The Murals of Baiya Monastery

Yama (Detail of Sarasvatī section)

The bull-headed Yama (Tib. Chos-rgyal) dances atop a buffalo with his incestuous sister, Yamī, at his side. He holds aloft a skull scepter in his right hand and a cord (with which he catches demons) in his left. Yamī holds a trident in her right hand and a kapāla in her left. Both wear garlands and crowns of skulls, identifying them as protectors of the Buddhist law. Yama is the king of hell who was converted to Buddhism by a fierce esoteric form of the bodhisattva Manjusri.

Above the figures lie a selection of esoteric symbols common in Tibetan religious artwork. These are the Seven Gems (Tib. nor-bu cha-bdun), which include the three-eyed gem, the unicorn, the king’s earrings, the crossed gems, the queen’s earrings, the eight-branched coral, and the elephant’s tusks. All of these are easily recognized, except the third item from the left, which is more like a stylized representation of jewels. This may be a substitution, using one set of earrings to represent those of the queen and the king.