The Buddhist deity Chakrasamvara

Once upon a time, Shiva and his female counterpart Kali were conducting violent sacrifices and exhibiting unrestrained sexuality at twenty-four different locations across India. This dramatic behavior aroused the attention of Vajradhara, ultimate buddha presiding over the entire cosmos.

To calm and tame the ferocious pair, Vajradhara transformed himself into Chakrasamvara, a warrior whose form closely mirrors that of Shiva himself. This fierce meditation deity, with his four heads and twelve arms, presents a veritable arsenal for internal warfare. Beneath his feet, Shiva and Kali are shown in an attitude of submission. Chakrasamvara has defeated his enemies by homeopathy: in the words of the texts, by “becoming equal to what must be tamed.”