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Thread: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Tara Tantra and MMK, World Cycles


    One of the main uses of the song does not deal with twenty-one Taras, but nine. However it is a specific practice. If we just pull out the song, it is a dharani. This has sort of a dual meaning, you can use dharanis any time, or, within a sadhana. And so, for example, this practice has nothing to do with the Taras of Suryagupta's mandala or it is just not his system. From what I can tell, with Suryagupta, his song represents a bunch of Taras that must have been Indian, but, are now, "mixed" (?), but he also has a specific mandala practice which has a retinue of a smaller number of familiar figures such as Locana and the others centered on Tara. It is a Highest Yoga Tantra mandala.

    His application appears to be a branch of the song's practice, which seems to have first been written down in Tara's personal tantra. However, it has relatively recently been heard in Akanistha. And so it is as if it were part of Sambhogakaya.

    In the tantra of Tara, the querent is Manjushri and the speaker is Sakyamuni. We can perhaps update this much more now, but, Martin Wilson drew an immediate parallel to MMK:

    Some editions of the Kangyur also contain a Tara-mulakalpa. Almost all the first fourteen chapters are common to that text and the Manjusri-mula-kalpa.


    Tara appears in MMK initially in this environment:

    The right-hand mountain, beneath Avalokitesvara, is full of heavenly flowers and very tall, like a staircase of rubies. On its summit of lapis lazuli sits Tara...She is golden in colour and slender of waist, [though] not too thin, and neither too young nor too old. Her mind in dhyana, She is listening to the teaching.


    She is not easily mistaken for Green Tara in Forest of Turquoise Leaves because the area is:

    covered with young shoots and sprouts and ablaze with a multitude of colours, and look as if turned towards the Goddess Tara.

    Tara is the second of six goddesses accompanying Avalokitesvara, the others being Pandaravasini, Bhruku ti (= Bhrku ti), Prajna-paramita, TathagataLocana and U~r:ti~a-raja [?].


    Later it says:

    The eastern country is proclaimed as the Goddess's own land (ksetra). There the yaksa-king of great majesty, Jambhala, succeeds.


    It has almost called her Vasudhara. She is yellow but you can rule out Bhrkuti, Prajnaparamita, and Locana, and Jambhala is successful.


    As an example where a scripture is held to be in a modified/updated form:

    The Prophecy of the Kings is one of those added to the Manjusri-mula-kalpa between the late ninth and early eleventh centuries. It recounts the dynastic history of several kingdoms of Central and Northeastern India up to about 770 AD...Hidden away towards the end of this lengthy and tedious chronicle are some verses on Tara...The passage refers to the praises of Tara by Candragomin, and mentions some of the places where Her cult flourished.


    That is not terribly specific enough, but let me say there is little chance of just coming across what he is talking about without being told to look there. This is in what would appear to be an unrelated subject which is in Chapter Fifty-three of...if this were printed, and you tried to pick it up, you'd break an arm, both feet, derail a few trains, and overthrow the government of Paraguay.


    To get this, I had to go through a part where Buddha starts to foretell his own death. When he dies, his five empty skandhas are going to arise as the corresponding five realities.

    Manjughosha Manjushri is appointed to represent/uphold the Dharma afterwards.

    And then there is a long, long, long section about the reactions in the world after he perishes, and it is pretty long. And from there, yes, it goes into a part that is rather cryptic which I suppose includes some of the now-past kings from when this was written. Or, it is one of those things you would catch onto if you knew one of them was a king and you started putting the pieces together, but it says nothing like "became king 510, died 527" or anything like that. And then it swerves the subject back into Buddhist practice and starts talking about mantras, and one of the most important parts seems to have been in commanding the Yakshas to cover the kingdom with stupas overnight.

    This actually goes back to Emperor Asoka and Vajra and Lotus Families, and then there are the male Usnisa deities, except Mahasweta is a "her".

    At that point it does say, something, about Tara:

    “After the first king Aśoka
    There will come a king
    Known as Viśoka,
    A follower of Dharma in the world. {53.383}
    53.­384
    “He will accomplish the mantra
    Of the goddess Pāṇḍaravāsinī.


    Directly after him, there will be
    A king known as Śūrasena,
    A celebrated practitioner of the Dharma
    Always applying himself to the teachings. {53.387}
    53.­388
    “For his part, he will accomplish the mantra
    Of the goddess Stūpamahāśriyā.



    53.­391
    “Directly after him there will be
    Another king, Nanda by name.
    He, the glorious, will reside in the Flower City
    With his powerful army. {53.391}
    53.­392
    “For his part, he will accomplish
    The mantra of the piśāca named Pīlu.

    [Vararuci]

    He will accomplish on earth
    The mantra of the yakṣiṇī Vīramatī. {53.398}



    “When four hundred years
    Have passed after my parinirvāṇa,
    A monk by the name of Nāgārjuna
    Will delight in this beneficial teaching.
    He will attain the Joyful stage,
    And will live six hundred years. {53.449}
    53.­450
    “This great person will accomplish
    The vidyā called Māyūrī.
    He will know the meaning of various treatises down to every word
    And will understand that in reality there is no independent existence.


    “Then there will be a monk by the name of Asaṅga
    Who will understand the true meaning of the treatises.
    He will clearly discern many times over
    The direct and indirect meaning of the sūtras. {53.452}
    53.­453
    “He will educate people,
    Dedicated to the task and well disciplined.
    He will accomplish
    The vidyā called Śāladūtī. {53.453}


    There is a tale about a pot of fortune, which can feed needle-mouthed Pretas, which sounds a bit like the one in the sadhana for Tara who gives rise to Kurukulla.

    There will be King Mānavadeva,
    Born to the Licchavi clan. {53.501}
    53.­502
    “He too, having accomplished his mantric quest,
    Will come to enjoy great comforts.
    This king will accomplish
    The vidyā called Bhogavatī.
    During his reign of eighty years,
    The kingdom will be free from thieves. {53.502}
    53.­503
    “When his life ends,
    The king will go to heaven.
    The mantras especially effective at that time
    Will be the peaceful mantras for pacifying and nourishing. {53.503}
    53.­504
    “The world-renowned Tārā,
    The goddess Pāṇḍaravāsinī,
    And Mahāśvetā will strive to benefit others,
    Never growing weary in their minds. {53.504}



    After Nepal, it uses the term "mlecchas" for "kings of the snowy land", i. e. there might not have been much particular friendship or respect for Tibet at the time.


    “Turuṣka will master the mantras
    And will live three hundred years. [F.312.a] [F.329.a]
    This wise king who watches over the people
    Will accomplish the vidyā Keśinī. {53.521}

    “After him, there will be another king
    By the name of Mahāturuṣka.
    He will be wise, highly esteemed,
    And wholeheartedly devoted to his teachers.
    He will accomplish the mantra
    Of the powerful goddess Tārā. {53.525}

    It takes on a tone similar to Golden Light Sutra:

    “You should therefore apply yourselves
    With effort to the doctrine of the Tathāgata,
    Generating faith with every thought,
    So that you may go to the place free from the fever of afflictions. {53.674}

    Doesn't say it here, but, Mind's Repose, or, Cittavisrama and Manobhanga, seem to be the intent.


    After that is a long section with few mantras at all, but a lot of death and strife, until:

    [Gopalas]

    “The mantras that will be accomplished
    In the places where the Dharma wheel was turned,
    The pleasant grove of Mahābodhi
    Or the place where the Blessed One attained
    The peace that is free from rebirth,
    Are those of the deities Tārā and Bhṛkuṭī. {53.812}



    This may be the part Wilson had in mind. It may sound unusual, but, Puranic Tara's temporary husband was Chandra--Soma; and Vajrasattva represents the white male moon, yet, he is androgynous. Tara's original name was Princess Jnana Chandra when she attained Buddhahood with Amoghasiddhi, so:

    “The bodhisattva known by the name Candra
    Is said to be Tāra, the savior.
    With this name, he is also Tārā,3221
    The vidyārājñī of great power and majesty. {53.814}
    53.­815
    “Having morphed into a goddess with a female form,
    He wanders throughout the entire world
    In order to benefit beings,
    With the mind tender with compassion. {53.815}
    53.­816
    “In the world sphere of Sahā,
    He abides in the form called ‘woman,’
    Who, nevertheless, is a powerful bodhisattva lord
    Abiding on the tenth level.3222 {53.816}
    53.­817
    “Famed as the goddess Tārā,
    He guides sentient beings
    And provides protection, shelter, and cover
    With his effortless magical power. {53.817}
    53.­818
    “One should strive to accomplish [the mantra
    Of] this goddess who brings opulence and power
    And constitutes the cause for accumulating
    [The merit and wisdom] necessary for awakening.3223 {53.818}
    53.­819
    “This goddess, at that time, will be connected,
    Through her compassion, to living beings,
    Constituting, in the form of the mantra, [F.324.a] [F.341.a]
    The cause for their accumulations that lead to awakening. {53.819}
    53.­820
    “She resides in the eastern region,3224
    Bringing happiness and nourishment to everyone.3225
    She manifests in five hundred forms3226
    That [each] emanate many more. {53.820}
    53.­821
    “She wanders the entire earth,
    As far as the four oceans.
    Her accomplishments will manifest
    Throughout the eastern region, in Vārāṇasī and beyond. {53.821}
    53.­822
    “The eastern region is famed
    As the territory of this goddess.
    There, too, can be accomplished Jambhala,
    A yakṣa king of great splendor. {53.822}
    53.­823
    “At that time during the debased eon,
    Those who desire affluence will be successful
    In accomplishing the yakṣa king and the goddess Tārā,
    Who fulfill the wishes for prosperity. {53.823}



    “Tārā and the powerful yakṣa king
    Will be accomplished also
    In Harikela, Karmaraṅga,
    Kāmarūpa, and Kalaśa. {53.825}


    It eventually ends with the subject of non-human kings. You don't quite get a sense of "lines of transmission", but something more like "rising and falling". The subject is more of "mastery of mantra" than it is anything about any particular one of them.


