The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sadhanamala and Other Cognate Tantric Texts of Rituals c15.t8: 4. Buddhakapāla

The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sādhanamālā and Other Cognate Tāntric Texts of Rituals c15.t8

Language: English

4. Buddhakapāla

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Arms—Four Colour—Blue Śakti—Citrasenā Āsana—Dancing in Ardhaparyaṅka

Only one Sādhana gives the description of this god, who is, in all probability, another form of Heruka. The Sādhana says that when Heruka is embraced by Citrasenā he gets the name of Buddhakapāla. He has one face and four arms, and his hands hold the Khaṭvāṅga, the Kapāla, the Kartri and the Damaru; he is embraced by his Prajñā, Citrasenā, and remains in yab-yum. He is slightly different from the four-armed variety of Heruka as the following Dhyāna in the Sādhana will show:

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“Mahāvīro ghorasaṃhārakārakaḥ nīlavarṇo mahāvapuḥ asthyābharaṇaṃ-ardhaparyaṅkanṛtyasthaṃ muṇḍamālāvibhūṣitaṃ mukuṭe Akṣobhyadhāriṇaṃ ekavaktraṃ caturbhujam, vāme Khaṭvāṅgakapālaṃ, dakṣiṇe kartrīḍamarukaṃ Prajñāliṅgitaṃ ; vāme Citrasenā mattā nagnā muktakeśī sarvabhayarahitā devī.”

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Srīmato Buddhakapālasya Sādhanam’’ Sādhanamālā, pp. 501-502

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“The worshipper should think himself as (Buddhakapāla) who is a great hero, the supreme destroyer, of blue complexion and gigantic stature. He has ornaments of bones, stands in Ardhaparyanka in a dancing attitude, is decked in garlands of heads, bears the effigy of Akṣobhya on the crown, is one-faced and four-armed. He carries the Khaṭvāṅga and the Kapāla in the left hands and the Kartri and the Damaru in the right, and is embraced in the left by the Prajñā, Citrasenā by name, who is intoxicated, nude, and fearless. Thus meditating..”

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The same Sādhana later on gives the details of the Maṇḍala, and goes on to say that Buddhakapāla is surrounded by twenty-four goddesses arranged in three circles. The first circle has Sumālinī (blue) in the east, Kapālinī (yellow) in the north, Bhīmā (green) in the west and Durjayā (white) in the south. The next circle has Subhamekhalā (east), Rūpiṇī (north), Jayā (west) and Kauverī (south), Kāminī (north-east), Mahodadhi (north-west) Kāriṇī (south-west) and Māriṇī (south-east). The outermost circle has Bhīmadarśanā (east) Ajayā (north), Śubhā (west) Oṣtārakī (south), Surakṣiṇī (north-east), Vikālarātri (north-west), Mahāyaśā (south-west) and Sundari (south-east). Besides these, there are the four guardians of gates: Sundarā (east) Subhagā (north), Priyadarśanā (west) and Nairātmā (south). Excepting the four deities of the innermost circle, all the goddesses have blue colour two arms, one face, ornaments of bones, brown hair rising upwards but no garlands of heads. They carry the Kapāla in the left and the Kartri in the right, and dance in the Ardhaparyanka attitude.

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Fig. 126 illustrates a Nepalese drawing of the principal god in the embrace of his Śakti Citrasenā but without attendants. Buddhakapāla is represented in the Chinese collection at Peiping ¹. He is also represented singly in a remarkable statuette in the Baroda Museum (Fig. 127).

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¹ TLP, II. pp. 103, 237.

Cites (1)

Sādhanamālā — Sanskrit