Vajrayogini the red dakini Thangka

Vajrayogini the red dakini Thangka is handpainted by using traditional Color on handmade cotton canvas.

Vajrayogini is the queen of Dakinis the female Tantric deities or “sky dancers”.

She is the supreme teacher of the Anuttarayoga Tantra, the Yoga practice that allows those who are plagued by strong desires and attachment, to attain enlightenment.

Vajrayogini is the main dakini of the Tantra of Chakrasamvara known also as “Heruka” and the most relevant tantric goddess of all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

Vajrayogini's outstretched right leg treads on the breast of red Kalarati, the principal worldly goddess. Her bent left leg treads upon black Bhairawa, the principal worldly god. Vajrayogini treads on Kalarati and Bhairawa to demonstrate that she has destroyed her attachment, hatred, and ignorance, and to show that she is free from the fears of samsara and can lead all living beings to the same freedom.

Vajrayogini has a red-colored body that shines with a brilliance like that of a fire at the end of an eon, symbolizing the blazing of her inner fire which destroys all delusion. She has three eyes, symbolizing her ability to see everything in the past, present, and future. She looks up toward the Pure Land of the Dakinis, indicating that she leads her followers to high attainments, including the attainment of great bliss. Her right hand, outstretched and pointing downwards, holds a curved knife marked with a vajra, representing her power to cut the continuum of the delusions and obstacles of all living beings. Her left hand, held aloft, contains a skullcup filled with blood, which symbolizes her experience of the clear light of bliss, and her victory over death.

Her left shoulder supports a khatanga marked with a vajra, indicating that she is never separated from her consort Heruka. She is in the prime of her youth and her beautiful hair hangs freely down her back, symbolizing that she is free from the fetters of self-grasping. Her headdress is adorned with five human skulls which represent Vajrayogini's purified aggregates. Her purified inner winds are symbolized by her long necklace of fifty human skulls. She stands in the center of a blazing fire of exalted wisdom, and she is supported by a lotus symbolizing the complete purity of her body, speech, and mind.