Very large Tibetan Buddhist ceremonial crystal skull Citipati Adorned with its crown of fire surmounted by a dorje crane rock crystal

Very large Tibetan Buddhist ceremonial crystal skull
Citipati Adorned with its crown of fire surmounted by an Ushnisha
Rock crystal skull

The skull is made of Himalayan rock crystal, more precisely Hyakule Deposit in Nepal.
As a gemologist graduated from the Institut National de Gemmologie (ING), Paris, France. All our materials are appraised and certified by us.

Bronze ornament

Old and rare collector's item

Ancient skull with shamanic and Buddhist vocation carved and made by hand. It is not an industrial production created with laser and high-pressure water jet "made in China". It is an authentic handcrafted creation by highly reputable and skilled craftsmen.

Dimensions: 29cm high, 32cm deep
Weight of 20,85kg
Very imposing piece by its size and weight


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Two Dharmapalas adorn his crown, Mahakala on the forehead, Vajrapani on the back.
Dharmapala is a type of wrathful deity. The name means defender of the dharma in Sanskrit, also known as defenders of the law (dharma), or protectors of the law.

VAJRAPANI
Vajrapāni is a compound word in Sanskrit in which "Vajra" means "diamond or lightning" and "pāni" means "in hand"
Vajrapani is one of the first bodhisattvas to appear in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of Gautama Buddha and stood up to symbolize the power of the Buddha.

Vajrapāni is widely depicted in Buddhist iconography as one of the first three protective deities or bodhisattvas surrounding the Buddha. Each of them symbolizes one of the Buddha's virtues: Manjushri manifests all the wisdom of the Buddhas, Avalokiteśvara manifests all the immense compassion of the Buddhas, and Vajrapāni protects Buddha and manifests all the power of the Buddhas.

Vajrapāni is one of the earliest Dharmapalas of Mahayana Buddhism and also appears as a deity in the Pali Canon of the Theravada school. He is worshipped in Shaolin Monastery, Tibetan Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism (where he is known as Mahasthamaprapta and forms a triad with Amitābha and Avalokiteśvara). Vajrapāni manifestations can also be found in many Buddhist temples in Japan as Dharma protectors called Nio. Vajrapāni is also associated with Acala, worshipped as Fudō-Myōō in Japan, where he is worshipped as a holder of the vajra.

This tangka represents him in his Acharya form. manifestation of Vajrapani as Dharmapala, sporting a third eye, ghanta (bell) and pāśa (lasso).

Vajrapāni's expression is wrathful, to generate "fear in the individual of relaxing his dogmatism". His outstretched right hand brandishes a vajra, "symbolizing analytical knowledge (jñanavajra) that disintegrates the grasp of consciousness.
He wears a five-pointed bodhisattva crown to represent the power of the five Dhyani Buddhas (the fully enlightened state of the Buddha).

His neck is adorned with a snake necklace and his waist with a tiger skin.
Walking to the right, his raised hand holds a vajra.

In early Buddhist legends, Vajrapāni is a minor deity who accompanied Gautama during his career as a wandering beggar. In some texts, it is said to be a manifestation of Śakra, king of paradise Trāyastriṃśa of Buddhist and Hindu cosmology and god of rain as depicted in the idols of Gandharva. Like akra, he is said to have been present at Tathagata's birth. As Vajrapāni, he was the god who helped Gautama escape from the palace at the time of his renunciation. When Sakyamuni returned from Kapilavastu, he reportedly took eight forms of devas that escorted him.

Vajrapāni is considered a manifestation of Vajradhara and the "spiritual reflex", the Dhyani Bodhisattva of Akshobhya. At the popular level, Vajrapāni is the bodhisattva who represents the power of all Buddhas just as Avalokiteśvara represents their great compassion and Mañjuśrī their wisdom. He is called the Master of Unfathomable Mysteries who upholds the truth even in the adversities of darkness and ignorance.

According to the Pañcaviṃsatisāhasrikā- and Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitās, any bodhisattva on the path of Buddhahood is eligible for the protection of Vajrapāni, which makes him invincible to any attack "by men or ghosts".

MAHAKALA
Called the "Great Black", Mahakala is peculiar to Tibet and is called Mong-po, and was accepted as a tutelary deity of Mongolia in the seventeenth century under the name of Yeke Gara, under Tibetan influence.

His Chinese name, Dahei Wang or Dahei Tian (大黒天) is only the transcription of the Sanskrit name maha (great-Da in Chinese), Kala (black-Hei) adding Wang meaning king. Dahei Wang 大黑王 The Great Black King, or Dahei Tian Great Black Sky.

Mahakala has never been the object of worship in China itself.

In Japan, mainly in the Shingon school, where his image seems to come from Mongolia, and answering to the name of Daikokuten (大黒天, Great Black Sky) or simply Daikoku (Great Black), he does not have the same symbolism and was venerated from the seventeenth century as one of the 7 deities of happiness with Ebisu, Benzai Ten, Bishamon ten, Fukurokuju, Jurôjin and Hotei, a heterogeneous group formed by deities belonging to both Buddhism and Chinese Taoism artificially created in the seventeenth century by the monk Tenkai who died in 1643 (Postume Jigen Daishi)

In Tibet Mahakala is both a Dharmapala and a protective god (Yi dam).

The Dharmapala are the protectors of the Dharma, the guardians of the teachings.

This name designates the deities assuming the task of protecting practitioners and teachings in vajrayana and dzogchen.


Very numerous and divided into several classes, these protectors constitute an impressive set of deities either male or female. Some have a peaceful appearance, most show a corrouted appearance, thus showing their powers and dedication to protecting secret teachings and ensuring that obstacles on the spiritual path are removed.

Two main classes of protectors are distinguished: the protectors of wisdom or supra worldly to which the group of Mahakala belongs and the worldly protectors.

The Mahakala group has 75 shapes, all curved, 6 of which are the most important.


SYMBOLISM OF THE DORJE
Vajra, in Tibetan Dorje. It is arguably the most important symbol of Tibetan Buddhism. The term means "diamond" and refers to the indestructible nature of the mind in itself, enlightenment, which is both imperishable and indivisible. The small scepter seems to be, originally, the diamond lightning of the god Indra, it is a mark of royalty and power.

(1) the five upper points represent the five wisdoms, five facets of the diamond that is the awakened spirit:

Mirror-like wisdom, which means that the awakened mind, just like a perfectly polished mirror, clearly reflects all things, possesses the ability to know everything, without any confusion.

The wisdom of equality, which recognizes that all the phenomena of samsara (the ordinary world) and nirvana (the pure fields or paradise of the Buddhas) are of an equal nature in the sense that they are of a single essence: emptiness

the wisdom of distinction, which denotes that the awakened mind perceives not only the emptiness of all phenomena (which is what the wisdom of equality operates) but also, in a simultaneity without confusion, all phenomena as they manifest themselves;

Fulfilling wisdom, which enables Buddhas to create pure fields and emanations working for the good of beings;

The wisdom of universal space, which indicates that all phenomenes, beyond any concept and duality, remain in the pure knowledge of the spirit.


2° Along with the five wisdoms, these five upper points symbolize the Five Conquerors or five main male Buddhas on a mystical plane. The lower five points symbolize the Five Female Buddhas.

3° The mouths of makara (sea monster) from which emerge the points denote the liberation of the cycle of existences.

4° The eight upper petals represent the eight male bodhisattvas, in other words eight great bodhisattvas residing in celestial realms.

5° The eight lower petals are the eight female bodhisattvas.

6° The round part in the middle designates emptiness.