The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sadhanamala and Other Cognate Tantric Texts of Rituals c14: Chapter V. Emanations of Amitābha

The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sādhanamālā and Other Cognate Tāntric Texts of Rituals c14

Language: English

c14.s1 I. Gods — 3 parts
c14.s2 II. Goddesses — 8 parts

Chapter V. Emanations of Amitābha

I. Gods

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Besides Avalokiteśvara and a few forms of Mañjuśrī already described, only two male divinities in the Sādhanamālā emanate from the Dhyāni Buddha Amitābha. These are Mahābala and Saptaśatika Hayagrīva. Their parental Dhyāni Buddha, it may be remembered, is distinguished by his red colour, the family symbol of lotus, and the Samādhi mudrā he displays. His offsprings Mahābala and Hayagrīva belong, therefore, to the lotus family and should show the signs characteristic of the family. They are studied below in the order of their importance.

1. Mahābala

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Colour—Red Āsana—Pratyālīḍha Arms—Four

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Only one Sādhana in the Sādhanamālā is devoted to the worship of Mahābala. a fierce emanation of the Dhyāni Buddha Amitābha The Dhyāna is given below :

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“Mahābalaṃ ekamukhaṃ caturbhujaṃ sarvāṅgaraktaṃ ūrdhva-piṅgalasarpābaddhakeśaṃ dakṣiṇabhujābhyāṃ sitadaṇḍa-sitacāmaradharaṃ vāmabhujābhyāṃ vandanābhinaya-sapāśatarjanīkaraṃ vyāghracarmanivasanaṃ sarpābharaṇaṃ pratyālīḍhaṃ damṣṭrākārālavadanaṃ sūryamaṇḍalaprabhāmālinaṃ Amitābhamukuṭinaṃ dhyātvā...”

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Sādhanamālā. p. 507.

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“The worshipper should think himself as Mahābala with one face, four arms and red complexion. His brown hair rises upwards and is tied by a snake. He carries in his two right hands the white staff and the chowrie while the two left show the mudrā of bowing and the raised index finger. He is clad in tiger-skin, wears ornaments of snakes and stands in the Pratyālīḍha attitude His face looks terrible with bare fangs and he is bright like the orb of the sun. He holds the effigy of Amitābha on the crown”.

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Two statuettes of Mahābala are known to the Chinese collection at Peiping ¹.

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¹ Clark · TLP, II, pp. 49, 217.

2. Saptasatika Hayagrīva

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Symbols—Vajra and Daṇḍa Special Feature—Horse-head

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Hayagrīva has several other forms and these will be described at their appropriate places. One of these forms is said to bear the effigy of Amitābha on its crown This particular form of Hayagrīva, therefore, should refer to the spiritual son of Amitābha with the red colour and the Samādhi mudrā, The present Sādhana describing his form states in the colophon that it is restored from the Saptaśatika Kalpa. This particular form of Hayagrīva, therefore, is designated as the Saptaśatika Hayagrīva. The Dhyāna contained in the Sādhana is given below :

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“Raktavarṇaṃ mahābhayānakaṃ trinetraṃ kapilaśmaśruraudraṃ bṛhadudaraṃ daṃṣṭrākarālinaṃ dantauṣṭhakapālamālinaṃ jaṭāmukuṭinaṃ Amitābhaśiraskaṃ. Dvitīyamukhaṃ bhīmabhayānakaṃ nīlaṃ hayānanaṃ hīhīkāranādinaṃ Brahmāṇḍaśikharākrāntaṃ dvitīyena bhavāgraparyantaṃ aṣṭanāgopetaṃ kharvavāmanākāraṃ vyāghrcarmanivasanaṃ sarvālaṅkārabhūṣitaṃ sakaladevāsuraṃ tarjayantaṃ gṛhītavajradaṇḍaṃ...vicintayet”. Sādhanamālā, p. 509.

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“The worshipper should conceive himself as (Saptaśatika Hayagrīva) of red complexion, who is terribly awe-inspiring, with three-eyes, and a brown beard. He is angry and has protruding belly. His face appears terrible with bare fangs; he wears a garland of skulls with teeth and lips, is crowned with his Jaṭā and the figure of Amitābha. His second face is distorted like that of a horse, which is blue in colour and neighs incessantly. He tramples on the top of the world with one leg and the bottom of the world with the other. He wears ornaments of eight serpents, is short and dwarfish, is clad in tigerskin and decked in all ornaments. He threatens all the gods and Asuras, and holds the Vajra and the staff (in his two hands)”.

