Dancing Hevajra (<em>Ardhaparyanka</em>)
Khmer
Angkor period, 12th‒13th century or later
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
14.4 × 6.5 × 4.6 cm (5 5/8 × 2 1/2 × 1 3/4 in.)
Classification
bronze
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
148419
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This small bronze depicts Hevajra, a wrathful tantric form of the Buddha Akshobhya, central to Vajrayana Buddhism. With eight heads, sixteen arms holding skull cups, and a dynamic dance pose trampling ignorance, Hevajra appears alone—unlike Himalayan depictions that include his consort. This Khmer-style image, likely used in ritual, reflects royal tantric practices promoted at Angkor in the late 12th and 13th centuries. Hevajra images found at Buddhist sites in Cambodia and northeast Thailand su...