    If this "Candra" were to mean "Candragomin", which seems to be Wilson's suggestion perhaps from personal testimony, according to Wiki:

    According to the Nepalese tradition, Chandragomin's student was Ratnakirti. Chandragomin was a teacher at Nalanda Monastic University during the 7th century.

    Chandragomin held the Chittamatra (consciousness-only or Yogachara school) view, and Chandrakirti gave his interpretation of Nāgārjuna's view, eventually creating a new school of Madhyamaka known as Prasangika. This Nalanda tradition school is known as Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka or rendered in English as the "Consequentialist" or "Dialecticist" school.

    Translated from the original Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit into Tibetan is Chandragomin's 'Shurangama Mantra Sadhana', Sarvatathāgataoṣṇīṣaśitātapatrā-nāmāparājitā-mahāpratyangirā-mahāvidyārājñī-nāma-dhāraṇī.

    Rigpa Wiki:

    Chandragomin (Skt. Candragomin; Tib. ཙནྡྲ་གོ་མིན་) (seventh century) — a famous Indian master and scholar who was a lay practitioner, or upasaka, who dressed in white robes and upheld the five lay vows and famously challenged Chandrakirti to a debate in Nalanda that lasted for many years.


    He would give responses the following day after praying to Avalokiteshvara for guidance. As one can see, he gave a large Parasol dharani as a practice of Shurangama Sutra, which evidently corresponds more to the Yogacara view than to the predominant Rangtong Prasangika theory. In that case it could be said "he" becomes Tara and circles the world every night. As we have seen, this Sutra is barely known in Tibet.


    The history of 770 was an update to an older MMK. That chapter alone is virtually a whole semester's study.

    At this time, Tara was extensive but, due to its "miscellaneous rites", the tantra of Tara is similar to Vajrayogini and other practices such as Dakini Jala which had effectively been banned from Tibet ever since the time of the First Transmission:

    Thus the present [Tara] Tantra was not translated into Tibetan until the late twelfth century...


    As to why we need to be a bit careful with these rites and not take them too literally:


    But someone has been playing a practical joke on Tibetan would-be magicians for the last eight centuries-the mantras have been shuffled. Anyone who thought he was summoning a woman with the rite of Chapter 16 was actually driving her away-the mantra given there should have been in Chapter 12.


    If a Tibetan or anyone else has issues about why such things are riding side-saddle with spiritual practices, you should check out the Atharva Veda some time. What is one of the most off-the-cuff responses, well, if someone's motivation is poor, they will be sandbagged and defrayed into whatever happens when you start taking hexes and "power over others" and so forth as the item of value.


    If you sift them carefully and figure out the motivation, a few of them actually are like beneficial amulets, and also the Four Activities are often called "rites", whereas they actually are the rites of Deity Yoga.

    This stuff is actually full of black humor, tongue-in-cheek sarcasm, and the abuse of language in making it susceptible to multiple or alternative meanings or just eliminating it by getting a different kind of "meaning" from things like syllables and songs and yantras. Like even now, why would I call a girl a "baby"...if it were true, that would really defeat the purpose, but, it has been an emotional term of endearment since at least a few minutes ago.

    Janguli for example assures one can "Cross over Water", and so if we take that symbolicly, it means Elemental Water and the corresponding Skandha and so on. I'm not going to test it to see how thin of ice I can stand on in a frozen pond. I'm going to think of it in terms of Naga Diseases and Water Poison and use it to clean my mind, and, most likely, some knot in the Avadhut.


    This is not Tara Yogini Tantra of Taranatha's; its proper title is:

    Sarva-tathagata-matr-tara-visvakarma-bhava-tantra-nama

    THE ORIGIN OF ALL RITES OF TARA, MOTHER OF ALL THE TATHAGATAS

    ...this Tantra is much less obscure than those of the Anuttarayoga class. It is unfortunate that despite this Tantra's importance, no-one seems ever to have written a commentary on it, except on the Twenty-one Homages.


    No-one has commented MMK either.

    He thought the best parallel was Vajra Tara of Sadhanamala. This tantra is pretty straightforward in its presentation and that is what it is. I am not sure it expresses some of the details that Vajra Tara does. By "lacking details", the song has no commentary, it is just a practice or "learn how to sing this". In response, the song has commentaries written by people who probably got it from another source.

    This one is based on a mandala of five goddesses who are simple and are just called "Tara of green color" and the like, along with Four Gatekeepers. The song of Twenty-one Praises is the beginning of casting the mandala. The tantra has another aspect with Mothers, who are bigger four faced goddesses like Vajra Tara. The song is considered to be like Mother Tantra, which makes perfect sense because it is part of a substantial mandala practice coming from its own Sutra-like setting. Someone could dispute this because it begins with "Thus have I heard..." of the Father Tantras rather than the variants that are supposed to constitute Mother Tantra. Maybe she is aimed at Generation Stage and how a goddess can function as the normally-male Upaya. That makes sense, because, we are saying the real male seed is that Upaya or Method which is Smrti or Sadhana, the Fifth Yoga, and we can barely do the first two. Then we are using a Tara-based dharani system to fill that gulf. It dovetails in to Vasudhara summons Jambala when such a male is required.


    The tantra is set in Tusita and the first goddesses mentioned as present are Kurukulla and Parnasabari.


    Then the Lord concentrated in the concentration called Adamantine, destroyer of hostile forces. Immediately, the earth shook, the circle of the Maras was vanquished, and He sent forth a great shining of light. It was like this: He sent forth all kinds of light-white, red, yellow, green, blue, and mixed, which purified all that had suffering; and Tara, Mother of all the Buddhas, descended on to Kurukulla's crown. Straightway, masses of offerings rained down. That goddess then became like the unclouded disk of the sun. Then was She praised with this verse of praise:

    On the whole realm, completely purified, Many precious flowers descend, like rain. Mother producing all the three times' Buddhas, Mother Tara! Homage and praise to you!


    He has used what is called Six Color Light.

    Manjushri wants to know how or why she is Mother of All Buddhas.

    Because she is beyond Samsara and Affliction.

    The Bodhisattva Manjusri the Youthful said: 'Lord, how are the Buddhas of the three times produced, who are unproduced and unceasing, not defiled and not immaculate, without decrease or increase, and by nature in Nirvana?' The Lord said: 'Manjusri, the Ultimate is called Nirvana, the Universal Law (dharmadhatu) is called Nirvana; it is a synonym of the True Goal. It[s cause] is Great Compassion. Conventional nature [Pravrtti] is a synonym of samsara.

    Therefore, Manjusri, with understanding of the Suchness of dharmas should one meditate on Her; one should recite this dharani, practise earnestly, understand Her qualities, and make offerings to Her.

    You should use Purity Mantra and the Four Immeasurables:

    One should cultivate Loving-kindness, considering those born from a womb, those born from an egg, those born from moist heat, and those born miraculously. One should generate Great Compassion with regard to birth, aging, sickness and death. One should cultivate Joy and Equanimity with regard to Emptiness, Signlessness and Wishlessness, and the naturally unconditioned. Therefore, Manjusri, the Four Immeasurables are the cause; Bodhicitta is their product. Therefore one should earnestly take them to heart. Therefore, Manjusri, one should say this mantra: OM BODHICITTA-UTPADAYA AHAM

    A colossal offering scene is given to her and:

    Then He spoke again to Manjusri the Youthful, saying 'Manjusri, this Mother is Mother of all the Buddhas of the three times. Therefore, Manjusri, take to heart this praise by all the Buddhas of the three times!

    Then the Lord uttered the dharani of praise: 'NAMAH SARVA-TATHAGATANAM. TAD YATHA: OM NAMAH SUKASAM, NAMAH TARAYAI TARAMITA'


    The song is given, and then:


    Manjusri, people who retain this praise by all the Buddhas of the three times will have made offering to all the Buddhas of the three times. People retaining it will become purified of all sins, including the [five] immediate ones. They will see all the Buddhas. Untimely death will not occur, and when they die they will see Tara, the Mother who produces all the Buddhas of the three times. People retaining it will achieve whatever they mentally intend. They will receive perfect body, perfect complexion and all such. All hindrances of bad dreams, the malicious and spirits will be quelled. They will also see the truths of the three times. They will see directly the form of Mother Tara. 'NAMAH SARVA-TATHAGATA-SAMYAKSAMBUDDHA YATREY ATE DHARATE TU TARA (Homage to all Tathagatas and Complete and Perfect Buddhas, saving, preserving, TUTTARA(?) ): this is to be spoken.'