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It may be noticed that the Dhyāna is not clear about the number of hands and faces; but it seems from the description that Hayagrīva is endowed with a principal face, terrible in appearance, over which there is the horse's head. This horse's head over the principal face, is found only in case of Hayagrīva, and distinguishes him from all other Buddhist deities. But when, as a minor god, he accompanies others, the horse's head is not seen as a rule. In such cases, the Daṇḍa or the staff serves as the identification mark. From the Dhyāna it also appears that he is two-armed and carries the Vajra and the Daṇḍa, the Vajra being generally held in the right hand, while the Daṇḍa is carried in the left. About the name, however, the colophon is certain, and it asserts that this Sādhanā has been restored from the Saptāśatika Kalpa, that is to say, a ritual work consisting of letters that can make up seven hundred verses in the Anuṣṭubh metre.

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Images of Hayagrīva are found in Tibet ¹ and China ².

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¹ Gordon : ITL, pp. 90, 93 ; Getty : GNB, p. 163 as Hayagrīva.

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² Clark : TLP, II, pp. 59, 164, 172, 198 under the title of Hayagrīva.

II. Goddesses

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The female divinities that emanate from the Dhyāni Buddha Amitābha are three in number, the most important and popular among them being Kurukullā, to whose worship no less than fourteen Sādhanas are devoted in the Sādhanamālā. Two Sādhanas are devoted to Bhṛkuṭī and one Sādhanā only to Mahāśītavatī. who is also included in the list of the Pañcarakṣā deities or the Five Great Protectresses. These goddesses as a rule are not represented in stone or bronze; paintings, however, are made by the Nepalese artists even in modern times.

3. Kurukullā

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She is one-faced and may have two, four, six or eight arms. When she is six-armed, she bears the effigies of the five Dhyāni Buddhas on her crown. When two-armed, she is called Śukla Kurukullā, and when she is four-armed she is called by the names of Tārodbhava Kurukullā, Uḍḍiyāna Kurukullā, Hevajrakrama Kurukullā and Kalpokta Kurukullā.

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Kurukullā is said to confer success in the Tāntric rite of Vaśīkaraṇa or the rite of enchanting men, women, ministers, even kings. Some of the Sādhanas contain many interesting methods of casting spells on different people. The mantra of Kurukullā is "Oṃ Kurukulle Hūṃ Hrīḥ Svāhā". When this mantra is muttered ten thousand times, all men are bewitched. Thirty thousand times would prove sufficient to subdue a minister, but the subjugation of a king requires no less than a lakh. She can even confer on her devotees the power of subduing all ministers and kings.

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Images of Kurukullā are found in Tibet ³ and China ⁴ and she is very popular in these countries. The different forms of Kurukullā as available in the Sādhanamālā are dealt with in the following pages.

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³ Getty : GNB, pp. 126, 127.

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⁴ Clark : TLP, II, 105, 239. Also Gordon ; ITL, p. 75.

(I) Śukla Kurukullā

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Symbols—Rosary and the Bowl of Lotus Vāhana—Animal Āsana—Vajraparyaṅka

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Only one Sādhana in the Sādhanamālā states the method whereby she should be propitiated. The Dhyāna contained therein is a long one and runs as follows :

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“Ātmānaṃ Bhagavātīṃ akṣasūtrotpalāmṛtakuṇḍīṃ savyāvasavya-pāṇibhyāṃ dadhānāṃ, trinetrāṃ Padmadhṛkpramukhaiḥ sarva-Tathā-gataiḥ Vīṇādiṣoḍaśadevbhir-abhiṣiktāṃ Amitābha-virājitanānāpuṣpo-paśobhitajaṭāmukuṭāṃ śṛṅgārādirasopetāṃ, kiñcit-savyapāṇipallava-sthākṣasūtramālokamānāṃ, kṣīrāmbhodhiśvetavarṇābjasthām-amṛtāṅko-pari sattvaparyaṅkāsanasthāṃ, kaṅkaṇa-keyūra-kuṇḍala-nūpuramuktā-hāradivyavastrādivibhūṣitāṃ nīlānantabaddhakeśīṃ pīyuṣavarṇa-Vāsu-kīkṛtahārāṃ, rakta-Takṣakakṛtakarṇograkuṇḍalāṃ, dūrvāśyāma-Kar-kkoṭakakṛtajñopavītāṃ, śukla-Padmanāgendrakṛtahārāṃ, mṛṇālavar-ṇa-Mahāpadmakṛtānūpurāṃ, pīta-Śaṅkhapālakṛtakaṅkaṇaṃ, dhūmā bhravat-Kulikakṛtakeyūrāṃ, śubhravarṇāṃ sravadamṛtavigrahāṃ karu-ṇārdracittāṃ bhāvayet. Śukla-Kurukullā-Sādhanam”. Sādhanamālā, pp. 362-363

