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Photograph by Gavin Ashworth, Rubin Museum of Art, 2013.
Bodhisattva Vajrapani
Photograph by Gavin Ashworth, Rubin Museum of Art, 2013.
Photograph by Gavin Ashworth, Rubin Museum of Art, 2013.

Bodhisattva Vajrapani

OriginSwat region
Date7th century
Dimensions5 1/8 × 2 3/8 × 1 1/8 in.
MediumCopper alloy with silver inlays
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin
Object numberC2013.8.2
DescriptionBodhisattva Vajrapani personifies Buddhism’s great power. That energy is apparent in the tool he holds in his right hand by which he activates the Buddhist teachings. Vajrapani is, literally, the Holder of the Vajra, the thunderbolt scepter that is the symbol of tantric Buddhism’s lightning-fast, powerful techniques for attaining enlightenment.
Not on view