    "TARA-BHAGAVATIYAM SUTRAM SAMYAKSAMBUDDHA-BHASITAM

    (Sutra on the Lady Tara, spoken by the Complete and Perfect Buddha) SARV A-KARA SAMA YAULAKARA YE}2 (Meteor-swift in Your all-performing pledge?) BUDDHANI CA DHARMANI CA SAMGHANI CA TARA YE SVAHA

    One should earnestly practise it with the desire to be liberated from suffering and with conviction about the Profound Meaning.


    That concludes the mantras and dharanis for the song itself. It is the words of all the Tathagatas of the Three Times.






    So far, yes, that is more or less like the basic trend of Sadhanamala. Around the beginning of a practice, you use Purity Mantra and enter Voidness and focus on the Four Immeasurables. It is a common thing to do until you are told what is to manifest. Normally it does not have that long of a song just slipped in there. The tantra proceeds accordingly:


    Then [one should visualize that] from a TAM-letter come light-rays, upwards and downwards and all around, which transform into vajras. One should say this mantra, Manjusri:

    OM VAJRA JVALA VAJRA TANA HUM PHAT

    Then one should visualize coming from the TAM a white letter A. Above this one should visualize a blue VAM. Above this one should visualize a yellow LAM. Above this one should visualize a green YAM. Above this one should visualize a red RAM. Their light spreads out in rays and comes together. OM DHARMADHATU-VISUDDHA HUM.

    There are a few more mantras and you summon the mandala:

    The five central Taras are peaceful and sit cross-legged, the four outer are wrathful and stand with right leg straight and left bent.

    These are her Gatekeepers:

    At the Eastern gate, on a moon and lotus, from a TAM comes an utpala, with the Seed, by whose light of various colours in all world-elements, all world-elements are seen as like emanations, ... reflected images. From this utpala comes Tara Ankusi, white, Her two hands holding elephant-hooks. Her wrathful body is adorned with jewel necklaces, earrings, armlets, and all kinds of ornaments. A young maiden, with slightly wrathful face She abides in alidha posture (right leg stretched, left bent) on a moon and lotus.

    At the Southern gate, on a moon and lotus, from a RE comes an utpala, with the Seed, by whose light of various colours in all world-elements, all world-elements are seen as like emanations, ... reflected images. From this utpala comes Tara Pasi, yellow, Her two hands holding nooses. Her wrathful body is adorned with jewel necklaces, earrings, armlets, and all kinds of ornaments. A young maiden, with slightly wrathful face She abides in alidha posture on a moon and lotus.

    At the Western gate, on a moon and lotus, from a TU comes an utpala, with the Seed, by whose light of various colours in
    all world-elements are seen as like emanations, . . . reflected images. From this utpala comes Tara Sphota, red, Her two hands holding chains. Her wrathful body is adorned with jewel necklaces, earrings, armlets, and all kinds of ornaments. A young maiden, with wrathful face She abides in alidha posture on a moon and lotus.

    At the Northern gate, on a moon and lotus, from a RE comes an utpala, with the Seed, by whose light of various colours in all world-elements, all world elements are seen as like emanations, magical illusions, rainbows, mirages, moons in water, and reflected images. From this utpala comes Tara Ghanta, green, Her two hands holding bells. Her wrathful body is adorned with jewel necklaces, earrings, armlets, and all kinds of ornaments. A young maiden, with wrathful face She abides in alidha posture on a moon and lotus.

    Manjusrl, an emanation, a magical illusion, a rainbow, a mirage, a moon in water, and a reflected image are without obstruction and free of obstruction; they are without difference and free of difference. Therefore, Manjusri, think of their nature as similar to that!'


    This is just a little "hint":

    'Lord, with what secret mantras should one practise?' And the Lord gave utterance: 'This is Her dharani: OM NAMO RATNA-TRAYAYA. NAMASTRAIY-ADHVASARVA-TATHAGATANAM. NAMASTARAYAI

    Buddha does the first two verses of the song and:

    Then the Lord made the samaya-mudra (pledge gesture) of all the families of the mind, joining the palms of the hands and interlacing the fingers, the middle fingers stretched out, and the thumbs and little fingers also joined and stretched out This is the samaya-mudra. The mantra: OM SARVA-TATHAGATA-VAJRA-SAMAYA HUM

    Vajra pledge of all the Tathiigatas HuM!

    is to be spoken.

    Manjushri does the next two verses followed by her Heart Mantra.

    Her mantra then has variations in each Family; she has a Naga Pacifying mantra, an All Purpose mantra, and a Siddhi mantra, which ends with the following statement:

    The letter A is a door [to the insight] that all dharmas are unproduced from the very beginning (Adyanutpanna).

    A-KARO MUKHAM SARVA-DHARMANAM ADY-ANUTPANNATVAT


    Now, you have two songs, once for a mandala, and apparently again with mudras and sub-mantras.

    In the next chapter, the "rites" are done by Swift Energy Vira Tara in various colors.


    Karma Family Tara is the shakti of Amoghasiddhi, who is Not Ignorant about Occult Powers, which means she is the occult powers he is not ignorant of, and mostly this means the Six Yogas, where she is the sixth, who, in wrathful form, is Smoky Candi. On their own plane, they are transcendent, unable to descend lower than Akanistha. So they emanate Bodhisattvas who can. Their nature will be revealed a bit more if we look at what is meant by Celestial Bodhisattva.



    The western world really bypassed Sanskrit Buddhism from Brian Hodgson ca. 1840, and then there was another valuable little gem using the term Dhyani Bodhisattva by Alice Getty in Gods of Northern Buddhism, 1914. Her information is mostly Nepalese and Japanese. It is a pretty light read, and the chapter "Feminine Deities" is not a bad bird's eye view on some of the "obscure" ones. It contains a few errors, but, for the most part, is elegant.

    She uses the name as intended in giving the doctrine of World Cycles:


    Each Dhyani-Bodhisattva in the group of five is evolved, according to the system, by his Dhyani-Buddha. He is a reflex, an emanation from him; in other words, his spiritual son. Certain Northern Buddhist sects that interlink the dogmas of the Tri-kaya and the Tri-ratna look upon the Dhyani-Bodhisattva as the active creator, Sangha, product of the union of Buddha (mind) and Dharma (matter). According to the system of Adi-Buddha, the Dhyani-Bodhisattva receives the active power of creation from Adi-Buddha through the medium of his spiritual father, the Dhyani-Buddha.

    The Dhyani-Bodhisattva of this group of five have a definite place in the Mahayana system and for a special purpose, that is, to evolve, each in his turn, from his own essence, a material and perishable world over which he is to preside until the advent of the (Human) Manushi-Buddha of his cycle. At the death of his mortal Buddha, he must continue the work of the propagation of Buddhism until his successor creates a new world.

    Three of the Dhyani-Bodhisattva have created worlds, and are now engrossed in worshipping Adi-Buddha, or, according to some, have been absorbed into Nirvana. The present world is the fourth, and there is the fifth yet to come.

    The first world was created by Samantabhadra (Dhyani-Bodhisattva). His spiritual father Vairocana (Dhyani-Buddha) manifested himself on earth in the form of Manushi-Buddha, Krakucchanda. In the same way we have:

    The second world.
    Dhyani-Bodhisattva: Vajrapani.
    Dhyani-Buddha: Akshobhya.
    Manushi-Buddha: Kanaka-Muni.

    The third world.
    Dhyani-Bodhisattva: Ratnapani.
    Dhyani-Buddha: Ratnasambhava.
    Manushi-Buddha: Kasyapa.

    The fourth world is the present one, created by Avalokitesvara (Dhyani-Bodhisattva). His spiritual father, Amitabha (Dhyani-Buddha), manifested himself on earth in the form of Gautama-Buddha, Sakya-muni. The Northern Buddhists believe that Avalokitesvara continues the work that Gautama Buddha began, and, in order to do so, incarnates himself in each successive Dalai-Lama of Lhassa.

    Five thousand years after the death of Gautama Buddha, Maitreya will appear as Manushi-Buddha in the fifth world, which will be created by VisVapani (fifth Dhyani-Bodhisattva), who dwells in the Rupadhatu heaven waiting for the fifth cycle, when he will receive active power of creation and evolve the fifth world.


    We perhaps could say Buddha Epoch rather than "world", meaning Maitreya will appear in the Age of Karma Family when its characteristics are very close to the fundamental, universal, primordial quality that Lotus Family has now.

    In the Puranas, "amitabhas" are the building blocks of the next world--cosmos.


    She has an interesting note on Vajrapani:

    Sakti: Sujata.


    Avalokiteshvara is a special national deity at least of Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia:

    His worship was introduced into Tibet in the middle of the seventh century, when he was proclaimed by the Buddhist priests incarnate in the king Srong-tsangam-po. He soon became the most popular of all the Northern Buddhist gods, being looked upon as a representative of Buddha, and guardian of the Buddhist faith until Maitreya should appear on earth as Manushi Buddha.

    Another reason for his popularity is that he is believed to have created the fourth world, which is the actual universe, and he is therefore our creator.



    This...future Buddha cycle is controversial on two fronts. The seemingly-strange Vaisnavite claim is that Buddha was the last or ninth avatar of Vishnu. In our view, he was not an avatar, and so i. e. this is like an attempt to absorb and convert Buddhism. Secondly, the next, and last, avatar of Vishnu is a subject that is sort of claimed by...everybody. In Buddhism, there is certainly a Maitreya but in fact he is extremely minor, perhaps even trivial, if not outright omissable. We don't have a messianic movement, although it is correct that Kalachakra Tantra refers to it.

