Vajravarahi in Wrathful Posture, copper alloy, India

Vajravarahi derives from the boar-headed Hindu goddess Varahi (female aspect of Vishnu’s boar-headed avatar Varaha), reflecting the incorporation of Hindu imagery into Vajrayana Buddhism. The head of a sow projects from her head. Wearing a garland of severed heads, she dances on a corpse, wielding a chopper with a vajra (thunderbolt) finial, evoking the cutting away of illusions.