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“The worshipper should think himself as the goddess (Kurukullā), who carries the rosary and the cup of Utpala full of nectar in the right and left hands respectively. She is three-eyed and is offered bathing water by (the Bodhisattvas) Padmapāṇi and others, by all the Tathāgatas and the sixteen damsels beginning with Vīṇā. She wears the Jaṭāmukuṭa which is decorated with various flowers and the miniature figure of Amitābha. She displays the sentiment of passionate love, and other sentiments, and turns slightly to have a look at the rosary which she carries in her leaf-like hand. She sits on an animal and rests on the nectar-like lap of the white lotus, that rises from the ocean of milk. She is decked in bracelets, armlets, ear-rings, anklets, pearl-necklace, and is clad in celestial garments. Her hair is tied up by the serpent Ananta of blue colour, her necklace is formed by the milk-coloured Vāsukī, and her prominent ear-ornament (Kuṇḍala) by red Takṣaka, her sacred thread is the green Karkkoṭaka, her girdle is the white Padma the lord of serpents, her Nūpura (anklet) is the serpent Mahāpadma of the colour of the lotus stalk, her bracelet is the yellow Śaṅkhapāla, her armlet is Kulika of the colour of smoky clouds. She is white in colour, and seems to diffuse nectar. She possesses a heart which is melting with compassion.”

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This lengthy description is sufficient to give one a vivid picture of the form of Śukla-Kurukullā, which has many features in common with the other varieties to be described briefly hereafter. It is not necessary to quote and translate all the Dhyānas given in the Sādhanamālā, because that would only serve to increase the bulk of the book unnecessarily.

(II) Tārodbhava Kurukullā

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Five Sādhanas differing but slightly from one another describe this form of Kurukullā designated as Tārodbhava Kurukullā in the Sādhanas According to the information supplied by the Sādhanas, Tārodbhava is red in colour with red garments, red ornaments and the seat of a red lotus. She has four arms. The two left hands show the Abhaya mudrā and the arrow, and the two right carry the bow and the red lotus. She sits in the Vajraparyaṅka attitude and under the seat appear Kāmadeva and his wife riding on the demon Rāhu. She has a red aureole behind her, she wears the effigy of Amitābha on the crown, and resides in the Kurukulla mountain. She is in the fulness of youth and displays amorous sentiments. Sometimes she is seen charging a flowery arrow on the flowery bow, ready to strike.

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Fig. 121 illustrates a recent Nepalese drawing of the deity.

(III) Uḍḍiyāna Kurukullā

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This form of Kurukullā is called in Sādhanas Uḍḍiyāna Kurukullā or Kurukullā as worshiped in Uḍḍiyāna (mod. Vajrajogini). This form of the goddess looks rather fierce, with the garland of heads, the five skulls on the head, protruding teeth and tongue, garments of tiger-skin, and brown hair rising above her head in the shape of a flame. Her eyes, red, round and moving, are three in number. She is four-armed; the principal pair of hands is engaged in drawing to the full the flowery bow charged with an arrow of red lotus, while the second pair holds the goad of flowers and the red lotus. She is red in colour and sits in the Ardhaparyaṅka attitude on a corpse.

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Fig. 122 illustrates one of her statuettes found in Peiping. Here the Vāhana of corpse is present.

(IV) Aṣṭabhuja-Kurukullā

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Arms—Eight Colour—Red Āsana—Vairaparyaṅka Mudrā—Trailokyavijaya

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As has already been pointed out, Kurukullā may have another form with eight arms which is described in the only Sādhana devoted to her worship. This Sādhana is attributted in the colophon to the great Siddhācāryya Indrabhūti, who flourished about 700 A. D. and who had a daughter even more illustrious than himself, Lakṣmīṅkarā by name, well-versed in the doctrines of both Vajrayāna and Sahajayāna. The goddess described in this Sādhana is not terrible like the six-armed Māyājāla Kurukullā or the four-armed Uḍḍiyāna Kurukullā, but is mild, youthful and compassionate. The most important feature of the Sādhana is that it gives the description of a complete Maṇḍala which comprises the principal goddess and twelve surrounding divinities. For a better understanding of the form of this goddess and of the constitution of the Maṇḍala, it is desirable that the Dhyāna should be quoted in extenso and translated:—

