Vajradhara with Twenty-Five Mahasiddhas

Buddha Vajradhara represents the Buddha’s “body” of the Dharma—or the ultimate truth—and is considered the form of the Buddha in which he taught esoteric tantric teachings. Tibetan Buddhists received these teachings during the later transmission of Buddhism from India in the tenth to thirteenth century. Although the large figure of dark blue Vajradhara is in the center of this composition, the main subject is the great tantric masters (mahasiddhas) of India, each identified by a Tibetan inscription.This painting is the central one in a set of three depicting the Eighty-Four Great Mahasiddhas.Another painting, featuring the Indian master Atisha, also surrounded by mahasiddhas, includes an image of a donor, or the donor’s teacher, whose hat is similar to those of Panchen Lamas and other important hierarchs of the Geluk tradition.