Pair of book covers with Buddhist deities

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The upper cover shows the most important Mahayana Buddhist deities: at center is the Buddha attaining enlightenment; at his right are the bodhisattvas Manjushri and Vajrapani; at his left sit Shadakshari Lokeshvara and Tara. Together, these deities represent enlightenment, compassion, correct method and practice, and protection from worldly harm. The lower cover, in contrast, illustrates fierce protective deities flanking a central bodhisattva: Achala and Marichi at his right, and Mahapratisara and Mahakala at his left. Although these deities from the esoteric Vajrayana tradition appear in north Indian sculptures and manuscript illustrations, only in Tibet are they grouped in a set as here.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art