Citipati Postcard
Artist : Chewang Dorje
Postcard 6" x 4"
Citipati
The brother and sister 'Masters of the Charnel Ground' (Tib. Dur-khrod bdag-po) appear as skeleton deities within a funereal landscape. Together they dance upon a sun disc and lotus, the left foot of the brother resting upon a white conch shell, and the right foot of the sister resting upon a white cowry shell. They are both adorned with silk garments, jewel earrings, a five-skull crown, and each holds a skeleton-club and a skull-cup full of blood in their right and left hands. Below them are various offerings and images of the charnel grounds; while above them rises the roof and gateways of their skeletal mandala palace. Twelve-armed Chakrasamvara crowns the top of this composition, with Tsongkhapa and his two main disciples appearing in the upper left corner, and Machig Labdron in the upper right corner.
© text by Robert Beer
