An antique 19th Century or earlier tsakli painting in mineral pigments depicting the adornments of the mandala environments of extremely wrathful deities, where 'slain enemies' of ignorance, desire and hatred are embodied in the pile of flayed human, elephant and tiger skin. Wrathful deities usually wear these skins as garments, the hands and feet knotted around their backs or waist, or in the case of the tiger skin - as a dhoti.
The use of a flayed human skin is specifically mentioned in many of the tantras, while wrathful deities are often shown wearing the blood stained skin of a freshly killed elephant stretched across their backs, which is sometimes referred to as 'Indra's skin'. The qualities of wrathful deities which are comparable to those of the wild elephant are revealed in their symbolic activities of bellowing, crushing, tearing, trampling and uprooting.
A full tiger skin often formed the seat or asana of certain deities, yogins, siddhas, oracles and great teachers. This has its origin in Hindu tradition, where Shiva killed the tiger of desire and used its skin as his meditation seat, symbolising his transcendence over desire. The symbolism of the flayed elephant skin refers to the deity having 'torn the elephant of ignorance asunder'. 5 lines of Tibetan text to the reverse, beneath a syllable within a red Terma symbol. 7.4 x 10.1cm