Palcho Monastery: Vajrapani Bodhisattva

CHINA, Tibet, Gyantse

Vajrapani is the fierce Bodhisattva known as the “thunderbolt wielder.” The vajra is often seen held in the right hand of the Bodhisattva who is attending the Buddha to protect his teaching. In Vajrayana Buddhism, the vajra is symbolic of loving-compassion or skillful means, and the bell held in the left hand represents wisdom.
The figure has a golden face and two staring eyes, with a third between the eyebrows. Vajrapani wears a five-leaf crown, beneath which the hair and beard are painted red. The figure’s body is short and sturdy and adorned with armlets and a lotus necklace inlaid with triple turquoises. Standing in the wrathful warrior stance upon a supporting beam, Vajrapani’s right leg is bent and the left leg extended, as he tramples upon two corpses.