It was kismet to find this exquisite White Tara, a gift for my good friend on her 30th birthday, on Ritual Thanka's Etsy. They have so many practice-quality paintings created by true craftsmen, and the purchasing process is easy.
When I called Ritual's contact number to ask a question, their sales manager answered and took action to help even though it wasn't his normal job. (Thanks, Rajendra!)
They also sent me a brief personal video showing the packed thangka ready for shipping, and got it out the door quickly -- in the face of the covid pandemic, no less.
You can feel safe supporting Nepalese artists by purchasing from Ritual Thanka.
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DAC
The deity Yamantaka , as the name suggests , is terrifying to behold . It is said that he is the emanation of the Boddhisattva Manjushree . He has eight heads . The principal head is that of a bull or a buffalo . He has 34 arms and sixteen feet with which to subdue Yama . Above the eight heads is the gentle face of golden – colored Manjushri .
His two principal hands hold a skull cup and vajra cleaver . His legs are bunched together . He wears a garland of fifty severed heads , symbolizing fifty Sanskrit vowels and consonants or seed syllables , and a crown of five skulls , symbolizing his perfection in the wisdom of five Buddhas . His body is deep blue in color , symbolizing his wisdom which is as vast as space . His two horns symbolize the two truths ; his sixteen legs symbolize sixteen types of emptiness . His thirty – four arms plus body , speech and mind symbolize the Thirty – seven factors of enlightenment . He is naked because he has abandoned all the concerns of the worldly mind .
Under his right foot is a human being and various animals , signifying his mastery over the eight siddhis , under his left foot are many birds and animals , symbolizing his mastery over the uncommon siddhis .
In his right hand he holds a curved knife , a dart , a wooden pestle , a fish – knife , a harpoon , an axe , a spear , an arrow , a hook , a skull club , a khatvang , a discus , a vajra , a vajra hammer , a sword , and a drum .
In his left hands he holds a skull cup filled with blood , the head of Brahma , a shield , a leg , a lasso , a bow , intestines , a bell , a hand , a shroud , a person impaled on a stick , a brazier , a scalp , a threatening mudra , trident , and a fan for making fire offering .