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“Kurukullāṃ Bhagavatīṃ aṣṭabhujāṃ raktavarṇāṃ raktāṣṭadala-padmasūryye Vajraparyaṅkaniṣaṇṇāṃ kūṭāgāramadhyanivāsinīṃ prathamakaradvayena Trailokyavijayamudrādharāṃ, avaśiṣṭadakṣiṇakaraiḥ aṅkuśaṃ ākarṇapūritaśaraṃ varadamudrāṃ dadhānāṃ, pariśiṣṭavāmabhujaiḥ pāśaṃ cāpaṃ utpalaṃ dadhānāṃ, sakalālaṅkāravatīṃ bhāvayet.

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Pūrvadale Prasannatārām, dakṣiṇadale Niṣpannatārām, paścimadale Jayatārām, uttaradale Karṇatārām, aiśānadale Cundām, āgneyadale Aparājitām, nairṛtyadale Pradīpatārām, vāyavyadale Gaurītārāñca dhyāyāt. Etāśca sarvāḥ raktavarṇāḥ Pañca-Tathāgatamukuṭā vajra paryaṅkaniṣaṇṇā dakṣiṇabhujābhyāṃ varadamudrā-ākarṇapūrita-śara-dharā. vāmabhujābhyāṃ utpalacāpadharāḥ.

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Pūrvadvāre Vajravetālīṃ lambodarāṃ vikṛtamukhīṃ raktavarṇāṃ Akṣobhyamukuṭāṃ, dakṣiṇahastābhyāṃ tarjany-aṅkuśadharāṃ, vāmakarābhyāṃ vajraghaṇṭāpaśadharām

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Dakṣiṇadvāre Aparājitāṃ pītavarṇāṃ Ratnasambhavamukuṭāṃ dakṣiṇahastābhyāṃ daṇḍāṅkuśadharāṃ, vāmahastābhyāṃ ghaṇṭāpāśadharām.

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Paścimadvāre Ekajaṭāṃ kṛṣṇavarṇāṃ ūrdhvakeśāṃ lambodarāṃ dantāvaṣṭabdhauṣṭhāṃ Amitābhamukuṭāṃ, dakṣiṇakarābhyāṃ vajrāṅkuśadharāṃ vāmakarābhyāṃ ghaṇṭāpāśadharām.

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Uttaradvāre Vajragandhārīṃ kanakaśyāmāṃ Amoghasiddhimukuṭāṃ vikṛtamukhīṃ lambodarāṃ, dakṣiṇabhujābhyāṃ khaḍgāṅkuśadharāṃ vāmabhujābhyāṃ ghaṇṭapāśadharāṃ vicintayet. Etāścatasra ālīḍhapadasthāḥ” Sādhanamālā, pp. 351-352

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“The worshipper should think himself as goddess Kurukullā, who is eight-armed, red in colour, sits in the Vajraparyaṅka attitude, on the orb of the sun over the lotus with eight petals and resides in the sanctum ; she displays the Trailokyavijayamudrā in her first pair of hands, and shows in the other right hands, aṅkuśa, the arrow drawn up to the ear and the Varada pose. In the remaining left hands she holds the noose, the bow and the Utpala ; she is decked in all kinds of ornaments.

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On the east petal is Prasannatārā, on the south is Niṣpannatārā, on the west Jayatārā, on the north Karṇatārā ; on the north-east petal is Cundā, on the east Aparājitā, on the south-west Pradīpatārā, and on the north-west is Gaurītārā. All these deities have red colour and the five Dhyāni Buddhas on their crowns. They sit in the Vajraparyaṅka attitude and show in the two right hands the boon and the arrow drawn up to the ear, and in the two left hands the Utpala and the bow.

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In the eastern gate is Vajravetālī, who has a protruding belly, distorted face, red complexion, the effigy of Akṣobhya on her crown, and carries in the two right hands the Tarjanī and the goad, and in the two left the Vajraghaṇṭā and the noose.

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In the southern gate is Aparājitā, who is yellow in colour and has the effigy of Ratnasambhava on her crown ; she carries in her two right hands the staff and the goad, and in the two left the bell and the noose.

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In the western gate is Ekajaṭā, who is blue in colour with hair rising upwards over head, and a protruding belly ; she bites her lips with her teeth, bears the image of Amitābha on her crown and carries in her two right hands the Vajra and the goad, and in the two left the bell and the noose.

