Vajrapani, "vajra in hand" (Tibetan: Chana Dorje), is the bodhisattva of power: the enlightened strength that protects and overcomes obstacles. With Chenrezig, who embodies compassion, and Manjushri, who embodies wisdom, he forms the Lords of the Three Families (Tibetan: Rigsum Gönpo). In tantric Buddhism he is also called the Lord of Secrets, the holder and protector of the tantric teachings.
How he is shown
In most thangkas Vajrapani is wrathful:
- Dark blue, with one face, three eyes, bared fangs and hair rising like flames.
- His right hand raises a vajra above his head. The vajra, both "diamond" and "thunderbolt", stands for what cannot be broken: the awakened mind.
- His left hand is held at his heart or stretched out, the index finger raised in the threatening gesture, sometimes holding a lasso.
- A lunging warrior's stance, one leg bent and the other straight, on a lotus and sun disc, often over prone figures that stand for obstacles.
- A crown of five skulls, snakes as ornaments, a garland of heads and a tiger skin at his waist: the dress of the wrathful deities, whose fierceness is aimed at ignorance and fear, not at beings.
- A blaze of flames around him: the fire of wisdom.
Peaceful and wrathful
Vajrapani is one of the earliest bodhisattvas to appear in Buddhism. In the ancient art of Gandhara he stands at the Buddha's side as his protector, sometimes modelled on the Greek hero Heracles. In the Mahayana sutras he appears as a peaceful bodhisattva, a form also found in Nepalese art, where he may hold his vajra on a lotus. In the tantras, and in most Tibetan painting, he takes his wrathful form, in many variants.
The three protectors
Chenrezig, Manjushri and Vajrapani stand for three qualities of the Buddha: compassion, wisdom and power. They are often painted, carved and enshrined together across the Himalayas, and some of our paintings show Vajrapani with Chenrezig and Manjushri above him.
Mantra
Om Vajrapani Hum.
In a painting
Vajrapani is all forward movement. Look for a strong, balanced stance, clean outlines in the raised arm and vajra, flames that swirl around the body, and fine detail in the snake and the tiger skin. You can recognise him at a glance as a dark blue wrathful figure raising a vajra above his head; Mahakala, who can look similar, holds a curved knife and a skull cup instead.
