Vasudhara Mandala

Standing at the center of this mandala is the golden image of Vasudhara (“stream of gems”), a Buddhist goddess of wealth and abundance who also embodies the pursuit of learning and the totality of Mahayana ideology as symbolized by the Perfection of Wisdom sutra that she holds in her upraised left hand. To Vasudhara’s left is a green image of the Bodhisattva Vajrapani while a red image of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara stands to her right. Members of Vajrapani’s army of yakshas, male nature deities associated with material wealth and protection, are placed throughout the mandala pouring gems out of sacks and opening treasure chests; this iconography further emphasizes Vasudhara’s role as bringer of prosperity. Immediately below Vasudhara is her main attendant, Ila Devi who mediates between the god and devotees. Protecting the portals of the central mandala are four yakshas sitting within yellow mandorlas that can be identified as Manibhadra, Purnabhadra, Dhana and Veshavarna. In the corners of the same red register appear their consorts, the Gupta Devi, Sagupta Devi, Sarasvati Devi and Chandrakanta Devi. As is standard, surrounding the central square of the mandala is a band of lotuses and a ring of multicolored flames. In the corners of the outer square, bracketed by mangalas (auspicious symbols), are four of the five Pancha Rakshas (protector goddesses), with Vasudhara herself assuming the identity of the fifth as she implicitly takes on the identity of Prajnaparamita (the personification of the Mahayana Buddhist Perfection of Wisdom text). In the top register are the five Tathagata Buddhas, who preside over the celestial Pure Lands in the four directions with the Tathagata Buddha Vairochana in the center (white); two unidentified figures at the extreme upper left and right bracket this group. The iconography of this mandala is the described at length in a text called the Vasndharoddhesa, which allows for the identification of most of the deities represented in this painting. Even with this text as a guide, the identity of a few figures remains ambiguous.