Hevajra Thangka – Heruka Shakti In Newari Paubha

Description

Havajra Thangka is hand-painted and is painted on Cotton Canvas in Kathmandu Nepal. The size of this thangka is 51 x 38cm and its weight is 0.1 kg.

Hevajra is presented at the center of the thangka. In Tantric, or Vajrayana Buddhism, Hevajra is one of the most important yidams. Nairtmy is Hevajra’s consort.

This beautiful Hevajra Thankga helps to eliminate greed. He is one of the fierce protective tantra deities in Buddhism.

Hevajra’s art is considered especially valuable in kindling the central nervous system inner fury fire that melts the inner drops from the brain to the groin and generates the subtle subjectivity of great bliss so essential in Tantric practices in the perfection stage.

Nairatmya Hevajra’s consort is also a deity of subtle wisdom in her own right, a Tantric form a Prajnaparamita, Mother of all Buddhas.

Hevajra has sixteen – arms, eight faces, and four legs. The eight faces indicate the purification of the eight releases. His four legs crush four maras, who symbolize the fourfold obstacle to enlightenment – the obstacle of the aggregated constituent elements of existence (Skandha-mara), the obstacle of egoistic entanglements (Kleshmara), the obstacle of (Mrityumara), and the obstacle of rebirth in the form of gods (Devaputramara). According to a commentary on the Hevajra Tantra, four Hindu gods, Brahma, Yaksha, Yama, and Indra, respectively personify the four Maras.

The sixteen arms of Hevajra signify the purification of the sixteen voidnesses. In each of his hands, he holds a skull cup. Each of the cups in his right hands contains, starting with his principal hand and moving to the lower, an elephant, horse, ass, man, camel, ox, lion, and cat. That is the left holds Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Moon, Sun, Yama, and Vaishravana. The elements in the skulls held in the left hands are usually visually represented in human form.

Carrying skull cup in all of the hands is one of the most distinctive features of Hevajra. The skull cup represents the mental aspect of the body, speech, and mind notion. It also represents death and impermanence, the illusory nature of all the phenomena.

The animals and gods in Hevajra’s skull cup may symbolize a universal range of all matter and beings, alive, on earth, in the heavens. Thus, the sixteen skull cups collectively symbolize the sixteen voidness or Shunyata.

Nairatmya, the consort of Hevajra has two hands and two legs. Nairatmya is embracing Hevajra by her left hand, while the right hand holds a vajra–marked chopper.

Her left leg is along with his, while her right leg is wrapped around his waist. Her expression is also wrathful. Both of them are adorned with bone ornaments and wear a long garland of skulls. Nairatmya is wearing a skirt of tiger skin.