Kalachakra mandala 1602

Size: 20"X34

Material: Cotton and 24 Kt Gold

Kalachakra is a Sanskrit workd for "wheel of  time " and "Mandala "is a  Tantric medation device.

Historically, the mandala was not only painted but also created with natural, dyed sand,.  In modern times, plain white stone are ground down and dyed with opaque inks to achieve the same effect.before laying down the sand, the monks assigned to the project will draw the geometric measurements associated with the mandala. The sand granules are then aplied usuing small tubes, funnels and scrapers, until the desired pattern over -top is achieved.sand mandala traditionally take several weeks to build, due to the large amount of work involved in laying down the sand in such intricate detail.it is common that a team of monks will work on the project, creating one section of the diagram at a time, usually working from center outwards.

Kalachakra mandala portrays 792 dieties within the complex structute and geometry of the mandala itself.  Other smaller mandalas , like the one attributed to Vajrabhairava, contain sufficently fewer deties and require less geometry, but still take a several days to complete. Like all mandalas these are menat as two dimensional representations of what is supposed to be a three diemensional environment .there is one particular place where a three -dimensional mandala can be experienced: Borobodur in Java, Indonesia.