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Source Description
Practitioners meditate on this powerful image to conquer fear of death. As a manifestation of the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri, whose gold head is at the apex of his nine heads, Yamantaka Vajrabhairava demonstrates that wisdom conquers fear and, ultimately, overcomes death itself by leading to enlightenment. With nine heads, 34 hands, and 16 legs, he surpasses the powers of Yama, god of death. Yama, the blue figure with buffalo head below, has only two arms, and he wields his skull-topped scepter at impaled and decapitated bodies, judging their souls be sent to hell.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
98873
label
Yamantaka Vajrabhairava and consort Vajravetali
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
98873
contentType
object
title
Yamantaka Vajrabhairava and consort Vajravetali
description
Practitioners meditate on this powerful image to conquer fear of death. As a manifestation of the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri, whose gold head is at the apex of his nine heads, Yamantaka Vajrabhairava demonstrates that wisdom conquers fear and, ultimately, overcomes death itself by leading to enlightenment. With nine heads, 34 hands, and 16 legs, he surpasses the powers of Yama, god of death. Yama, the blue figure with buffalo head below, has only two arms, and he wields his skull-topped scepter at impaled and decapitated bodies, judging their souls be sent to hell.
date
1700s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79485853
genreSpecific
Embroidery
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 90.2 x 66 cm (35 1/2 x 26 in.)
cul
Tibet
accession
1918.548
Source extras
tec
Appliqué with embroidery: silk, metallic thread, hair, Tibet paper, ink
tombstone
Yamantaka Vajrabhairava and consort Vajravetali, 1700s. Tibet. Appliqué with embroidery: silk, metallic thread, hair, Tibet paper, ink; overall: 90.2 x 66 cm (35 1/2 x 26 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Worcester R. Warner Collection, 1918.548
collection
Textiles
didYouKnow
His buffalo head connects him with the vehicle ridden by Yama, god of death.
creditline
Worcester R. Warner Collection
updatedAt
2026-06-17 16:30:38.731000
sourceId
98873
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
Appliqué with embroidery: silk, metallic thread, hair, Tibet paper, ink
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
25bacb6b4c87b9b7