This 15.5″ Simha Mukhi statue is partly fire gilded in 24K gold — the figure mostly gilded against the dark red oxidized mandorla of scrolling flames that frames her — handcrafted in Patan, Nepal by master Newar artisans using the traditional lost wax sculpting method, with the lion face hand-painted. Simha Mukhi is one of the rarest and most iconographically striking figures in all of Himalayan Buddhist art: a lion-headed Dakini whose animal form is not decorative but carries specific doctrinal significance. Read more about Simha Mukhi’s iconography in our Dakini statues FAQ.
Simha Mukhi translates from Sanskrit as “Lion-Faced One” — and the lion carries a specific meaning in Buddhist tradition that makes this choice of animal head iconographically precise rather than arbitrary. The siṃhanāda — the lion’s roar — is a recurring metaphor in Buddhist literature for the fearless proclamation of truth: the Buddha’s first teaching is described as a lion’s roar, a declaration so clear and complete that it silences all opponents and disperses all confusion. Simha Mukhi’s lion head embodies exactly that quality at its most forceful: she belongs to the class of animal-headed wrathful Dakinis known as the Krodha Kali, whose function is the most direct and uncompromising cutting through of conceptual obscuration and harmful interference. Where other Dakinis operate through compassion or magnetization, Simha Mukhi operates through the roar of unobstructed clarity — the sound that delusion cannot withstand. She is also associated with the wrathful protector goddesses who appear in the Bardo state described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, guiding and testing the consciousness of the deceased with exactly this quality of piercing, non-negotiable awareness.
Simha Mukhi Statue Features
Simha Mukhi stands on her left foot atop a human corpse — representing the triumph over ego, ignorance, and the illusion of inherent selfhood. In her right hand she raises the kartika (curved flaying knife, the knife of the Dakinis) toward the sky. In her left hand she holds the kapala (skull cup, filled with blood symbolizing the transmutation of life-force into bliss-wisdom). She wears a necklace of fifty human skulls over her shoulders and a crown of five skulls on her tiara — representing her mastery over the five poisons of desire, anger, ignorance, pride, and jealousy. The khatvanga staff rests against her shoulder, its triple skull finial representing liberation from the three worlds of desire, form, and formlessness. She is surrounded by the flames of pristine awareness. At 15.5″ this is a substantial and iconographically rare piece, primarily sought by advanced practitioners and collectors of Himalayan Buddhist art.
Authentic, Handmade in Nepal
Every statue and ritual item is handcrafted in Patan, Nepal, using traditional lost wax casting and comes with a certificate of authenticity issued by Nepal's Department of Archaeology, verifying its materials, technique, and origin.
