The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sadhanamala and Other Cognate Tantric Texts of Rituals c17.s7: 7. Cundā

The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sādhanamālā and Other Cognate Tāntric Texts of Rituals c17.s7

Language: English

7. Cundā

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Colour—White Symbol—Book on Lotus. Face—One Arms—Two, Four, Sixteen, Eighteen and Twenty-six.

According to a definite statement ³ contained in the Niṣpannayogāvalī under the Mañjuvajra Maṇḍala, Cundā is affiliated to the Dhyāni Buddha Vairocana, and thus Cundā is the spiritual daughter of Vairocana, and is required to be classed under the emanations of this very Dhyāni Buddha.

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³ Niṣpannayogāvalī, p. 52. Here Mañjuvajra is the same as Vairocar a.

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The name of the deity is spelt variously as Cundā, Cundrā, Candrā, Caṇḍā, and Cuṇḍrā. She is also called Cundavajrī. The spelling of Cundā as adopted by Foucher appears to be correct since her mantra as given in the Sādhanamālā : "Oṃ Cale Cule Cunde Svāhā contains the word Cundā in the vocative as Cunde Under the circumstances the correct spelling and the name of the deity as Cundā may be taken as certain.

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From the Sādhana it is not possible to ascertain the character of the deity or her origin. But from a reference in the Niṣpannayogāvalī ¹ it appears probable that the deity Cundā is the embodiment of the Buddhist Dhāraṇī work called the Cundādhāraṇī to which a reference is made by Śāntideva. The Niṣpannayogāvalī acknowledges altogether twelve Dhāraṇī deities and gives their descriptions. These Dhāraṇīs look alike when represented and they are usually two-armed, holding the Viśvavajra in the right hand and their special symbols in the left.

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¹ See the list of Dhāraṇī deities in the Dharmadhātu-Vāgīśvara Maṇḍala, NSP, p. 57.

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The names of the twelve Dhāraṇīs as given in the Niṣpannayogāvalī are these : 1. Sumati, 2. Ratnolkā, 3. Uṣṇīṣavijayā, 4. Mārī 5. Parṇaśabarī, 6. Jāṅgulī 7. Anantamukhī 8. Cundā 9. Prajñāvardhanī 10. Sarvakarmāvaraṇaviśodhanī 11. Akṣayajñānaka-raṇḍā and 12. Sarvabuddhadharma-Koṣavatī. These Dhāraṇīs are collectively assigned to the Dhyāni Buddha Amoghasiddhi, and are described later in this book.

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The Dhāraṇīs are a peculiar kind of Buddhist literature which is supposed to generate great mystic power if repeated continually for a long time. They are short works mostly composed of meaningless syllables, sometimes revealing traces of a language now defunct. The deification of books is not unknown in Buddhism. The best example of this is the deity Prajñāpāramitā, who is the embodiment of the great Mahāyāna scripture, the Prajñāpāramitā, which is believed to have been rescued from the nether regions by Nāgārjuna the Pontiff.

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Amongst the Dhāraṇī deities Uṣṇīṣavijayā, Jāṅgulī, Parṇaśabarī and Cundā are popular, and there are Sādhanas and images of these deities in art. But they represent nothing more than the respective Vidyās or mantras of which they are the embodiments.

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Cundā thus is the embodiment of the Cundā Dhāriṇī or the Cundā mantra. The Buddhists believe that when the Dhāriṇī is repeated in deep meditation for a long time with concentration and faith, the mantra vibrations grossen themselves in the concrete form of a deity which the worshipper visualizes, and thus obtains Siddhi or success. Once realized, the deity never leaves the worshipper and gives him everything that he desires.

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With regard to the antiquity of Cundā in the Buddhist pantheon, it may be said that the very first mention of her name Candrā which is considered to be the same as Cundā, appears in the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa, the composition of which is usually placed cir. 200 A. D. As Cundā-vajrī, she finds mention in one of the earliest Tāntric works, the Guhyasamāja which was written most probably in the time of Asaṅga, cir. 300 A. D. Cundā is also mentioned in the Śikṣāsamuccaya of Śāntideva in the 7th century. Cundā images are found in illuminated Prajñāpāramitā MSS of the 11th century and several Sādhanas are dedicated to her in the Sādhanamālā, the earliest MS of which bears a date which is equivalent to A. D. 1165. Earlier, she is mentioned in the Niṣpannayogāvalī of Abhayākara Gupta (C 1130 A. D.).

