Ascetic Master, probably a Mahasiddha
A dramatically poised Indian yogi kneels on a flayed buffalo skin and holds aloft a skull cup. He is likely the mahasiddha Kapalapa (“Skull-cup Bearer”), one of the Indian eccentric yogis and practitioners of Tantrism so revered in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition. This icon likely portrays a Dzogchen master of the Nyingma order who practiced as an ascetic yogi.
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