    If you pervert Maitreya out of context you will just go straight to hell.

    Now, if he really does correspond to the Vishnu prophecy, that deals with the end of Kali Yuga, which is more like 400,000 years.

    What is even stranger about Vishnu is that the person, Parasurama, is immortal. He is always manifesting like Durga has remained in the Vindhya Hills since she first went there. Parasurama continues to live while others like Krishna come into being and fade away. Although he may be most famous for killing a quarter or half million people, here is some more of his background:



    In the past, Renuka is also at least as old as Mahabharata and is also a decapitated goddess, and she is mother of Parasu Rama. She is like Cinnamasta but also Horsehead Rite:

    Parashurama found and apparently beheaded her, allegedly along with the woman who belonged to fishing community who had tried to protect Renuka Devi. When he later brought them back to life, he is claimed to have mistakenly attached the woman's head to Renuka's body, and vice versa. Jamadagni is alleged accepted the former as his wife Renuka, while the latter remained to be worshipped by all caste people as Yellamma, the mother of all. Matangi, Renuka, and Yellamma are all names of the Goddess.

    He had a guru:

    The Tripura-rahasya refers to the disciple Parasurama finding Dattatreya meditating on Gandhamadana mountain, Near Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. Avadhuta Gita is the high point of Dattatreya Tantra.

    According to Wiki, Datta is similar to Pratyangira, considered a triple manifestation of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. He is a "honey bee" and frequently accompanied by the Kamadenhu cow symbolizing Five Elements.

    A typical icon for Dattatreya, particularly popular with Marathi-speaking people in India, has three heads corresponding to Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva, and six hands; the lowest two hands carry japamala and water pot (kamandalu), middle pair of hands hold hourglass mini-drum (damaru) and trident (trishul), and top two hands have conch (shankh) and spinning wheel (chakra).

    For the most of Datta mantras Lord Parama Siva in the form of Sabara (an old man of Kirata tribe) was the preceptor. It is interesting to note that the Parameswara the embodiment of Jnana was the preceptor for all the mantras of Dattatreya the Yogeswara.


    According to a post, Dattatreya founded Sri Vidya, Sabara Tantra for the lay people, Svacchanda Bhairava Tantra, and that aspect of Vajrayana which owes to Matsyendranath.

    He definitely inspired Gorkanath ca. 10th century. In very ancient tradition, he taught Parasurama, whose mother is equivalent to Matangi and Cinnamasta. This has a great deal to do with the origin of Yoga as a whole. Considering the cycles, Rama was about 5,000 B. C., and Parasurama must have been prior to that. He just never stopped.

    Parasurama was the guru of Bhisma.


    The only really pure soul in Mahabharata, Yudisthira:

    Studied under Parasurama at Bhrigutunga Parvata. (Mahabharata, Sabha parva, Padma Purana, Garuda Purava, Vamana Purana). So Yudhishthara also studied under Parasurama. Bheeshma, Agnivesha, Drona, Karna, Pandya King and add Yudhishthara to the list please.

    a. Agnivesa was student of Parasurama and then teacher of both Drupada and Drona. Drona taught both Bhima and Arjuna. Drona gave Parasurama’s axe to Bhima.


    In Namasangiti, Dharanis as a class of goddesses are emanated by Amoghasiddhi. To say that Dharani is Parasurama's wife is part of the standard "divine couple" incarnations:

    Thus when Hari was born as a dwarf [Vamana], the son of Aditi, Lakshmi appeared from a lotus (as Padma, or Kamala); when he was born as Rama, of the race of Bhrigu (or Parasurama), she was Dharani; when he was Raghava Ramachandra(), she was Sita; and when he was Krishna, she became Rukmini.


    Vishnu's future tenth avatar is called Kalkin:

    In the Mahabharata, according to Hiltebeitel, Kalki is an extension of the Parasurama avatar legend...

    Kalki Purana (3.9-10) Parasurama, as Kalki's teacher,...

    Kalki is also in Vishnu Purana and Agni Purana, where Yajnawalkya is his spiritual guru, and Parasurama trains him to receive celestial weapons.


    So, if Buddhist Maitreya is anything close to his own Indian background in the expectancy of a Vishnu avatar, that is what he will be trained in.

    Cakravartin Kalkin is the title of the Kalachakra Shamballa King.

    And so this, in turn, is perhaps a Buddhist ploy to convert Vishnu. Except, in Buddhist terms, they already did. Kalachakra is a late tantra ca. 10th century and so selecting this title must be intentional.

    "Chakravartin" just means the Fourth Turning of the Wheel of Dharma. The next, new, updated teaching to what we are giving as Tathagatagarbha or Buddha Nature will be that of this Karma Family cycle.

    If we do the most sensible thing, to ignore the messiah of 400,000 years from now and just deal with the "Shamballa within", then, "this" is pretty close to the "abstract future state" generally symbolized by the eighth position in a retinue, in Karma Family, multi-colored like Viswapani, and eighth or "Alaya" consciousness.

    The tantric Chakravartin turns this wheel on a personal basis.

    The previous incarnations of Vishnu represent the nine months of fetal development, tenth being the upcoming birth.

    This thereby resembles the "pregnancy" of Generation Stage.

    Lotus Family is the heat and mantra of Generation Stage, Karma Family is its Accomplishment.

    The highly instructive Shaktis will be Parasu's wife Dharani, and Yajnawalkya's two wives, Maitreyi and Katyayani, spiritual and material Durga.

    If we take this spiritually and symbolicly, we will do really well, but it is prone to being manipulated for other purposes.


    The "current" Maitreya, so to speak, dwells in Tusita, and his teaching to Asanga is what is used in Mahayana called Five Books of Maitreya.

    Pema Dragpa says that Maitreya clearly states that Buddha Nature has Four Qualities.

    This was not too clear until given the vocabulary term Gunaparamita which in the same stroke of defining the Four Qualities says that Prajnaparamita defines them as contra- or against attributing them to the Skandhas, and also contra- the Pratyeka Buddha practice of just the not-self of the Skandhas.

    This is, evidently, difficult enough to be the subject of an over 600 page thesis which comes to the conclusion RGV is the most esoteric part of the transmission. It says:

    The perversion of the śrāvakas and prateyakabuddhas derives from their lack of
    perception of the tathāgatagarbha and the emptiness of own being of the five aggregates.
    Instead of seeing the eternity, selfhood, purity and bliss of the dharmakāya, they focus on
    the impermanence, not-self, impurity and duḥkha of the aggregates. The text seems to
    suggest that owing to their lack of faith in the dharmakāya they have chosen the path that
    is not conducive to its realization. Consequently, they will not be able to experience its
    perfection of purity, perfection of self, perfection of bliss and perfection of eternity.
    Earlier in its exposition the RGVV quotes the SMS’s assertion that the dharmakāya is the
    sphere of omniscience which is related to the knowledge of emptiness. This knowledge,
    being strictly the domain of the Mahāyāna, has not been offered to or experienced before
    by the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. Since they have no faith in the Mahāyāna
    doctrines of the dharmakāya of the Tathāgata and the emptiness of own being, they will
    not be able to realize it.



    It goes on to say that the practices of faith, perfect wisdom, meditations and great
    compassion cause the purification of the tathāgatadhātu. However, when these same
    meditations are focused on the dharmakāya, because of the reversal of the perversion
    (viparyayāt), they result in the acquisition of its four perfect natures.

    It appears that the first set of practices removes conceptual impediments, and thereafter when the mind is
    focused on the Reality-body or Body of Truth, its reality is experienced and internalized.



    RGV is the last Book of Maitreya, which, in Yogacara, his volumes were conveyed with different texts, such as Vasubandhu's, than in Prasangika. So that is why they say he said it. However this book is mainly quoting from Srimala Devi Sutra.

    It adds what, I believe, is its own style of presentation of Seven Mysteries, incorporating this point.

    The impression is that Srimala Devi Sutra was quite successful in the Indian system.

    I am not sure why it would not usually come to anyone's attention unless they were years deep in a formal Buddhist school. Why would you not want to say, the Dharmakaya actually does have some kind of qualities. Tara is handling its Grounds and Path with twenty-one which are like the resolution of mental prakritis pursuant to another Maitreya book, and then according to RGV there are Seven which are the Dharma realm itself, the Absolute.

    Srimala Devi is a Lion's Roar, not a tip toe, and this point has its own name, Guna Paramita.

    It would have been widely-known when and where Tara's song was widely-known.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Quote Posted by shaberon (here)
    I am not sure why it would not usually come to anyone's attention unless they were years deep in a formal Buddhist school. Why would you not want to say, the Dharmakaya actually does have some kind of qualities. Tara is handling its Grounds and Path with twenty-one which are like the resolution of mental prakritis pursuant to another Maitreya book, and then according to RGV there are Seven which are the Dharma realm itself, the Absolute
    Ah, just my $0.02 Shaberon, but in reference to the above (as coloured), perhaps it's because for those who are still coming-to-terms-with-no-self (I'd suggest via the Prasangika "emptiness" teachings), it could be the subtle tendency of reifying such as actually "existent" thereby further delaying their realisation of Anatta eh ?

