Mahakala yab-yum (?)

paint and gold on textile
Tibet, 17th-18th cent.
size: 87 x 55 cm.

An intriguing painting! In the center, most probably Mahottara Heruka with six arms and three heads, in yab-yum, holding in his central hands a vajra and ghanta, and in his other hands a damaru, a trishula, a kapala, and intestines. Behind him, he has the skin of an elephant. He is a fierce manifestation of one of the Dhyani Buddhas.

Around him is a group of dancing figures, all with animal heads, the famous group of deities of the Tibetan Book of the Death (Bardo Thodöl). Around the central figure are five almost identical figures of Mahottara Heruka, mirroring the Five Dyani Buddhas, all in circular aureoles. A mysterious feature is the red and yellow circles between the dancing figures. Can these be depictions of planets? Or are they something one encounters in the spiritual journey between Death and Rebirth?

published: HAR, nr. 21249.