The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sadhanamala and Other Cognate Tantric Texts of Rituals c15.t6: (iii) Six-Armed

The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sādhanamālā and Other Cognate Tāntric Texts of Rituals c15.t6

Language: English

(iii) Six-Armed

c15.t6.1

Colour—Blue Face—Three Arms—Six Prajñā—Vajraśṛṅkhalā

c15.t6.2

When Hevajra is six-armed and in yab-yum his main form remains the same, with the difference that here he is three-faced and six-armed, carrying additional symbols. He is described thus:

c15.t6.3

‘Athavā Ṣaḍbhujaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ kṛṣṇasitaraktatrimukhaḥ... Vāmair-vajraghaṇṭāṃ dhanuḥ kapālaṃ ca dadhānaḥ savyair-vajraṃ bāṇaṃ triśūlaṃ ca vajravajraghaṇṭānvitahastābhyāṃ svābha-Vajraśṛṅkhalāmāliṅgitaḥ.’

‘Or, he (Hevajra) may be six-armed and blue in colour. The principal, the right and left faces show blue, white and red colour. In the three left hands he holds the bell marked with a Vajra, the bow and the skull-cup. In the three right hands he carries the Vajra, the arrow and the trident. He embraces with the two hands carrying the Vajra and the Ghaṇṭā the Prajñā Vajraśṛṅkhalā of his own creation’.

Cites (1)

Niṣpannayogāvalī — Abhayākaragupta, Sanskrit