The “wheel of life” is probably the most important of all Thangka images. It is used to show the various stages of existence through which the average soul has to pass to reach nirvana.

In Buddhist art, the circle of the cosmos is held by Yama, a fierce looking figure who symbolises change and death. The six realms or states of existence which vary from the hell to the heaven realm are conditional because they are brought about by our own karma, i.e., actions of body, speech and mind.