The Newar Craftsmen of Kathmandu Valley: Objects of Devotion from Nepal

Samvara Mandala
Mineral pigments on primed cotton
1987

This is a mandala, a guide for esoteric tantric visualization meditation. Its central figures are to be held in the mind’s eye, and identified with, opened up mentally inside a three-dimensional building, its flat gateways raised up in the four directions. The central figure is the multi-armed enlightened deity Samvara, shown embracing his consort. Initiates to this Newar vajrayana tradition are taught to identify with the central figures, repeat mantras associated with them, thereby purifying the mind by overcoming fear and ending habitual dualistic thinking.