): from the Hevajra Tantra a very early and important text of the Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism. Nairatmya is a meditational deity and partner to Hevajra. There are many different forms and combinations of forms for the two deities, alone, or as a couple in an ecstatic embrace.
"Vajra Nairatma, [with] a body black in colour, one face and two hands. The right [hand] holds aloft a curved knife and the left a skullcup to the heart, and carrying a katvanga [in the bend of] the elbow. Having three eyes and bared fangs. Yellow hair bristling upwards. A crown of five dry human skulls and a necklace of fifty. Adorned with the five ornaments of bone. Wearing a lower garment of tiger skin. Standing on a corpse seat in a dancing manner with the left leg extended in a half [vajrasana] posture." (Konchog Lhundrub, 1497-1557).
Jeff Watt, 6-2006
(This sculpture was gifted to the Rubin Museum in 2019).
Tibetan Printed Script (Uchen)
English Transliteration: Homage to Nairatmya!
Wylie Transliteration: bdag med ma la na ma.
Exhibition: RMA Masterworks, January 28th, 2021
Thematic Sets
Buddhist Deity: Vajra Nairatmya Main Page
Collection of Nyingjei Lam (Deities)
Collection of Nyingjei Lam (Inscriptions)
Collection of RMA: Best of Collection (Sculpture)
Collection of Nyingjei Lam
Buddhist Deity: Nairatmya, Lineage Sets
Sculpture Set: Lamdre Lineage (Nyingjei Lam/Halpert)
Buddhist Deity: Vajra Nairatmya (Sculpture Masterworks)