Dakini Yeshe Tshogal

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Vajrayogini appears as a sixteen-year-old girl, an age considered by Vajrayana Buddhism to be the prime of youth. She is a virgin, symbol of her complete innocence in relation to samsara. They are considered as teacher of Tantric Masters and the protectors of Dharma taught by the Buddha Shakyamuni. In this way Vajrayoginis have initiated, taught, and assisted many great Indian and Tibetan yogis in performing esoteric Vajrayana rituals. She has access to all the Buddhas and thus is more powerful and so she is an important divinity in Tantric Buddhist pantheon.

They like to spend time at cremation ground because this is the place where earthly bonds are cut and, depending on someone’s karma, where opportunity for enlightenment exists. Moreover she can change human weaknesses into wisdom and understanding, or the concept of self into enlightenment energy. The cult of Vajrayogini is very much popular in Buddhist tantric world, especially in Tibet, Nepal, and other regions that are following Tibetan tradition of Buddhism

There are many forms of Vajrayogini as depicted in Tibetan Buddhist texts. The present one is Dakini Yeshe Tshogal who tramples a prostrate body on a lotus throne - symbol of craving, hatred, and ignorance that she has subdued, and which she now victoriously stamps into the ground. She is very youthful looking and is untamed. Her expression is ecstatic. She is drunk with wisdom, entranced with spiritual power, wild with compassion, insatiable for truth. At the same time her look is dangerous, warning. With her three eyes she can see past, present, and future. In her right hand she brandishes a vajra-chopper above her head. This is a brutal implement, used by butchers for cutting and flaying. It has vajra handle, and its blade is razor-sharp. With her chopper the Vajrayogini cuts off all attachment, especially concern for the physical body. In her left hand she holds the skull cup of shunyata, filled with the ambrosia of Great Bliss, for it is this mahasukha, which the Vajrayogini pours out like wine to her devotees. She wears a flowery crown and her hair is upswept in a knot with beautiful decoration on it. Moreover she is wearing a flowing scarf, long garland of flowers, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, armlets, and bracelets. There is flame aureole behind her. They are the fires of her soaring inspiration, her unquenchable energy, and her purifying wisdom. They are fires of love burning for all that lives.

Yeshe Tshogal was a great siddha and one of the main disciples of Guru Padmasambhava. She was responsible for writing down and concealing many of the termas or “Treasures” texts left by Padmasambhava. It is those teachings, which Yeshe Tshong disseminated through Tibet. She is often shown in Dakini form, with skull cup and vaja-chopper.

Vajrayogini insists that all female beings in the universe are her embodiments or manifestations and thus should be respected, honored and served without exception. She takes form so that women, seeing enlightenment in female form will recognize their innate divinity and potential for enlightenment. Devotion to her should be expressed as respect for women, while respect for women provides a way of measuring devotion to the goddess. She also promising her blessing to a man who worship her as per instructions mentioned in the Vajrayogini Sadhana.

This description is by Dr. Shailendra K. Verma, whose Doctorate thesis is on “Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (From its inception to 8th century A.D.)”.

How are Nepalese copper statues made?

Nepalese statues and sculptures are best known for their unique small religious figures and ritual paraphernalia for over two thousand years. These are mainly cast in copper alloy. Nepal draws influences from the artistic styles of Buddhism and Hinduism, and therefore the sculptors of the country specialize in making the icons of both these religions. Over the years, Nepalese sculptures evolved into their own distinctive iconography. Some characteristic features of these sculptures that differ from other pieces are exaggerated physical postures, youthful and sensual features, languid eyes, wider faces having serene expressions, and ornate flourishes. The Buddhist deity icons of Nepal have tremendous demand in countries such as China and Tibet for ritual purposes in their temples and monasteries.

Nepalese statues and sculptures have a high copper content and therefore develop a slightly reddish patina on the surface as they age. However, the most unique feature of Nepalese copper statues is their decorative detailing. The pieces are heavily gilded and sometimes inlaid with semi-precious stones. This embellishment protects them from getting tarnished. The traditional lost-wax method for casting Nepalese copper statues remains the most practiced technique in Nepal for many centuries. This process involves many steps and requires skilled artists.

The first step in lost-wax sculpting is to make a wax replica of the desired Buddhist deity to be cast in copper. This replica is created by hand and therefore needs excellent artistic skills otherwise fine features will be lacking.

Once the wax replica is made, it is then coated with a special mixture of clay with a brush. This layer of clay is hardened when left to dry. A small hole is made on the base of the wax mould so that the wax flows away when it is heated.

At this stage, a hollow mould in the shape of the deity is obtained.

This is the time to pour liquid copper into the hollow mould which is then allowed to cool and harden inside a container of cold water. When the liquid metal has hardened, the mould is removed and the statue within is revealed.

The artist works on the details of the statue using various tools. It is then polished to get a shiny and lustrous surface.

Now comes the most important part of Nepalese art which is gold gilding. This is done by the traditional fire gilding method. A mixture of mercury and 18K gold is applied on the surface of the statue and heat is applied using a flame torch. The result is that mercury evaporates along with impurities, leaving a pure 24K gold finish.

The lost-wax method of sculpting is the most preferred technique

for artists to cast a metallic statue having intricate details. Since Nepalese copper sculptures require extraneous effort for giving a majestic look by adding special embellishments, it takes several weeks to complete one masterpiece. A 24K gold gilded copper sculpture retains its brilliant luster for many years and appears as like before. Nepalese sculptures continue to remain one of the finest specimens of the art of the East that have a strong aesthetic appeal that other sculptures cannot match.