Vajrabhairava mandala

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Vajrabhairava mandala by an unknown artist depicts a square image with a central figure surrounded by concentric circles and squares, forming a symmetrical mandala. The image shows a central orange square with a blue figure at its center standing on two figures, surrounded by smaller orange squares with figures and triangular motifs and rectangles with more figures; this central composition is framed by a green square composed of repeating rows of small figures and green leafy shapes. An orange ring encloses the green square, containing a Sanskrit text written in blue on a beige background; the text on the outer circumference appears upside-down compared to the text on the inner circumference. The outer ring of the mandala consists of a row of orange arch-shaped compartments containing seated figures. The outermost frame of the mandala consists of a row of small portraits on an orange background.