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Bodhisattva Vajraraksha
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Once part of a set of sculptures depicting the enlightened beings who occupy a perfect world called the Diamond Realm (Vajradhatu), this figure holds the collar of his jacket in a gesture specific to him. An important practice in Tibetan Buddhism is the visualization of the Diamond Realm as described in texts and aided by artistic representations called mandalas. Bodhisattva Vajraraksha sits in the northern quadrant as a subsidiary figure to the Buddha Amoghasiddhi, who is green in color and quells fear.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineBodhisattva Vajraraksha, c. 900s. Western Tibet. Silver; overall: 10.8 x 7 cm (4 1/4 x 2 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin, 1989.363