Vajrasattva; Nepal; 15th century; Gilded bronze; 44.5 cm. The Trustees of the British Museum

A bodhisattva in the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions of Buddhism, he is primarily associated with the Akshobhya Buddha. Iconographically, he is white in color with a vajra or thunderbolt in his right hand and an upturned bell or ghanta in his left. Some sub-traditions of Buddhism regard him as the second patriarch of Buddhism after Vairochana Buddha. Within Tibetan Buddhism, rituals related to him are believed to purify the mind and soul.