འཕགས་པ་རྒྱལ་མཚན་གྱ་རྩ་མའ་དཔང་རྒྱན་ཅས་བྱ་བའ་གཟངས intro.3

intro.3

The goddess Dhvajāgrakeyūrā has several different forms with varying colors, numbers of heads and arms, hand implements, and so on.¹ However, traditionally she is portrayed as predominantly yellow, with four heads and holding the hand implements mentioned here. Dhvajāgrakeyūrā’s appearance is also mentioned in two sādhanas devoted to her in the Tengyur (Toh 3592 and 3600), with some differences between them. The term dhvajāgra or “crest insignia” refers to a symbol or insignia that was mounted at the end of a long pole, which was employed as a martial ensign on the battlefield in ancient India. In two early Dhvajāgra Mahāsūtras (Toh 292 and Toh 293), the dhvajāgra itself, as an object, is a metaphor for refuge. At that early stage in the history of Buddhist literature, the dhvajāgra does not seem to have been associated with a goddess, as protection came from the revival of courage expressed in the analogy (parallel to this work) of the devas being on the point of defeat by the asuras. However, protective texts and dhāraṇīs became, over time, embodied in goddesses who gained iconically detailed forms, as we find with Dhvajāgrakeyūrā featured here. There are numerous Dhvajāgrakeyūrā sādhanas in the Tibetan tradition, and this deity and her dhāraṇī have also become associated with the Tibetan windhorse (Tib. rlung rta), as their functions are similar: to eliminate obstacles and adversity and to bring victory and good circumstances. Tibetan writers such as Mipham Gyatso (1846–1912) composed prayers to Dhvajāgrakeyūrā, asking her to remove obstacles.