Vajrabhairava with His Consort Vajravetali
The wrathful Vajrabhairava presides over the highest class of tantric practice in Tibetan Buddhism: the Great Tantras, a form of meditation that alludes to a dualistic totality of compassion and wisdom. A guardian and destroyer of death, Vajrabhairava is represented here with thirty-four arms brandishing an array of weapons. His sixteen legs trample birds, dogs, and Hindu gods. He holds his consort Vajravetali, an animated corpse, in a sexual embrace (yab-yum). The couple is encircled by a flaming aureole and swirling clouds edged in gold. Akshobhya, Vajrabhairava’s parent Buddha, presides above, along with manifestations of the many-armed deity Hayagriva.
Artwork Details
- Title: Vajrabhairava with His Consort Vajravetali
- Date: 18th century
- Culture: Tibet
- Medium: Distemper on cloth
- Dimensions: Image: 33 15/16 x 20 1/4 in. (86.2 x 51.4 cm)
Framed: 51 1/2 × 29 1/2 × 1 1/8 in. (130.8 × 74.9 × 2.9 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. W. de Forest, 1931
- Object Number: 31.128.3
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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ca. 1700
mid-17th century
18th century
Attributed to Leng Mei (Chinese, active 1677–1742)
1793
Gong Xian (Chinese, 1619–1689)
1688
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