Art Institute of Chicago

Dancing Hevajra (<em>Ardhaparyanka</em>)

Thailand or Cambodia

Date

Angkor period, 12th‒13th century or later

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Southeast Asia

Department

Arts of Asia

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This small bronze depicts Hevajra, a wrathful tantric form of the Buddha Akshobhya, central to Vajrayana Buddhism. With eight heads, sixteen arms holding skull cups, and a dynamic dance pose trampling ignorance, Hevajra appears alone—unlike Himalayan depictions that include his consort. This Khmer-style image, likely used in ritual, reflects royal tantric practices promoted at Angkor in the late 12th and 13th centuries. Hevajra images found at Buddhist sites in Cambodia and northeast Thailand suggest a broader regional diffusion of this esoteric tradition.

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