# @rubinmuseum on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdRggSCkqEL
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70600316-rubinmuseum-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/f0e523f40c.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-14T15:57:05.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art (@rubinmuseum) — https://gondola.cc/rubinmuseum

## Caption

Himalayan art can look complex at first. A mandala is a powerful place to begin because its meaning comes into focus when you understand how the details work together. 

Begin with a few questions: 
Where was it made?
How was it used?
What traditions shaped it?
How was it made?

A mandala is a geometric diagram used for meditation and visualization in Buddhist practice. This mandala centers on Chakrasamvara, a tantric Buddhist deity, shown with his consort Vajrayogini.

It is a Tibetan thangka (scroll painting) produced in a Nepalese, or Newari, style, reflecting artistic exchange across regions. 

It is also a meditation tool. A practitioner may visualize themself as the central deity within a celestial palace, then visualize the surrounding circles of deities one by one. 

The mandala is rooted in Buddhist tantric practice, while also incorporating Hindu deities and iconography. 

Follow for more ways to look closely at Himalayan art.

#Mandala #BuddhistArt #HimalayanArt 
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Mandala of Chakrasamvara; Tibet; 14th-15th century; Pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2006.66.138

## Stats

- **Views:** 6,675
- **Likes:** 389
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- **Comments:** 6

## Tags

mandala, buddhistart, himalayanart

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