Images of Devotion - capriaquar.it

14. Vajrapâni
Copper alloy
Tibet
17 th -18 th century
33 cm
The career of the Bodhisattva Vajrapâni (“Vajra in Hand”), the
image of whom is presented here, is extremely interesting
from the doctrinal point of view. Vajrapâni was originally a
yaksha, a minor deity, whose role was to protect the Buddha
Shâkyamuni. This is probably by virtue of his characterizing
emblem, the vajra or thunderbolt sceptre, the primary attribute
of the Vedic god Indra, called rdo-rje in Tibetan, meaning
“lord of the stones”. This refers to diamond, the hardness
and transparency of which make it a symbol of indestructibility
and purity.
In the tradition of the Great Vehicle, Vajrapâni and Padmapâni
(see nos. 2 and 3) have appeared beside the image of the
Buddha Shâkyamuni as Bodhisattvas since the earliest centuries
of our era. Vajrapâni leads a well-known group of sixteen
great Bodhisattvas, all depicted in their peaceful appearance.
However, when not in that group he is usually
depicted in his wrathful form, with a vajra in his right hand, to
underline his function as Buddha’s fierce guardian. During
the course of the history of Buddhism, Vajrapâni’s importance
grew at the same rate as that of the vajra. Initially con-
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sidered a weapon in the hands of a demi-god guardian of
the Buddha, the vajra came to symbolize the absolute power
of the condition of the Buddha. In particular, this symbol
was adopted by the esoteric schools which characterized
the last stage of the history of Buddhism, called Vajrayâna
(“Vehicle of the Vajra”) to distinguish them from the previous
ones 1 .
Notwithstanding his ascent to the rank of Bodhisattva, Vajrapâni
generally kept his ferocious, stocky appearance of
guardian of the doctrine, making him considerably different
to his colleagues par excellence, Avalokiteshvara and Manjushrî.
Vajrapâni subsequently took on the epithet of Vajrasattva
(“Vajra Being”), which refers to his perfect Enlightenment
2 . Later the Five Cosmic Buddhas were represented
with a single epiphanic shape called Vajradhara (“Holder of
the Vajra”) and regarded as the Primordial Buddha (“Âdibuddha”).
The style of this image is related to that of statues produced
during the 17 th and 18 th centuries during the period of the
Qing 3 dynasty in China.
1 Erberto Lo Bue, Immagini divine e spazi sacri, in Erberto Lo
Bue - Chiara Bellini, Arte del Ladak. Tesori di arte buddhista nel
Tibet indiano dall’XI al XXI secolo, Jaca Book, Milano 2011 (forthcoming).
2 David Snellgrove, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. Indian Buddhists &
Their Tibetan Successors, Shambala, Boston 1987, p. 136.
3 Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Visual Dharma Publications,
Hong Kong 1981, pp. 546-547, figg. 155A, 155B, 155C.