ON TIBETAN SCROLLS AND IMAGES. 21 



of the merciful Avalokitesvara. He is included in the 'angry' type of the Tibetan 

 deities. He carries a dreadful thunderbolt in his hands, and tramples on the 

 enemies of his religion with his feet. He possesses a disproportionately large head, 

 scowling brows, three cruel eyes, and a gaping mouth showing his canine fangs and 

 rolling tongue. His beard and eye-brows are yellow, and his hairs are erect. His 

 body, especially the upper part of it, is surrounded by fringes of curls, which represent 

 coiled snakes beset with flames of fire. His limbs are encircled with snakes and he wears 

 on his head a rosary of human skulls. 



The big Vajrabhairava is surrounded by ten smaller ones. On the left of Vajra- 

 bhairava stands his female energy — the terrific Kali— adorned with a rosary of human 

 skulls and wearing on the head the ornament of human bones. Her limbs are surround- 

 ed by flames of fire. She tramples under each of her feet an enemy of her religion. 

 Beneath her there stand two Pretas or hideous human bodies freshly flayed, fighting 

 against each other with human bones and skulls and casting flames of fire all around. 



On the top of the chart is depicted the Adibuddha called Vajradhara (Tibetan — Rdo- 

 rje-hchan) who sits cross-legged, holds in one hand thunder, and in the other a bell ; 

 and is attended by the sun on one side and the crescent moon on the other. Just below 

 Vajradhara sits the saint Tilopa, who received his inspiration directly from that deity and 

 flourished in the middle of the ioth Century A.D. On the right side of Tilopa sits his 

 pupil Naropa. Below Naropa sits his pupil, the famous Atisa, who was a native of 

 Vikramanipura in Bengal, and visited Tibet in 1042 A.D. On the left side sit Marpa 

 and his pupil Milaraspa thinly clad in the Indian fashion. 



The saints named above are the venerable personages of the Tibetan sect called 

 Kar-gyu-pa, which was founded by Lama Marpa in the latter half of the nth Century 

 A.D. Vajrabhairava, who is the tutelary deity of the Ge-lug-pa sect that arose at 

 the beginning of the 15th Century A.D. under the leadership of Tsong-kha-pa, is also 

 worshipped by the Kar-gyu-pas. Vajradhara is the Adi-buddha of both the Kar-gyu- 

 pa and Ge-lug-pa sects. Hence I conclude that the chart must have belonged to the 

 Kar-gyu-pa sect. The red colour of the hat that Atisa wears conclusively proves that 

 the chart did not belong to the Ge-lug-pa sect, the members of which wear yellow hats. 



Vajrabhairava is a powerful d^ity who was appointed by Buddha himself as the 

 custodian of his religion. He should be constantly propitiated by spells, offerings, the 

 construction of magic circles, etc. He helps the votaries in times of peril, gives them 

 prosperity in all temporal affairs and can ultimately make them reach the other shore or 

 Nirvana. He is accompanied by ghosts, goblins, imps, furies, genii, etc., who also 

 when properly coerced can fulfil the desires of the votaries and enable them to attain 

 siddhi (success). The charm, spell or incantation, the recitation of which propitiates 

 Vajrabhairava and coerces his attendant devils, is said to have been icomposed by himself. 

 The charm which appears on this chart runs as follows : — 



Text. 



3 s a 



