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Chengde Eight Outlying Temples: Dharma Protector Riding on a Goat
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Chengde Eight Outlying Temples: Dharma Protector Riding on a Goat
CHINA, Hebei, Chengde; Qing dynasty (1644–1911); Gilt bronze; H: 15.7 cm
Dam Chen Garba Nagpo, meaning Oath-Bound Dark Blacksmith, is a Dharma protector of Tibetan Buddhism. He is riding a goat with twisted horns and holding out his hands in karana (warding off evil) mudra. His right hand originally held a vajra made of meteoric iron while his left hand held a tiger-skin bellows that was to swell bigger the faster he rode. Flame-like hair billows above his angry face and is restrained by a crown in this 18th century gilded bronze image. The sleeves rise with the wind, and he wears a garland of severed heads below his surcoat. The goat's hair hangs down in a flame pattern and its feet tread on corpses. |
