The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sadhanamala and Other Cognate Tantric Texts of Rituals c20.s3.1

c20.s3.1

In Vajrayāna there is a class of gods going under the generic name of Uṣṇīṣas. The word Uṣṇīṣa means ‘the crown’ but the deities have nothing to do with the crown. They are usually placed like the gods of Direction, in the four principal directions and the four intermediate corners. These eight Uṣṇīṣa gods seem to be an extension of the four Dhyāni Buddhas, and they show their characteristic symbols and mudrās. They are nevertheless popular in Tāntric works, and their statues are found in China. Hence it is necessary to make a passing reference to these Uṣṇīṣa gods briefly, for without an account of these this chapter is likely to be incomplete. Below is given a description of these special deities in the same order as they appear in the Durgatipariśodhana Maṇḍala of the Niṣpannayogāvalī. The Uṣṇīṣa deities like all other deities of the Maṇḍala are two-armed and one-faced. They wear rich dress and ornaments, and a bejewelled crown. They sit on human beings.