    Now, for context, I'm quoting the following from Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso's Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness :

    Quote We will only be considering the original Prasangika view in this Meditation Progression on Emptiness. That is, we will confine ourselves to refuting all views, but not asserting any counter-argument establishing any view of our own. This amounts to a complete destruction of all conceptual views, leaving one with no alternative than a non-conceptual view of the nature of reality. The aim of the Prasangika is to silence completely the conceptual mind, allowing the mind to rest in absolute freedom from concepts. Absolute freedom from concepts is what Prasangikas call emptiness. The absolute nature of reality is emptiness in that sense only. It cannot be established as empty, nor even as freedom from concepts (nisprapanca) by the conceptual mind because that is not true emptiness or true freedom from concepts - these are just concepts too.
    But, on the other hand, for non-Buddhists, or for Academics perhaps, I see no reason why it can't be described with terms such as Naturally Compassionate or Playful-yet-Impersonal eh ? However surely for "practitioners" it must be for each to put-it-into-their-own-words by which I mean not just parrot-back what they've heard or read !
    Last edited by Clear Light; 17th August 2021 at 13:36. Reason: Some tidying up

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Quote Posted by Clear Light (here)
    perhaps it's because for those who are still coming-to-terms-with-no-self (I'd suggest via the Prasangika "emptiness" teachings), it could be the subtle tendency of reifying such as actually "existent" thereby further delaying their realisation of Anatta eh ?

    ...The absolute nature of reality is emptiness in that sense only. It cannot be established as empty, nor even as freedom from concepts (nisprapanca) by the conceptual mind because that is not true emptiness or true freedom from concepts - these are just concepts too.
    Yes, pretty much.

    Power outage just trashed the next post where I was going to include such a caveat.

    It is kind of touchy--yes, for most people for the most part, the "erasure of concepts" by an Emptiness-only view is probably the best way to get into Buddhist meditation, which is why Prajnaparamita Sutra and related practices are so significant.

    How different is this from the Adwaita creed of calling the Atma "Neti, Neti" (not this, not that, no words apply)?

    It is, however, different from Atma in other philosophies such as Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika:

    Accordingly, regarding ātmā it is said: “desire, aversion, volition, pleasure, pain and intelligence are the qualities of ātmā and abide in it”.

    Which says, in Buddhist terms, Atma has or is the Skandhas. If so, Vajrasattva is inert, and one cannot even begin to meditate until such a view is renounced.

    The truth of tantra is that once you engage the winds or prana in an adequate manner, they are going to erase the Skandhas. Prana "does things" much like a drug. This is Yogacara or Yoga practice, as compared to Sutra study or philosophy, and many other kinds of Yoga practices can achieve the same thing. So I, personally, did this for years, before ever hearing Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra. Therefor, I am speaking from the view of one who has some experience in Yoga, and an interest in conforming it to the Path as taught in Buddhism. If one may have entered Buddhism for any other reason, they perhaps need extra assistance in something that was not an issue for me.

    Historically, right before Buddha, King Janaka and Sita had already perfected the Empty or Body-less condition, and so we are just as well-off with Brihadaranyaka Upanishad in terms of a "basic". Buddha would have had nothing to say to them for twenty-nine years until finding out that renouncing a kingdom and practicing asceticism was still not Buddha's Path or Truth.

    So what we are doing here is aimed more at advanced students and practitioners. From the power loss, I lost a few links to books on the scale of the 600-page thesis, which, in the end, reach the conclusion that RGV is the most esoteric part of the Maitreya transmissions, and RGV is thirty percent quotations of Srimala Devi Sutra, plus a copy of Bhagavad Gita replacing Atma with Dhatu. Its originality appears to be arranging this into a system of Seven Mysteries.


    And so what seems to be coming forward is that the way to gauge, limit, and adjust one's stage of progress is really in the Six Yogas. This is to say we are actually doing a Yoga practice, which is not even required as an interest, for someone to be in the domain of Buddhism overall. Once it is present, then it is very beneficial to start learning the six branches, because all of the complex subjects of tantra organize themselves around this program.


    If the sixth one is Samadhi and this is a "future condition" represented by Maitreya, then we immediately draw the connection to Karma Family and it is governed by an indestructible axe murderer and you are going to say wtf, get me out of this.

    Well, it is easy, he can be restrained by Dharani, which in full is the Fourth Yoga.

    So it is more like training the Six Yogas in a dharani-based practice. Unfortunately because these are considered Completion Stage, their knowledge is wrapped in in a blanket, not obvious to practitioners. Let's say the high end of it is definitely Completion Stage, but, if you meditate with any physiological effect at all--like someone who may have experience in other yogas--then you are definitely at the beginning of it. The dharanis themselves will be shown as equivalent to the tantric teachings.


    The easiest way to see how it is no longer like other yogas is just in the meaning of the third stage, Pranayama. In most other systems, it is something like a physical preliminary.

    I would say we can slowly learn Pranayama closely following the teaching, with mantras and visualized deities from a mostly Sutra and dharani basis in an outer Yoga view like a conversation. This is kind of a huge deal. The first two yogas are perhaps similar to an advanced practice of many other schools. Because Buddhist Yoga is actually Deity Yoga, then we would have to add rules and limits on approaching a deity, which we already have, but before we have Samadhi to it, we are going to generate Tapas or inner heat. Physiologically, this is still not any different from other yoga, but the Method is. This does not use breathing exercises, except one soft easy one, which you do not have to do at first. What you definitely need first is Three Places, Three Jewels, Three Families, the Three of Kriya, in conjunction with a perception of voidness.

    On this, there is no difference in the schools. We can totally rely on Chandrakirti, with whom we only have a minor philosophical difference that is irrelevant here. Mme. Alexandra David-Neel trained in this extensively. Successful Siddhas such as Yeshe Tsogyal and Virupa were unsuccessful in this stage for years. So we can reasonably say that no matter what school or deity is most meaningful to you, no, you really can't do Buddhist Pranayama. But then you can tell when you can, and from there it becomes easy to identify what is supposed to happen. Once this takes place, you have the Fourth Yoga, Dharani. Once you have your bearings, the system is pretty easy, once you pare it down to a workable format.


    The Six Yogas are obscured by being thought of as the Completion Stage of Kalachakra, and revealed by being called the cult of Tara.

    Pranayama uses a meditation called Inner Offering, which moves off of the basic Three Places, and provides Nectar or Amrita.

    I did not know this, but, Inner Offering is apparently part of Milarepa Guru Yoga as transmitted in Sikkhim.

    The story has a nice image that deals with Pranayama, which I am calling "half of the Inverted Stupa". It is in the basic form in the lower right--with the Crescent of Wind, the Triangle of Fire, and the Three Places of Om Ah Hum. Then on the lower left, you see it "activated"--the winds are moving, there are three skulls with a fourth skull which contains a mixture of Skandhas:






    However, the main central icon there is in the view of Mother Tantra, and we are going to reverse the Female = Meat aspect, because we are only at the beginning which has more to do with Father Tantra and Generation Stage.

    Also, we are adding why there are three skulls at the base, since the third is Varuni.


    If you ultimately succeed with your Bodhicitta Nectar, according to basic Ekarasa or "One Taste", Nectars swirl counterclockwise and are the first Four Joys, Head, Throat, Heart, Navel; Meats swirl clockwise, and ascend, the second Four Joys of Navel, Heart, Throat, Head. This again is like a corkscrew or drill; the goal of the first set is Sahaja, then the rest are all Sahaja; and here, counter-rotation = reversal, same as torque.


    If I do not just run with information off one source as to why Pandara is elephant meat, Akhu Gyatso's Guhyasamaja commentary reverses the polarity:


    The wind-element at the base [of the entire artifice] stands for the ten primary and
    secondary ‘winds’. The fire stands for ‘inner heat’; the tri-pod, ‘appearance’, ‘increased
    appearance’ and ‘attainment’. The skull represents the ‘union’ and the pristine cognition of
    bliss and emptiness; the five ‘meats’, the five male Buddhas; while the five ‘nectars’
    represent the five female Buddhas.


    In Father Tantra (Guhyasamaja, Vajrabhairava) the meats are male; most Mother tantra makes them female.

    In Varuni Puja, the meats are male Buddhas, the skandhas; the female nectars are elements and delusions. Meat or Khay is the Upaya or Method, or, the emphasis in Father Tantra.

    Khay is handled by a wrathful deity, and it, the Upaya or Method, is sahaja-sukhabhanda, Co-natal or Together-born Great Bliss bond. It can employ Hevajra or Bhairava, although a female is also allowed. Certain Hindu views on Bhairavi coincide with Varuni and at least "Va" syllable for amrita:

    Ananda Bhairavi is defined as Sudha Devi, which is Nectar, Ambrosia, Ganges. She is Tejas and Tapas, without Himsa (injury or killing), only Ananda (Bliss). In Madya (wine) one gets drunk with the knowledge the knowledge that you are the supreme power; Matsya (fish) you are the jeeva floating in the paramatma; Mamsa (meat) you can offer yourself to Her; Mudra are her gestures and Maithuna (union) is the spiritual level using inner consciousness. Her released energy is Sundari.

    She incarnates:

    A Yogini is a student of Tantra, or an aspirant. A Bhairavi is one who has succeeded. The name "Bhairavi" means "Terror," or "awe-inspiring," so the one who has achieved the state of Bhairavi, is beyond the fear of death, and therefore awesome.

