Mandala thangkas are geometric meditation maps: a deity's palace seen from above, drawn in perfect symmetry around a radiant centre. Practitioners use them to visualise the journey from confusion at the outer gates to clarity at the heart, where the deity resides.

This family spans the cosmic Kalachakra mandala, mantra mandalas ringed with sacred syllables, and Buddha mandalas gathering the enlightened assembly. Senior artists lay each circle and square by compass and rule before filling them with mineral colour and fine gold line.