Sambara or Trailokyavijaya

Description

This relief shows the Buddhist Tantric deity Sambara, an emanation associated with the Buddha Aksobhaya as per the Sadhanamala. Addressed as the Conqueror of the Three Worlds (ie. desire, form and formlessness), Sambara is also canonically considered one of the five Kings of Knowledge in Buddhist faith. Scripturally, Sambara is depicted to be oppsed to the three poisons (greed, hate, ignorance)- as embodied by the entity Mahesvara. This relief shows Sambara as Trailokyavijaya, stood in alidhasana over the recumbent bodies of Mahesvara and Parvati on a double-lotus pedestal. His clasped hands in the front are shown holding a thunderbolt (vajra), while other attributes are held in his other hands. His torso is adorned with ornaments, including a mundamala. In the upper corners, one finds two gandharvas. Beneath the main sculpture, one also finds Trailokyavijaya's seven-horse chariot, a carved floral scroll, and multiple devotees prostrating to the deity.