    The meat is our "self", at least the aggregated one, and so you need a terrible Krodha Kali or someone really disturbing. They stir it up clockwise. There are different ways to do so:


    In the Guhyasamaja, Hevajra, and Yamantaka Tantras the
    syllables of the five nectars and five meats are derived from
    their Sanskrit names. These are as follows: Vi for faeces (vit);
    Ma for marrow or 'meat' ( mamsa ); Shu for semen ( shukra ) or
    white bodhichitta ; Ra for blood ( rakta ); and Mu for urine
    (mutra). The five great meats are similarly marked: Go or Ga
    for the white cow (go); Ku or Shva for the yellow dog (kukkura, shvan ); Ha
    for the red elephant (hastin); Shva for the yellow horse ( ashva ); and Na
    for the blue man (nara).

    So, hang on. Doesn't even match the colors in the picture. You should understand a certain approach and use it consistently.

    It takes a long time to understand any approach. On the one hand, there is a divine Kamadenhu that is worthy of adoration, but here, there is a Cow which represents my delusion to it, being demolished and cooked into a new state of being.

    Compared to standard Buddhist terminology, this is the attempt to place us into a Dharmakaya meditation.

    The song of Tara arranges Maitreya's points about Dharmakaya into a deity system.

    That is why Tara is very immanent and very powerful and is very excellent for opening everything that is missing from our ability to do the Six Yogas.

    I would say that common, ordinary terms like Samadhi and Dharmakaya are already things that are beyond the realm of experience for most beings. This kind of Yoga and Pranayama is going to force the condition to arise. So what I am going for is mostly beyond the Preliminaries, and more of a strong encouragement of how to do Pranayama, in conjunction with the many Taras and so forth.

    The question as to whether one has even glimpsed Voidness at all does come first. You do have to have this importance of Sunya compared to anything else known. This is why the Prajnaparamita deity is first, and Purity Mantra:

    Om svabhava shuddha sarva dharma, svabhava shuddhoh ham

    Purity in this case having to do with cleaning everything that interferes with the realization of Sunya.

    So yes, I am trying to emphasize "that", first, if called the Prasangika aim, before doing a whole lot of yoga, one should stick close to Prajnaparamita until this becomes meaningful.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Tara Tantra, Vajra Family, and Ekajati and Vajra Tara


    When the song is used in the tantra, it leads to a mandala based on simple Taras who do not represent Families, only colors. It starts with Green Tara in the middle, and goes around until there is another Green Tara in the North. There is no White Tara.

    After these being established, the song appears to be used in a second round involving mudras and sub-mantras. Then you get the Rite of Pacification and so on, i. e. the Four Activities and All Activities. These perturb Tara's Heart Mantra in various ways.


    There is an abrupt change to another topic in Chapters Twelve to Sixteen which perturbs the famous Mahakarunika Dharani in various ways:

    Then [Manjusri asked] the Lord, 'How is the Mother who produces all the Buddhas a Mother of the nature of the five Families?'

    The Lord gave utterance: 'Manjusri, the Mother of the Vajra Family is four-faced and eight-armed, the colour of a conchshell, a young maiden. Her four faces are white, dark blue, red and yellow faces; they are marked with the five Families on the crown, and are three-eyed. Her eight hands have [on the right] a vajra, an arrow, a lance, and finally the gesture of granting boons; the left hand signs being an utp'ala, a bow, a vajra hook, and a noose, with threatening forefinger. She sits in vajra-paryanka and has the nature of the Dharmakaya. 'This is Her mantra, Manjusri: 'NAMORATNA-TRAYAYA! NAMA ARYAJNANA-SAGARAYA AKSHOBHYA-VYUHA-RAJAYA TATHAGATAYA ARHATE SAMYAK-SAMBUDDHAYA! NAMA ARYAVALOKITE5VARAYA BODHISATTVAYA MAHASATTVAYA MAHA-KARUNIKAYA! TADYATHA: OM TARE TURE TUTTARE SVAHA!

    This is the first Mother given, and, Buddha hasn't really explained any "how" except by saying "she has the nature of Dharmakaya". She also has a Five Buddha Crown, like Four Arm Sita Tara. Suddenly, Akshobhya is the King of the Magical Display.


    The other chapters describe similarly, Lotus Mother is Red, having as her main item a Lotus; Tathagata Mother is Gold, having a Wheel; Jewel Mother is Blue with a Jewel; Karma Mother is Green with a Sword.

    Those all have the nature of Dharmakaya and a Four Buddha Crown, as if they are the Mahabhuts or Form Elements, which become the Four Dakinis in Chakrasamvara tradition, which is a "portable" ring.

    So in this case, White Tara is primary due to having a Five Buddha Crown, and by having replaced a Green Tara as would have been anticipated from the first retinue.


    These are followed by Burnt Offering and various protective circles, no more Taras in this book.

    This book is practically just a Kriya Tantra with almost nothing besides descriptions and instructions. Commentaries that are about the same song are getting it from different sources. Nothing that I know of has asked about the symbolism and meaning here. Well, it has the same Gatekeepers as anything. So it really just has two kinds of Taras, which are two and eight armed. The first kind starts with what is presumably a blue Vajra Family deity in the East, and then it comes back and exalts Vajra Family in a way that combines Dharmakaya with Five Buddha Crown.


    In the tantras, there is a definite plot for a goddess to crown seal each Family, which, I think, is equivalent to everything we can teach about Generation Stage, done five ways. That would definitely achieve Dharani, the Fourth Yoga. So we would need to be able to do it one way first.


    Vajra Family Mother is a stable position which, at various times, may be occupied by Locana, Mamaki, or Vajradhatvishvari.


    In symbolism, Vajra Family has much to do with White and Blue Lotuses, White and Blue Hum syllables, and the combined use of Hum and Hrim. They also evolve the Chopper or Kartri item.




    Her minions, so to speak, are like sub-Ekajatis. But in Sadhanamala, the full titles are "Mahacinakrama Tara" and "Tara of Ekajati Amnaya". So these mean yoga branches of Tara. There is not really a sadhana for the name Ugra Tara, which seems more like a shared description. First, let us trace Vajra Family in Dharani Samgraha.



    The Nepalese Twenty-one Praises of Tara does not start with any Green Khadira, Arya Tara, or Samaya Yogini:

    om namo bhagavatyai āryaikajaṭitārādevyai


    Ekajati Tara.

    Well, Bhrkuti, who was herself Tara, implemented Vajra Family practices. The Akshobhya statuette she brought to Tibet is one of their most important relics. She is the Nirmanakaya of Lotus Family Bhrkuti, and yet she had a lot to say about Vajra Family.

    Here, similarly, is a Vajra-based Tara song, which is like pinning it to Vajra Family Mother in Tara Tantra.


    Allright, if we ask the thing what it thinks of Ekajati, then on p. 256 after Bhattarika Sragdhara Tara, there is:

    oṁ namaḥ śrī āryya ugra tārā yo ekajaṭāyai||


    which goes on until p. 270 until this easily-missed change:

    āryyā eka jaṭā nāmadhāraṇī samāptaṁ|| oṁ namaḥ śrīdharmma dhātave||


    The next is actually the beginning of Swayambhu Purana dharani, which lasts until p. 306. These two articles alone are fifty pages, or about fifteen per cent of the book. The previous Sragdhara is also massive. So, we know there is something pretty serious about Ekajati, that might land her in the role of directing the song. Her personal spiel is ten times the size of it.


    The name roughly synonymous to her, Ugra Tara already has a dharani on p. 230 using pramardani as a verb:

    oṁ namo bhagavatye ugratārāyai|| tāraṇī sarvvaduṣū bhayahanaṇī caturmāra nivāraṇī sarvvadai vā sucanaca gandharvva kinnara mahoraga upadravo pramarddanī bhūtapretāpiśāca yasa rākṣasā ḍāka ḍākiṇī bhaya vidhvaṁ sanīyara makṛtaḥ yantra prayoga vināśanī bhagavatī ugrabhāraṇī agreḥ bhagavatī evāṁ vidyā sarvva tathāganā nāṁvākyaṁ sarvaśatrūṇāṁhana 2 daha 2 paca 2 ma tha 2 che da 2 bheda 2 trūṭha 2 sarvva satvānātrca śāntiṁ ku ru pu ṣṭiṁ ku ru ra kṣā kura hrī hūm hūm phaṭ svāhā|| āryya ugratārā nāma dhāraṇī samāptaṁ||


    Ugra Tara is used again internally with the large Ekajati, and also internally to Vasudhara as her Tapas and Virya Paramita.

    She has a slightly longer Stotram or song of her own starting on p. 481.

    There is only a single Ugra Tara in Sadhanamala, which is internal to Mahacinakrama Tara, and strikes the Three Worlds.


    Tara Tantra did something with blue and white and Vajra Family, and, Pramardani personally experiences this in the following manner:

    In the basic form, Pramardani is a member of the Pancha Raksa in the East, as a White Tathagata Family goddess, while Mantranusarini is Blue in Vajra Family. Then in the weird PR 206, Pramardani remains in place, but becomes the Blue Vajra Family member.

    Internally to the large Ekajati is perhaps the only known use of Pramardani outside of and apparently leading the Pancha Raksa, while definitely affecting the Three Worlds after the only Jnanadakini in this whole book:


    ekavīryya svāhā mahāvīryya svāhā|| śvetavīryye svāhā|| jñānaḍākinī svāhā|| jñānāmṛta samaṅgate svāhā|| dharmmadhātugardabha svāhā|| mahābodhicittavaje svāhā|| mahāsamaye svāhā|| trailokyadhamanī svāhā|| mahāsāhrsrapramarddanī svāhā|| bhūḥ svāhā bhūvaḥ svāhā|| svaḥ svāhā bhūrbhava svāhā|| vajatāre svāhā|| sarvvamaṇḍala vidyādhipate svāhā|| pañcarakṣāyai svāhā||


    And then in Tara's song, Pramardani is associated with Phat syllable.