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So far only three Sādhanas of Cundā are known, and they are all to be found in the printed edition of the Sādhanamālā as Nos. 129, 130, and 131. There is a further description of the goddess in the same book where Cundā is included as a minor deity in the Maṇḍala of Aṣṭabhuja-Kurukullā. Three more descriptions are available in the Niṣpannayogāvalī.

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The three Sādhanas in the Sādhanamālā describe the principal deity Cundā in one form only. She is four-armed, one-faced and of white complexion. The Dhyāna is given below :

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“Śaraccandrābhāṃ caturbhujāṃ dakṣiṇena varadāṃ, vāme pustakāṅkitapadmadharāṃ karadvaye pātradharāṃ sarvālaṅkārabhūṣitāṃ”

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Sādhanamālā, p. 271.

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“She is of the colour of the autumn moon, and is four-armed. She shows the Varada mudrā in the right hand and holds the book on a lotus in the left. The two other hands hold the bowl. She is decked in all ornaments.”

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Only one image of Cundā (Fig. 161) of this description was in the collection of the late Mr. W. B. Whitney¹ of America. The illustration is from a photograph kindly supplied by the owner.

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¹ Also illustrated in Gordon : ITL, p. 74. It is now in the famous Freer Gallery of Art.

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The Sādhanamālā also makes Cundā a companion deity of Aṣṭabhu-jā Kurukullā in Sādhana No. 174, p. 352. In the Īśāna corner of the Kurukullā Maṇḍala on a lotus petal sits Cundā while the other petals are occupied by Prasannatārā in the east, Niṣpannatārā in the south, Jayatārā in the west, Karṇatārā in the north, Aparājitā in the Agni corner, Pradīpatārā in the Nairṛta corner and Gaurītārā in the Vāyu corner. All the deities including Cundā look alike and are described as follows :

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“Etāśca sarvā raktavarṇāḥ pañcatathāgatamukuṭā vajraparyaṅkaniṣa-ṇṇā dakṣiṇabhujābhyāṃ varadamudrā-ākarṇapūritaśaradharā vāmabhu-jābhyāṃ utpala-cāpadharāḥ.” Sādhanamālā, p. 352.

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“All these deities are red in colour. They wear a crown with the figures of the five Dhyāni Buddhas, and sit in the Vajraparyaṅka attitude. With the two right hands they show the Varada mudrā and the arrow drawn to the ears. They carry in their two left hands the blue lotus and the bow.”

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In the Niṣpannayogāvalī there are altogether three descriptions of Cundā. In the Kālacakra Maṇḍala, Cundā is the consort of Takkirāja who is similar to Ratnasambhava in appearance The relevant passage is given below :

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“Cundā śuklā savyābhyāṃ mudgara-kuntau vāmābhyāṃ padma-daṇ-ḍau vibhrāṇā”. NSP, p. 89

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“Cundā is white in colour. In the two right hands she carries the Mudgara (club) and the Kunta (knife) and in the two left the Padma (lotus) and the Daṇḍa (staff)”

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Cundā is once again mentioned in the Dharamadhātuvāgīśvara Maṇḍala. In this Maṇḍala her form is described in the following words :

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“Cundā śuklā akṣasūtrāvalambita-kamaṇḍaludharā” NSP, p. 57

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“Cundā is white in colour. She carries in her two hands the rosary to which a Kamaṇḍalu is suspended.”

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A third form of Cundā is described in the Niṣpannayogāvalī in the Mañjuvajra Maṇḍala. It is an elaborate description of Cundā who is here endowed with as many as twenty-six arms. The relevant extract is quoted below :

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“Cundā candravarṇā ṣaḍviṃśatibhujā pradhānābhyāṃ hṛdi mūla-mudrāṃ dakṣiṇairabhayaṃ khaḍgaṃ ratnadāma bījapūraṃ śaraṃ para-śuṃ gadāṃ mudgaraṃ aṅkuśaṃ vajraṃ tripatākābhinayaṃ akṣasūtraṃ ca ; vāmaiścintāmaṇidhvajaṃ padaṃ kamaṇḍaluṃ pāśaṃ cāpaṃ śaktiṃ cakraṃ khaḍgaṃ tarjanaṃ ghaṇṭāṃ bhiṇḍipālaṃ prajñāpāramitāpusta-kaṃ ca vibhrati. NSP, p 49

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"Cundā is moon-white in colour. She has twenty-six arms. With the two principal hands she exhibits the chief mudrā¹. In the remaining right hands she shows the 1. Abhaya mudrā, 2. sword, 3. garland of jewels, 4. citron, 5. arrow, 6. axe, 7. club, 8. hammer, 9. goad, 10. thunderbolt, 11. Tripatākā and 12. rosary. In the remaining left hands she shows the 1. flag marked with Cintāmaṇi jewel, 2. lotus, 3. Kamaṇḍalu, 4. noose, 5. bow, 6. javelin, 7. discus, 8. sword, 9. Tarjanī (raised index finger), 10. bowl, 11. Bhiṇḍipāla and 12. the Prajñāpāramitā Scripture".

