ABS 266
Code: ABS 266
Country: Tibet
Style:
Date: 1400 - 1500
Dimensions in cm WxHxD: 7 x 9.6 x 5
Materials: Brass
Mahasiddha Virupa
Virupa is an Indian tantric master, or mahasiddha, who lived in India around the 9th century and played a major role in the development of esoteric Buddhism. In Tibet he is principally associated with the Sakya school who revers him as a forefather. Almost naked, except for a loincloth and few ornaments, corpulent, Virupa sits in the royal ease posture, his right knee held by a meditation belt. Longhaired, with a short beard, a garland of flowers adorns his head. Holding a skull cup before his heart with his left hand, he raises his right hand in the threatening gesture. This posture refers to an episode of his life when, using his supernatural powers, he stopped the course of the sun so he could drink endlessly without paying.
Mahasiddhas or “great accomplished ones” are yogic masters of India and Tibet endowed with psychic abilities and spiritual powers, and leading unconventional lifestyle. The tradition attributes to them the tantras, the founding literature of Vajrayana, the esoteric form of Buddhism.
Virupa is an Indian tantric master, or mahasiddha, who lived in India around the 9th century and played a major role in the development of esoteric Buddhism. In Tibet he is principally associated with the Sakya school who revers him as a forefather. Almost naked, except for a loincloth and few ornaments, corpulent, Virupa sits in the royal ease posture, his right knee held by a meditation belt. Longhaired, with a short beard, a garland of flowers adorns his head. Holding a skull cup before his heart with his left hand, he raises his right hand in the threatening gesture. This posture refers to an episode of his life when, using his supernatural powers, he stopped the course of the sun so he could drink endlessly without paying.
Mahasiddhas or “great accomplished ones” are yogic masters of India and Tibet endowed with psychic abilities and spiritual powers, and leading unconventional lifestyle. The tradition attributes to them the tantras, the founding literature of Vajrayana, the esoteric form of Buddhism.