    That small section is extremely powerful. Bhu, Bhuvar, and Svar are the Three Worlds. But as soon as we learn anything much about Savitri Gayatri, this teaching is only an abbreviation for seven. And here we are getting Jnanadakini as an almost hidden pinnacle of meaning, so, we are still in a similar format with her and Samputa as ultimate outcomes of our work.

    We want to be aware of this and not just go out asking for it because, if you are not serious, Ekajati will eat your mind and no one would want what is left. According to a commentary:

    mamos (Tib.): Wrathful goddesses, usually pictured as furious, ugly women. They can be dakinis acting as protectors. Ekajati is their queen. If reacted to negatively, mamos appear to be fickle, causing all sorts of chaos. However, if understood positively, they serve as a reminder of awareness, almost at the level of discursive thought.


    In Sanskrit, it is more like saying the Gauris, which are Pisaci class. These are an extreme axis, in one direction, nothing but insanity, war, and death; on the other, yoga.


    No, she is not by name, among them. She is more like a state, without which, you do not want to experience them. From the same commentary:

    DHARMADHATU EVAM: This is an offering of dharmata, or the basic sanity of mind. Dharmadhatu is the space of all phenomena [Nirvana and Samsara] (see “castle of cosmic miracles” above). In the Sanskrit word EVAM, E is the seed syllable for the feminine principle—emptiness or prajna; VAM is the seed syllable for the masculine principle—form or upaya. Therefore, EVAM is the union of the two.

    Now, she is not only a lineage, but Vam = Vajravarahi would immediately provoke the Tramen class at full force.

    So, we are going to subsidize Vam syllable to some other goddesses, because, at least up to the point of the Fifth Yoga, goddesses are able to handle the normally-male role of Upaya. If we say Mahacina is a Krama, that is a Method. Vam can be used with Vasudhara, Vajracarcika, and Vajravairocani.


    Obviously, then, there is some want to anchor this Ekajati before firing energetic switches that may expose her to the unprepared.



    Ekajati is a deity said to have a conspicuously-absent Six Arm form while arising with two, four, eight, and twenty-four. The miss again sounds like a pointer to Mahapratyangira. And if we ask who Two Arm Ekajati is, we will find a terma version where she eats a heart and casts wolves. That is not the Sadhanamala version. In fact Ekajati 127 is a Nagarjuna practice and the only place where she does this, arising with two arms, and then coming back with four. This minor Ekajati uses the Three Syllables, a Bali Offering to Vajrayogini, and deals with tantric Aralli:

    oṃ āḥ huṃ oṃ vajrayogini pratīcchemaṃ baliṃ hrīṃ huṃ
    hahahaha haṃ haḥ phaṭ mama śāntiṃ kuru svāhā, oṃ āḥ
    aralli hoḥ ityādīn uccārayet /
    athātaḥ saṃpravakṣāmi dvibhujaikajaṭāsādhanam /
    piṅgograikajaṭāṃ devīṃ kartrikaroṭadhārikām //


    So she has the relatively common items Chopper and Skullcup. Paradoxically, the major Ekajati 123, at the very end, summons Red Vajrayogini on a Dharmodaya. Here, the very first line told us to Mutter Vajrayogini at the full capacity of Pranayama, and so that is what is being developed by Yoga. Correspondingly, Ekajati scales up the entire Inverted Stupa for her big picture.

    Although it is perhaps allright to be aware of her presence, such as with Khadira Tara, it is not a particularly good idea to interface with Ekajati by name and practice, since the simplest part is asking for an exercise that an untrained person cannot do, versus possibly unleashing the Mamos.

    In this book, Nagarjuna has given a Tara in Vajra Family that is not named Vajra Tara, and White Vajra Tara that does not specifically have a family.

    His Ekajati sadhana which may just be calling her Vajrayogini matches her form in the hypostasis in the first post:






    which itself resembles her ancient stonework:






    This basic Ekajati is a standard attendant of Tara. Indrabhuti's Kurukulla 174 captures her one time in Lotus Family and outfits her with a Hook and Bell; she is still blue.

    As "standard attendant", there is a well-known three deity configuration, which, in art, is almost always under Amitabha. But the appropriate Khadira Tara 89 is in Karma Family. So one is perhaps better off with for example this Mongolian version which scrubs any family relation:









    As possibly the oldest, this 1400s Sakya also has not entered Amitabha as lord of the manifestation:








    Unfortunately the upload was damaged in such a way that currently will not display it at a better resolution. Khadira is Acacia Catechu. She is in a grove of these trees which resemble Mimosas. Here is a Yulokod or Turquoise Forest article including Delok Dawa Drolma's experience. Again it seems like it starts like Mount Potala. It does, but, is intended to shift into Karma Family. There are other Quintessences, but, Mahasri Tara is pretty specifically this. This Sambhogakaya or Akanistha form, which is Mahasri 116, adds Mayuri and Janguli. The only surviving images of this are stone or metal, which makes it much more difficult for their identities to come leaping off the page.

    The retinue is also copied by Varada Tara 91. However Mahasri explicitly says you are using Utpala Mudra to bind the Samaya of this group. Her later position and additional details are an upgrade to Varada, which is only a form.

    So Ekajati is a primary participant in this Karma Family practice of Tara. She takes over the song and waltzes her way into Tara's Paradise.

    Nyan Lotsawa is a lot more relevant to practice than his minor recognition indicates.

    IWS 9 is his often-confused "Six Limb Tara" sometimes drawn with six arms, but, she means Six Limb or Sadanga Yoga. She is just a basic Green Tara crowned by Amoghasiddhi, but, she does the sly move of summoning Tara from Potala, i. e. Lotus Family, as if in order to grant six yogas, it emphasizes this or these lower ones first. She uses normal Tara mantra, Tara Mahakarunika Dharani, and 108 Names of Tara, in other words her Kriya basket.

    Nyan's Green Tara is a bit extra verdant like Khadira:









    So, at first she intends to cooperate with Marici and Ekajati. Marici is a queen of forms and incredibly complex. Ekajati is more like "just enough" to be filled with a robust symbolism and practice. She has a basic form that does not resemble "Ekajati" as usually shown, but, does resemble another deity, Nairatma. Nairatma has similar items, but, Ekajati is a Fat Dwarf, and Nairatma is not said to be this:







    That is her in the hypostasis.

    Ekajati gains Four Arms in Nagarjuna's sadhana, which is also her form in 124, 125, and 126. Because she is a Fat Dwarf, she is a Yakshi, and because she is dark, she is more specifically a Raksasi:









    This is Ekajati's self-relationship mural at Gyantse Kumbum:






    She is able to take the center of the Amoghapasha mandala, and, when she does, there is a goddess in the lower right that the site says "would be Bhrkuti if yellow or white...", but, still is Bhrkuti having turned blue-green by entering the center herself:







    Oh, that's right. Ok, Bhrkuti and Ekajati do something which causes Bhrkuti to become dyed, which appears to be the root of her Wrathful Six Arm form which is Tara Fourteen.

    Ekajati becomes employed in a freaking ton of places, but, in simple terms, she is recognizable as a guide to Tara's Forest of Turquoise Leaves, which is to say the Sixth Yoga and/or Sambhogakaya.

    The large Ekajati is Sweat-born, which means one's Yoga is producing an outrageous amount of Nectar.


    And she even resembles this sweat in Lalita Gupta's White Ekajati 128, which is a simple two arm form with Rosary and Lotus, who is also:

    śrīmadadvayavajrasya guror natvā padāmbujam /
    śrīmallasitaguptena tārāsādhanam ucyate //

    of the lineage of Advayavajra (Maitripa), a type of secret white Tara practice. This type of sadhana is looking for Purity and Emptiness mantras and the Four Activities. If anything, there may be an "unidentified white goddess" somewhere that shows it. Apparently it is unexpected among Ekajati images.


    One could say that White Prajnaparamita is the beginning of this kind of White Tara in Vajra Family. Then as Blue Tara, you have Mahacinakrama Tara. As Tapas, you have Ugra Tara working with Vasudhara. Even the simplest Ekajati starts out beyond this. She is at least equivalent to Queen of Space and Vajrayogini.



    Mahacinakrama proceeds with the Hrim syllable offered first with Prajnaparamita. She is also a Fat Dwarf. Her sadhana is just a form that says it spawns from Red Ah which becomes a Lotus, in which there is a White Tam which becomes a padmabhajana or skull, in which there is a sun with a Blue Hum which creates a Kartri, which transforms into Tara with a Sword, Kartri, Utpala, and Skull, of terrifying appearance, laughing loudly--but she is in an intensely pleasant mood. Then, evidently, as you do her mantra, her Sword becomes a Bone Rosary.

    The following article, her sadhana samapta, adds some details, such as it expects you to meditate the Three Vajras and the Three Places before she appears:

    jhaṭity ākārayogena trivajraṃ sumamāhitaḥ /
    triṣu sthāneṣu taṃ dhyātvā raśmiṃ visphārayet tataḥ //


    Then she proceeds into Poetry or Maha Kavya, Yogacara, the Fourth Note, and Ham syllable. And while she is standing there, you again get Three Syllables:

    tryakṣaro 'sau mahāmantraḥ huṃkārānto hṛdi sthitaḥ /




    The most basic wrathful two arm Vajra Family form like this turns out to be Mamaki in her own name, which was imported from Orissa to Tibet in Taranatha's time.

