Yamantaka is a wrathful expression of manjyushree, the Samyaksambuddha of wisdom who, in other contexts, also functions as a dharmapala or a Heruka. Yamantaka manifests in several different forms, one of which (via yogatantra) has six legs, six faces and six arms holding various weapons while sitting or standing on a water buffalo.

Within Buddhism, "terminating death" is a quality of all buddhas as they have stopped the cycle of rebirth, samsara. Yamantaka, then, represents the goal of the Mahayana practitioner's journey to enlightenment, or the journey itself: in awakening, one adopts the practice of Yamantaka – the practice of terminating death.