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Hevajra Mandala

ཀྱེ་རྡོ་རྗེའི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར།

Hevajra Mandala

ཀྱེ་རྡོ་རྗེའི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར།

Within the center of the two dimensional circular diagram (mandala) representing the top view of a three dimensional celestial palace and surrounding is the deity Shri Hevajra, pale blue in color, with eight faces, sixteen hands holding skullcups and two legs dancing posture. The first pair of hands embrace the consort Vajra Nairatmya (Selfless One), dark blue, with one face and two hands holding a curved knife and skullcup, standing on the left leg with the right embracing Hevajra. They are both adorned with bone ornaments and stand atop four corpses above a multi-colored lotus within the flames of pristine awareness. Surrounding the central figures are eight goddesses in various colors, each with one face and two hands, standing in a dancing posture on the left leg above a corpse and lotus seat. The floor of the celestial palace is divided into four colors ornately patterned with floral designs: red, blue, white, and yellow. On the red veranda outside of the palace walls, on the side of the four doors, are two dancing offering goddesses white in color, eight in total. The outer blue and white lines forming a square enclosure represent the stylized decorative facade on the four sides of the palace roof, adorned with upright spears, arrows, and banners. The elaborate lintels above each of the four doors are constructed of four tiered steps topped with a Dharma wheel and two reclining deer with silk canopy above. The palace is placed squarely on a horizontal multi-colored double vajra with only the prongs and Makara heads appearing on the four sides. The outer circle containing small figures on a background landscape is the ring of the eight great charnel grounds filled with corpses, fires, chaityas, yogis, nagas, and wrathful worldly deities. The final ring is composed of the multi-colored fires of pristine awareness completely enveloping the entire Hevajra Mandala On the outside of the mandala circle starting at the left is a solitary Hevajra, blue, with one face and two hands dancing and surrounded by flames of pristine awareness on an architectural throne, accompanied by two wrathful figures to the right and below. On the right is Hevajra, blue, with one face and four hands embracing the consort blue Vajravahi, surrounded by flames of pristine awareness on an architectural throne accompanied by two wrathful figures to the left and below. At the bottom right is diminutive Hevajra, blue, with three faces and six hands embracing blue Vajrashrinkhala, accompanied by five wrathful figures to the right, and above and below. At the bottom left is Hevajra, blue, with one face and two hands, accompanied by two wrathful figures below and three lineage masters on the left edge. In the top register are eleven lineage masters seated on lotus thrones. In the bottom register are nine goddesses, including two forms of red Cauri, followed by Black Jambhala and Shri Devi with four arms on the right. The left corner shows the lama donor seated against a blue void beneath a white canopy. This is a 15th-century painting in the West Tibetan Guge style.

Dimensions: 21" x 19"; framed 31 1/2" x 28"

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