Milarepa Holding a Skull Bowl

Milarepa, shown with pale skin and wearing a white robe with a dark patterned trim, is seated on a deer skin placed atop a rocky mountain ledge. He raises his right hand to his ear, a classic pose representing his act of singing the dharma, and holds a white skull bowl (kapala) in his left hand. He is framed by a glowing circular halo, with stylized jagged mountains, green foliage, and water flowing beneath him. At the base of the mountain are several colorful offering bowls filled with spherical substances.

Milarepa is a pivotal figure in the Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism, famed for his transition from a practitioner of black magic to an enlightened ascetic and poet. The imagery of him with his hand to his ear is iconic, symbolizing his spontaneous composition and transmission of the 'Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa'.