237. Kalarupa Yamaraja Thangka (Thanka). Free Brocade / Free Shipping.

Yama Raja or Kalarupa (God of Death) Yama or Yamaraja is a popular deity sometimes called the king of death . He rides on a buffalo . His right hand holds a staff with a skull of a human head and his left hand holds a tarjani pasa . Yama is ferocious looking Deity with bull – headed face . He wears a garland of human skulls freshly severed . He is riding on a buffalo which is in turn trampling on a corpse. Yama is also responsible for ruling over all the preta realms . The Sanskrit word “ Yama “ stands also for twin rulers . It means that the king of the death governs hell as well as ghost realm together with his sister . That’s why in the painting Yama’s sister is depicted near him offering blood filled skull cup . It is said that Yamaraja rules over dead males and his sister being responsible for taking care of dead female. King yama lives in a palace surrounded by iron – chained mountain in the south of Jambudvipa . As he rules over the hells he does not enjoy the fruits of his meritorious karma . Because in his past lives , he created evil karmic forces and he had to endure the effects of past karma during three periods of time . When he was suffering , his palace naturally changed into an iron city of burning flames. According to some legends , it is said that he was originally a king of Vaisali . At one time he happened to be engaged in a bloody war . He wished he were the master of hell and was accordingly reborn as Yama in hell , together with his generals and army . Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom has emanated into countless emanations. He emanates in different forms and aspects according to the time, people and dispositions. He manifests as Yidams or meditational deities in all four classes of Tantras to suit the needs of practitioners. Manjushri also emanates in the form Protectors to protect the Buddhadharma and Dharma practitioners. Kalarupa is one of the emanations of Manjushri, manifesting as a Dharma Protector or Dharmapala. Kalarupa (Sanskrit) or Choegyal (Tibetan) has by his side, his consort, Tsamundi, an emanation of the goddess Saraswati. Kalarupa’s has many names like Yama Dharmaraja, Lord of Death, King of the Law or Black Karma Yama. This terrifying form of the Buddha of Wisdom, personifies enlightenment through the conquest of anger. Although Kalarupa is found in all the Dharma Schools, the Gelugpa tradition holds Yama Dharmaraja in special regard as he is one of the three main Dharma protectors of the Gelugpa- along with the Six-Arm Mahakala and Vaishravana. Kalarupa is regarded as the protector of the Yamantaka tantras and helps to subdue the afflictions that arise during our practice of the Yamantaka tantras. Kalarupa’s practice helps us also to destroy ignorance and to develop wisdom to overcome our anger and suffering. How Kalarupa Arose as a Protector: At the time when Buddha Shakyamuni was absorbed in the process of generating the mind of Bodhicitta at Dorje Den (Bodhgaya), it was said that an army of three hundred and sixty million devils manifested to attack him in order to stop him. The Buddha in return meditated on the mandala of Yamantaka and the devils were stopped, subdued and placed onto the path of generating the Bodhicitta mind. It was then that the Buddha imparted the tantric treatise of Yamantaka to those present and entrusted it to Chagna Dorje or Vajrapani. Buddha Shakyamuni then manifested himself in the form of the assemblage of deities of the wrathful Yamantaka mandala in all its component parts and gave instructions on the tantric treatise. He also caused the manifested emanations of Yamantaka to perform numerous miracle deeds of different kinds to suit the nature and inclination of each of the individual subjects to be subdued and he instructed them, ‘should any one deviate from my instructions, may all their heads and bodies burst.’ Subsequently, it was said that Buddha Shakyamuni in the form of Yamantaka got hold of his handstaff and stirred the ocean. This resulted in an enormous whirlwind, which caused the whole earth to shake. Choegyal or Kalarupa manifested externally with the face of a buffalo and alongside with his consort Tsamundi, surrounded by four male and four female Shinjes or Yamas, as part of Yamantaka’s entourage. His internal aspect is manifested as solitary and buffalo-faced with his entourage. It is said that in this form, he went to Yama, seven levels below the earth. He trampled upon all the sixteen doorless iron citadels with sixteen feet and by doing so violently subdued its inhabitants. The chiefs of the Yamas individually offered their life-essence to him and were oath-bound. They pledged to protect the Buddha Dharma as long as this aeon endures. They also pledged to work for all deeds of Yamantaka to complete successfully. Kalarupa, The Way to Enlightenment by the Conquest of Anger: Kalarupa’s terrifying form displays the ugliness that arises from inner obstacles like anger, fear, hatred, pride and jealousy. From these poisons, Kalarupa demonstrates our appearance to others when we use harsh speech and harsh actions or are under afflictive emotions like anger, jealousy or hatred. The fierceness of his iconography teaches us to remind ourselves that all the causes and effects of anger arising from ignorance are dreadful and distorted. Yet, his entire form sits on a lotus to signify that everything he does, no matter how wrathful his appearance is, is done out of deep compassion to help us out of our suffering. He is thus also the opponent of all that is foul and despicable. As an emanation of Manjushri, Kalarupa’s practice ultimately helps us to destroy ignorance and to develop wisdom to overcome our anger and suffering. From any lineage, anyone who is dedicated to cut out his anger, can practise Kalarupa. Size: Size without Brocade: 18 inches by 24 inches Shipping: We ship within 2 business day. DHL Shipping: 5 to 8 business days with tracking number. Insurance against loss. We do wholesale too. Our one and only priority in this business is to provide "Hassle free Customer Satisfaction". We have "Quality Products" with "Cheapest Price" in the market. Please contact us to resolve any issues. Contact us via email before leaving any negative or neutral comments. We promise you that we will resolve any issues. Please confirm the return address with us before returning the product.