Title : Vajra God

Artist : Unknown

Date : Late 20th century.

Details : Unknown: Vajra God - Artelino

Source : artelino - Japanese Prints
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Description : "Basara Taishi" (Vajra God, one of the Ni-o). The Ni-o (Kongo Rikishi) are the paired Buddhist guardian gods stand at the main gates of the many Japanese Buddhist temples. Their formidable forms also represent the particular cosmic sounds. The "Agyo" opens his mouth uttering the sound "ah," meaning birth. His closed-mouth partner is called "Ungyo," who sounds "un" or "om," meaning death. "Ah" is also the first letter and "Un" is the last letter in the Sanskrit and Japanese alphabets. This combination symbolically represents all possible outcomes (from alpha to omega) in the universe.

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