Yamantaka

Yamantaka

Yamantaka is the “destroyer of death” deity in Vajrayana Buddhism, above riding a water buffalo.

Yamantaka is also called Vajrabhairava, is one of the eight Dharmapalas, or Dharma Protectors, who are sworn to defend the Buddha’s teachings for all time.

He is a buffalo-headed meditation deity of manifestation of the Bodhisattva Manjushri, a deity of Highest Yoga Tantra, and a dharma protector.

It is said that in the form of Yamantaka, Manjushri defeated the demon king Yama, the Lord of Death.

Yamantaka symbolizes the victory of wisdom over death through the direct realization of the ultimate nature of reality.

Yamantaka wears an elephant-skin cloak, a garland of freshly cut human heads, a garland of snakes, and bracelets, necklaces, and a girdle made of interlaced bone ornaments.

He is unclothed except for his adornments. His erect phallus has a red tip, and there is a flame aureole behind him. His central main hands hold a chopping knife (Kartika), representing his ability to cut the root of delusion, and a human skull bowl (Kapala) filled with blood, symbolizing his victory over the forces of death.