Kalachakra has four faces, each one with three eyes, representing the four periods of time or four shifts of breaths during yogic concentration. The colours of his face and neck further symbolize his association with the Tantric transformation process. He is described as having three necks symbolizing the three internal channels (nadi) of the subtle body. According to the Kalachakra Tantra, his six collarbones not only represent the six seasons of time spring, winter, late winter, but also personify the six watches of day and night.
Kalachakra Buddha has twelve upper arms, six on each side, in the same colour sequence. Following this, he has twenty-four forearms, twelve on each side. These twenty-four arms personify the dark and light phases in a year, "twelve waxing and twelve waning phases of the moon," as well as "twenty-four half-shifts of the breath". They also represent Kalachakra's purified and enlightened body, speech, and mind and thus are used to remove the obstructions of the body, speech and mind or wisdom. Further, on each hand, the back of each finger has its own symbolic colour and represents the five elements. The text also described that Kalachakra's hands are comprised of 360 phalanges, or finger joints, with three joints on each finger and fifteen on each hand. These 360 phalanges represents the 360 days in a year during a twelve-month lunar cycle. The number is also symbolic of the 360 units in a day where each unit is comprised of sixty breaths, making a total 21,600 breaths in a twenty-four hour day. This is significant because half of this number during a twelve-hour period is 10,800, and the sacred number of 108 is derived from this figure.
Kalachakra holds twenty-four attributes in his twenty-four hands. His primary blue hands hold a vajra and bell (Ghanta) crossed in front of his chest in vajra-humkara-mudra, also known in Tibetan as the "embracing" gesture. Kalachakra's blue body signifies his great wisdom. He is adorned with the jewelry of the six "seals" (mudras), including earrings, a necklace, bracelet, armlets, anklets, a crown, and garlands of a scarf. He wears a tiger-skin as his lower garment. With two different coloured legs, Kalachakra stands in the lunging pratyalida pose his right leg outstretched and his left leg is bent on a disk on lotus flower on triangular shaped lake with auspicious offerings. The two colours of Kalachakra's legs represent the two halves of a year and of a day, during which the breath flows through either the right or left nostril.
Kalachakra Buddha embraces the Universal Mother Vishvamata, the embodiment of wisdom. Her light yellow body has four faces, each with three eyes. Vishvamata has eight yellow arms, four on each side, and eight hands, each holding attributes. She embraces Kalachakra's neck. The couple is encircled by dragon figures followed by a brilliant orange aura, signifying the figure of pristine awareness.
Together Kalachakra Buddha and Vishvamata tramples upon Hindu deities. Hevajra Father Mother are depicted at the top of Kalachakra Buddha's halo. Upper left corner is filled with the figure of Garuda, while the right corner with Dragon. The bottom left corner depicts flaming jewel on lotus, while bottom right portrays flaming conch on lotus. The remaining area of the painting is filled with stylized lotus flowers. The extended brocade frame depicts stylized vishva vajra and lotus flowers. The painting is very much suitable for sadhana and practices of Kalachakra Buddha.
This description is by Dr. Shailendra K. Verma, whose Doctorate thesis is on "Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (From its inception to 8th century A.D.)".
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