Pastel and ink on paper

37.5 x 29.5 inches (frame)

011

Guru Dragpur is a wrathful form of Padmasambhava, the 8th c. monk who brought Buddhism to Tibet. In this wrathful form he is clearing Tibet of all the demons who oppose Buddhism. In his right hand he holds a gold vajra and in the left a black scorpion. His conquests are symbolized by the elephant hide draped around his shoulders, and by the demon’s hide tied around his neck. Instead of legs, his lower body is in the form of a phurba, a three-edged peg, a weapon that he is said to have invented, piercing a demon. This image was taken from a 19th c. Tibetan thanka.