Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences / Artistic Visualization Specificity of the Yidam and Dharmapala Image of Yamantaka – Vajra Terror in Gelug Buddhism

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Issue
Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences. 2026 19 (8)
Authors
Koptseva, Natalia P.; Razumovskaya, Veronica A.; Urazayeva, Kuralay B.; Koptseva, Maria S.; Zotov, Stepan O.
Contact information
Koptseva, Natalia P. : Siberian Federal University (Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation); ; ORCID: 0000-0003-3910-7991; Razumovskaya, Veronica A.: Siberian Federal University (Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation); L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan); ; ORCID: 0000-0002-0751-7964; Urazayeva, Kuralay B.: L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan); ORCID: 0000-0001-8341-7562; Koptseva, Maria S. : Siberian Federal University (Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation); ; ORCID: 0009-0004-9363-5749; Zotov, Stepan O. : Siberian Federal University (Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0009-0009-6224-176X
Keywords
Buddhism; Gelug; Sakya; Nyingma; tantra; Yamantaka; Vajra Terror; visualization; artistic practices; sacred practices
Abstract

A comprehensive and comparative analysis of the artistic visualization specificity of the image of yidam and dharmapala Yamantaka – Vajra Terror in Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelug tradition in relation to the Sakya and Nyingma traditions was performed. The Gelug and, to a lesser extent, Nyingma traditions are widespread in Tuva, so their study in the context of the Buddhist picture of the world is important for understanding Tuvan religious processes and interpreting the content of some sacred practices characteristic of Gelug, among which the Yamantaka tantra occupies a special place. The comparison is made on a number of aspects, including the emphasis on the importance of each school great teachers, the main sutras that predetermine the canons of the Yamantaka tantra, iconography, types of art, artistic materials, artistic representatives, and basic symbolism are highlighted. Purely artistic aspects (art materials, types of art) are similar for all the above-mentioned traditions of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. Artistic visualization of the image of the yidam and dharmpala Yamantaka – Vajra Terror differs in Gelug, Sakya and Nyingma precisely by sacred aspects, where the Yamantaka tantra refers to a form of the highest tantric yoga specific to each tradition. Iconography is also determined by the content of the sutras corresponding to each tradition, the canons of artistic visualization of the Yamantika tantra in Gelug Buddhism are determined to the highest degree by the sacred practices of Je Tsongkhapa, recorded in his sacred texts and tradition oral transmission

Pages
1770–1781
EDN
LXTJOW
Paper at repository of SibFU
https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/159346

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