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China / Tibet: Vajrayogini at the centre of a Tantric Buddhist mandala, 19th century

Vajrayoginī (Sanskrit: Vajrayoginī; Tibetan: Dorje Naljorma; Chinese: Yújiā kōngxíngmǔ) is the Vajra yoginī, literally 'the diamond female yogi'. She is a Highest Yoga Tantra Yidam (tutelary deity), and her practice includes methods for preventing ordinary death, intermediate state and rebirth (by transforming them into paths to enlightenment), and for transforming all mundane daily experiences into higher spiritual paths.

Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means 'circle'. In the Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point.

Mandalas have spiritual and ritual significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism. The term is of Hindu origin and appears in the Rig Veda as the name of the sections of the work, but is also used in other Indian religions, particularly Buddhism. In the Tibetan branch of Vajrayana Buddhism, mandalas have been developed into sandpainting. They are also a key part of anuttarayoga tantra meditation practices.