Vajrayogini is one of the most important tantric deities in the Vajrayana pantheon. It is said that her practice helps anyone, especially those plagued by strong desire and attachment, to swiftly attain liberation. She has the power to transform all mundane experiences into profound paths to enlightenment. The lineage of her practice traces back to the Buddha Vajradhara who manifested his wrathful form to expound the Root Tantra of Chakrasamvara. It is in the context of this practice that Vajrayogini appears for the first time - as Chakrasamvara’s consort. Delineating from this root tantra is her individual practice, which she transmitted herself to three Indian adepts. Each transmission lives on today within the four sects of Tibetan Buddhism.

She is depicted here red in color standing on the golden surface of a lotus flower; fanged and naked, with her left hand she drinks blood out of a skull cup. Her right hand holds a dagger, capable of cutting away all delusions and wrong views. A wrathful halo of fire surrounds her, signifying her pristine awareness which burns away obscurities. She wears no ornaments of the world, adorning herself instead with a rosary and crown made out of human skulls. Young and beautiful, wild and ferocious, she holds the black Yamantaka under her feet.

The thangka comes framed in a traditional silk brocade border.