British Museum Top 20 Buddhism 14 Yama Thangka [18 of 26]
14. Yama Tangka - Tibet or southern China, 18C AD, 65 x 46 cm. The British Museum has many artifacts that are not on display, like this one. The fierce and bull-headed Yama stands on his buffalo mount, which tramples on a corpse. He is surrounded by flickering flames against a black background. He holds a noose and skull-crested club, with a string of severed heads hanging from his waist. Yama is the Indian god of death, who in Tibetan Buddhism was conquered by Manjushri and made a protector of the Buddhist dharma (teachings). Photo – Marilyn Rhie and Robert Thurman: The Sacred Art Of Tibet.