Vajrabhairava (Tibetan: Dorje Jigje; English: Vajra Terror) is a supreme meditation deity (Ishtadevata) of the Anuttarayoga Tantra class. He is deeply revered within the Gelugpa tradition, where he is considered not only the central deity of fierce transformation but also the lord of all Gelug protector deities. Within Himalayan and Tibetan art, it is common to find Vajrabhairava depicted at the center of powerful compositions surrounded by wrathful protectors, symbolizing the fierce cutting through of ignorance and obstacles.

Vajrabhairava appears in an awe-inspiring, terrifying form, dark blue in color, with nine faces, thirty-four arms, and sixteen legs. His buffalo face is the central one, symbolizing ultimate wrathful compassion. Above the buffalo face is a red face, and at the very top, the slightly wrathful face of Manjushri—his true nature as the wisdom Bodhisattva. The three faces to his right are yellow, dark blue, and red; the three on the left are black, white, and smoky in hue.

Each of these nine faces has three wide eyes and bared fangs, expressing fierce determination and the destruction of ignorance. His hair is wild, upward-flowing and dark yellow, symbolizing the fire of wisdom. He is adorned with traditional wrathful bone ornaments, earrings, bracelets, anklets, and a garland of fifty freshly severed heads, representing purification of speech and the transcendence of the fifty Sanskrit letters.

• His first pair of hands holds a curved flaying knife and a skull cup, as he embraces his consort.

• The remaining thirty-two hands hold a wide variety of symbolic ritual implements and weapons, all used to cut through delusion and ego.

His consort, Vajra Vetali, is blue in color with fiery orange hair cascading back. She has one face and two hands. In her left hand, she holds a kapala (skull cup) filled with blissful nectar. In union, she represents ultimate wisdom unified with compassion.

Vajrabhairava's sixteen legs trample over worldly deities, birds, and animals, symbolizing the destruction of ego, karma, and samsaric illusions. His right legs are bent, pressing down on gods and symbolic animals; his left legs are extended, crushing additional obstructive figures. He stands atop a radiant orange sun disc and a multi-colored lotus, fully engulfed in the flaming aura of pristine awareness—representing the all-consuming fire of enlightenment that burns away all obscurations.