Vajrabhairava with Three forms of Yama Dharmaraja

Artist

Mongolian (Mongolian)

Date

19th century

Medium

Pigments and gold on sized cloth; gilt silver, copper and glass case

Dimensions

Case : 10 1/8 x 7 15/16 x 7/8 in. (25.72 x 20.16 x 2.22 cm)
Image : 8 1/2 x 6 3/8 in. (21.59 x 16.19 cm)

Credit Line

Hope College Collection, Gift of David Kamansky and Gerald Wheaton

Object Number

2021.21.21.A-B

Label

Legend says that Yama Dharmaraja began his existence as a humble monk who was meditating in a cave when three outlaws entered the cave and killed a sacred buffalo they had recently stolen. As soon as they realized there was a witness to their crime, the outlaws murdered the monk, cut off his head, and cast his body aside. The monk’s spirit was so enraged by this cruel act that it reanimated his body, placed the head of the slaughtered buffalo on his shoulders, and immediately killed the three outlaws. His bloodlust unquenched, Yama was preparing to continue his killing spree when Manjushri assumed the form of Yamantaka/ Vajrabhairava and subdued Yama, installing him as lord of the underworld and judge of deceased souls. This painting of Vajrabhairava with three different forms of Yama Dharmaraja may once have been used in meditation and visualization exercises by a monk studying the various tantras associated with these deities.