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In the northern gate is Vajragāndhārī, golden in complexion, who bears the image of Amoghasiddhi on her crown, has a distorted face and protruding belly, and carries in her two right hands the sword and the goad, and in the two left the bell and the noose.

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All these four goddesses stand in the Ālīḍha attitude”

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(V) MĀYĀJĀLAKRAMA KURUKULLĀ Āsana—Vajraparyaṅka Arms—Six Colour—Red

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Another form of Kurukullā is known as Māyājālakrama Kurukullā since the Sādhana describing it is said to have been restored from the now lost Māyājāla Tantra by the Tāntric author Kṛṣṇācārya ¹. This form of Kurukullā is six-armed. In accordance with the Sādhana she sits in the Vajraparyaṅka attitude, on the sun over the red lotus of eight petals. She is red in colour and is clad in red garments. She exhibits the Trailokyavijaya mudrā in the first pair of hands, shows the Abhaya mudrā and the sprout of a white Kunda flower in the second, and the rosary and the Kamaṇḍalu in the third. She bears the images of the five Dhyāni Buddhas on the crown, and sits on the back of the serpent Takṣaka. She has another form with six arms, which is not expressly called the Māyājāla Kurukullā, and is described in another Sādhana. According to that Sādhana, she exhibits the Trailokyavijaya mudrā in the first pair of hands, and carries Aṅkuśa and the red lotus in the second pair, and the full-drawn bow charged with an arrow in the third. Images of Kurukullā are rare.

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¹ Sādhana No. 181, Sādhanamālā p. 372.

4. Bhṛkuṭī

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Colour—Yellow Arms—Four

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Bhṛkuṭī is another goddess emanating from the Dhyāni Buddha, Amitābha of red colour. She is already familiar as a companion of Avalokiteśvara as a minor goddess. When she accompanies Khasarpaṇa she is yellow in colour and four-armed. She carries in her two left hands the Tridaṇḍī and the Kamaṇḍalu. One of the two right hands is raised in the attitude of bowing, while the other carries the rosary. Bhṛkuṭī is also worshipped as a principal goddess, and two Sādhanas in the Sādhanamālā are devoted to her worship. She is described in the following words:

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“Caturbhujaikamukhīṃ pītāṃ trinetrāṃ navayauvanāṃ Varadākṣasūtradharadakṣiṇakarāṃ tridaṇḍīkamaṇḍaludharavāmakarāṃ Amitābhamudritāṃ padmacandrāsanasthāṃ Bhagavatīṃ dhyātvā... Bhṛkuṭīsādhanam.” Sādhanamālā, p 341.

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“The goddess Bhṛkuṭī should be conceived as four-armed, one-faced and yellow in colour, three-eyed and as blooming with youth. She shows the Varada mudrā and the rosary in her two right hands, and carries the Tridaṇḍī and the Kamaṇḍalu in the two left. Her crown is stamped with the effigy of Amitābha. She sits on the orb of the moon over a lotus. Thus meditating....”

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Another Sādhana adds the information that she should be peaceful in appearance and should wear a crown of matted hair. Images of Bhr̥kuṭī are rare, but they are known in Tibet ¹ and China ². Fig. 123 illustrates one of the Peiping images.

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¹ Getty : GNB, pp. 124-125.

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² Clark : TLP, II, pp. 160, 171, 288.

5. Mahāśītavatī

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Colour— Red Arms—Four Āsana—Ardhaparyaṅka

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All the five goddesses constituting the Pañcarakṣā group are said to emanate from one or another of the Dhyāni Buddhas. Mahāśītavatī is affiliated to her parental Dhyāni Buddha Amitābha. The short Sādhanā describing her form is as follows :

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"Mahāśīta (sic sīta) vatī caturbhujaikamukhī raktā dakṣiṇabhujadvaye akṣasūtrāvaradavatī vāmabhujadvaye vajrāṅkuśahṛtpradeśasthapustakavatī Jīmbījā Amitābhamukuṭī ardhaparyaṅkasthitā nānālaṅkāravatī sūryāsanaprabhā ceti". Sādhanamālā, p. 401.

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"Mahāśītavatī is four-armed, one-faced, and red in colour. She shows in her two right hands the rosary and the Varada pose, and in her two left hands the Vajra and the Book against the chest. She originates from the syllable 'Jīm', bears the effigy of Amitābha on the crown, sits in the Ardhaparyaṅka attitude, and is decked in various ornaments. She sits on the orb of the sun and glows like the sun".

Linked texts (3)

Sādhanamālā — Sanskrit
Pañcarakṣā — Sanskrit
Khasarpaṇa — Sanskrit