Minneapolis Institute of Art
Hevajra and Nairatmaya
India; or Bangladesh
- Date
- 12–13th century
- Medium
- Black Chlorite
- Department
- Asian Art
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
This sculpture depicts the male Buddhist deity Hevajra in sexual embrace with the female deity Nairatmaya. While wrathful in appearance, he symbolizes compassion, and she wisdom: their union transcends opposites and dissolves into the great bliss of enlightenment. As practitioners of Vajrayana Buddhism meditated on this image, the soul was awakened to a higher level of consciousness, far from the everyday activities of mundane human existence. In this vigorous and crisp visualization, one sees the Buddhist deities astride the bodies of Brahmanical (Hindu) deities, a reference to the lively spiritual debates held at monastic centers of Northeast India. Bangladesh, India, Asia
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