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¹ This mudrā may be called the Cundamudrā which is akin to the Dharmacakra mudrā displayed by Vairocana.

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Although images of Cundā with twenty-six arms are not available, there are several images of Cundā with sixteen arms. These can be identified with the help of a miniature painting of sixteen-armed Cundā (Fig. 162) available in the manuscript No. Add 1643 of Prajñāpāramitā in the Cambridge University Library. This miniature bears a label in old Newari characters which reads as :

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"Paṭṭikere Cundāvarabhavane Cundā"

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"Cundā in the excellent temple of Cundā at Paṭṭikera."

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This inscription leaves no room for doubting the identification of the sixteen-armed image as that of Cundā. In this figure also the principal pair of hands exhibits against the chest the mudrā which is called in the Sādhana as the Mūla mudrā which is akin if not equal to the Dharmacakra mudrā. Foucher has given a description of the miniature of Cundā in his L'Iconographie Bouddhique, part I, p. 199. According to him the two principal hands exhibit the mudrā of teaching. The remaining seven right hands show the 1. Varada mudrā, 2. thunderbolt, 3. discus, 4. club, 5. dagger, 6. (indistinct) and 7. rosary. In the seven left hands she carries the 1. vessel, 2. axe, 3. trident, 4. bow, 5. dagger, 6. (indistinct) and 7. sceptre. Dr. N. K. Bhattasali² gives a slightly different description of the same miniature.

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² Bhattasali : IBBS, p. 13.

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Thus it is apparent that there was an image of Cundā in the Cundā temple at Paṭṭikera which is identified by Dr. Bhattasali with the remains on the Lalmai hills in Tippera in East Bengal. The miniature of the Prajñāpāramitā manuscript obviously depicts the sixteen-armed image of Cundā, and thus becomes instrumental in identifying several of her unidentified images.

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The Baroda Museum image (Fig. 163) is one such image and is a small and very artistic piece made of the usual octo-alloy of the Nepalese school. Thinly covered in the front part with a golden leaf or polish which has faded out at many places, on a pedestal there is the prostrate figure of a man lying on his back. In the Paryaṅka Āsana the deity sits on the prostrate figure. She is richly dressed and is decked in ornaments such as necklace, chain, tiara, ear-rings, bracelets, armlets, anklets and girdle. She is sixteen-armed. The two principal hands are arranged in the form of a mudrā which is akin to Dharmacakra The remaining seven right hands show downwards from the top 1. sword, 2. Damaru (kettle-drum), 3. knife, 4. (broken), 5. hammer, 6. garland of jewels, 7. Abhaya mudrā. The remaining seven left hands show likewise the 1. discus, 2. bell, 3. noose, 4. dagger, 5. goad, 6. arrow ard 7. Varada mudrā. The deity is one-faced.

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The Baroda Museum image has therefore to be identified with Cundā, although there is some minor variation. Similarly, the Bodh Gaya image found in the Hindu monastery (Fig. 164) has also to be identified with Cundā with sixteen arms. One more stone image of Cundā is illustrated in the History of Bengal, Vol. I, pl. xxvi, 64. Here Cundā has eighteen arms instead of sixteen as in the miniature.

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The special feature of the Baroda Museum image is its seat which is on the prostrate figure of a man. This kind of special seat is absent in all other images of Cundā so far discovered either in stone or in metal. But this seat appears to be a special feature of the Cundā images which is not against the direction of the Sādhana. Cundā is said in the Sādhana to be seated on a Sattvaparyaṅka or a seat spread on a ‘Sattva’ which usually means a man or an animal. This particular bronze gives the indication that Sattvaparyaṅka is a seat that is placed on a man lying on his back.

Cites (6)

Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa — Sanskrit
Sādhanamālā — Sanskrit
Niṣpannayogāvalī — Abhayākaragupta, Sanskrit
Guhyasamāja — Sanskrit
Prajñāpāramitā — Sanskrit
Śikṣāsamuccaya — Śāntideva, Sanskrit