The Bodhisattva Vajrasattva

The Bodhisattva Vajrasattva

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Esoteric Buddhist deity Vajrasattva holds a stylized thunderbolt and a bell and sits in royal ease on a stylized mountain, with his pendant foot supported by a lotus bloom. Two snake deities, a naga and nagini, emerge from the mountain’s waters and raise their hands in veneration of Vajrasattva’s transcendent wisdom.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Bodhisattva VajrasattvaThe Bodhisattva VajrasattvaThe Bodhisattva VajrasattvaThe Bodhisattva VajrasattvaThe Bodhisattva Vajrasattva

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.