Vajradhara and Consort in Yab-Yum

The central figure is Vajradhara, colored deep blue, seated in a lotus position with a green-skinned female consort wrapped around his torso. Their faces are pressed together, and their arms are intertwined, with his hands crossed behind her back, holding a vajra (thunderbolt) and ghanta (bell). They are enveloped in a radiant red halo and seated on a multi-colored lotus throne. Surrounding them are eight smaller figures arranged in a circular mandala-like fashion: various seated, calm-faced deities, including Green Tara, White Tara, and others in traditional monastic robes, each framed by their own aureole and lotus pedestal.

This thangka represents the tantric Buddhist concept of the union of wisdom (prajna, the consort) and method or compassionate means (upaya, the masculine deity), essential to achieving enlightenment in the Vajrayana tradition. The composition reflects a lineage or refuge tree, common in Tibetan devotional art to visualize the transmission of Buddhist teachings.