    A basic four arm form is Mantranusarini of the Pancha Raksha. As the regent of mantra, she arises from Hum and has no mantra, just a Vajra, Varada Mudra, Axe, and Noose, on a sun disk.

    But from the statement above, it looks like one could conclude that not only does Mahacinakrama not even work without the basic Muttering given with White Prajnaparamita, she continues to work with the same Hrim syllable. And then so does Ekajati.

    Hrim is found elsewhere; it is significant to Durgottarini, Marici, Kurukulla, and Vajravarahi. It is not exclusive to, but is a major track in, Vajra Family.



    One could perhaps say that there is an outer Mahacinakrama, which is just the Dhyana or image with her mantra.

    If Ugra Tara is a portable dharani, the one above could be used with her. Also:


    There is a fifteen-verse Ugra Tara Stutih or Praise.

    There is also an eleven-verse Ugra Tara Astaka Stotram or Song.


    In the Praise, she has, is, or commands the following:

    gaurī lakṣmīrmahāmāyā umā devī sarasvatī |

    sarvāstvameva he mātastrāhi māṃ śaraṇāgatam || 10 ||


    The Song starts with her as Blue Sarasvati, and contains:

    śrīparameśvarī

    lakṣmīḥ siddhagaṇāśca

    tārāṣṭakamidaṃ ramyaṃ bhaktimān


    And so even though we have asked goddesses, so far we have the same system of Namasangiti Manjushri. He would want to have a white Prajnaparamita--Sarasvati, and then, she becomes Wrathful Blue Sarasvati. It appears that Mahacinakrama Tara does not work otherwise, requiring the first in order to become the second. It looks like you can easily divide her into "before and after", since you could argue that there is a way just to do her form plus some possible dharanis, or, as soon as you add the Samaptam or summary of "how" you are supposed to be doing this, you get one answer. This "how" is probably approximately everything we are dealing with as Pranayama and Generation Stage.


    A Stupa is really the Dharmakaya, which belongs to the deity. It appears to only be cast one time, which is in Vajra Tara 95. The Inverted Stupa, however, can be clearly found several times. And so these are the kinds of sadhanas that do not work without it. Comparatively, the one we might be capable of handling is again Vajra Tara:


    Harihariharivahana Lokesvara 34:

    yaṃkāraniṣpannaṃ vāyumaṇḍalaṃ dhanvākāraṃ nīlapatākāṅkitaṃ, tasyopari rophodbhavaṃ raktavarṇam agnimaṇḍalaṃ, trikoṇaṃ raktarekhāṅkitaṃ tadupari vaṃkārapariniṣpannaṃ vāruṇamaṇḍalaṃ vartulaṃ śuklavarṇaṃ śuklapatākāṅkitaṃ tadupari laṃkārasambhavaṃ māhendramaṇḍalaṃ caturasraṃ pītavarṇaṃ pītatriṣucikavajracatuṣkoṇaśobhitaṃ tadupari suṃkāraniṣpannaṃ saptaratnamayaṃ aṣṭāṅgaṃ sumeruṃ


    Vajra Tara 94 which should read 97, following Nagarjuna's White Vajra Tara 96:

    tanmadhye gaganasvarūpaviśvadalakamalakarṇikāsthitatrisūcikavajraṃ
    tadvedikāvyāpīni caturmahābhūtamaṇḍalāni / yaṃkārapariṇataṃ
    ardhacandrākāraṃ nīlaṃ vāyumaṇḍlaṃ kaṭidvaye lalatpatākāṅkitam,
    tadupari raṃkārajaṃ agnimaṇḍalaṃ trikoṇaṃ
    raktaṃ koṇūṣu rephāṅkaṃ tasyopari vaṃkārajaṃ varuṇamaṇḍalaṃ vartulaṃ
    sitaghaṇṭāṅkaṃ tadupari laṃkārajaṃ mahendramaṇḍalaṃ pītaṃ
    caturasraṃ koṇeṣu trisūcikavajrāṅkitaṃ tatsvabhāvaṃ māyopamaṃ
    vijñānaṃ viditvā caturmahābhūtapariṇāmajaṃ pariśuddhabuddhakṣetrasaṃkeparūpaṃ
    mahāmokṣapuraṃ vairocanasvabhāvaṃ


    Ekajati 123:

    tadgaganakuharāntargataṃ yaṃkārapariṇataṃ dhanvākāraṃ kṛṣṇābhaṃ
    vāyumaṇḍalaṃ dhvajāṅkitam, tadupari raṃkārajaṃ pītaṃ trikoṇarephāṅkitaṃ
    agnimaṇḍalaṃ tasyopari vaṃkārapariṇataṃ śvetavarṇaṃ
    cakrākāraṃ āpomaṇḍalaṃ ghaṭhāṅkitam, tadupari laṃkārajaṃ
    śyāmavarṇaṃ caturasraṃ pṛthvīmaṇḍalaṃ viśvavajrāṅkitam, tatropari
    suṃkārapariṇataṃ mahāsumeruparvatarājaṃ catūrasnamayaṃ aīṭa-
    śṛṅgopaśobhitam


    (which first manifests White Vajradhara)


    Maya Jala Kurukulla 181 has half:

    tataḥ svahṛtpadmabhāṇḍe jñānāmṛtaṃ svaccham,
    tato yaṃkārapariṇataṃ vāyumaṇḍalaṃ dhvajāṅkaṃ dhanvābhaṃ nīlam,
    tatropari repheṇāgnimaṇḍalaṃ trikoṇākāraṃ jvālāṅkitam,
    dīpyamānāṃśutejasā tasyopari nābhybjaṃ śuklam aṣṭapatrasaṃyuktaṃ
    sakarṇikaṃ sanālaṃ meḍhragataparyyantaṃ citayet /


    Oddiyana Vajravarahi 225:

    yaṃkārapariṇataṃ vāyu-
    maṇḍalaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ dhanvākāraṃ dhvajāṅkaṃ rephapariṇataṃ raktaṃ trikoṇa-
    m agnimaṇḍalaṃ vajrālāṅkaṃ vaṃbhavaṃ abmaṇḍalaṃ śvetaṃ varttulaṃ ghaṭāṅkaṃ
    laṃkārajaṃ pṛthivīmaṇḍalaṃ caturasraṃ haritaṃ suṃkārasambhavaṃ sumeruṃ
    caturasraṃ caturdvāraṃ aṣṭaśṛṅgopaśobhitaṃ




    It is easy to find with goddesses in four different Families. Vajra Tara calls hers Four Mahabhuts and she has the corresponding Four Buddha crown. She is trying to attract no less than Heruka with a Five Nectar Offering. She has this name only because her main item is Vajra.


    She has produced a form such that:

    uṣṇīṣāyā ratneśaḥ, sumbhāyā mukuṭe akṣobhya utpadyate /

    Usnisa--Jewel Family--Crown, and the Nadir or Underworld devi is crowned by Akshobhya.

    It is a Ratnasambhava initiation of making Five Buddhas, and the other four are in the ring:

    vairocanākṣobhyāitābhā'moghasiddhis tathāgatā dvārapālīnāṃ

    Furthermore, she explains Nairatma as her Mind, and is going to divide Three Syllables into the Three Vajras which also represent all Six Yogas:

    mano nairātmyayoginī //
    iti cakṣurādyadhiṣṭhānaṃ kṛtvā kāyavākcittādhiṣṭhānaṃ
    oṃkāreṇa kāyādhiṣṭhānaṃ āḥkāreṇa vāgadhiṣṭhānaṃ huṃkāreṇa
    cittādhiṣṭhānam /

    Om is Kaya or Body, being the first two Yogas, and so on.

    This Vajra Tara has no friendly approach. She is in the Outer Limits of what we might try to do with Pranayama. Because she is in Jewel Family, then, several of the evolving Vasudharas are the intermediates. Or, you could say Vasudhara evolves until she gets defrayed into this broad based Vajra Tara. Both of them have commanded something from Vajra Family: one, Tapas, the other, Nairatma and the descent of Serpent Noose as Sumbha.

    Vajra Tara is the "closest thing" to explaining the esoteric side of Tara's song. She has many sadhanas, but, they are all very similar. Kurukulla and Marici are hyper and do something different almost every time. They also are both well-known from other sources. So Vajra Tara is also the closest thing to a subject or explanation of Sadhanamala.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Tara and the multiple families of Mamaki and Vajradhatvishvari


    Martin Wilson noticed that in Tara Tantra, the colors of the Mothers are "unusual".

    But not necessarily. As we have seen, this is more of a matter of "at what time or in what phase". And so Gold Tathagata Mother matches Locana, which is not uncommon. Blue Jewel Mother sounds strange, but is Mamaki. We have already found several mandalas where Mamaki is in the South, but is Blue. This is because she was emanated by Akshobhya, and was somehow sent or gifted to Jewel Family.

    That implies that the central White Tara is Vajradhatvishvari.


    The habits of Mamaki are strange, but can be found starting in the standard Akshobhya Guhyasamaja, which has White Locana, but:

    ...those in the south have jewel seats, except Mamaki, who has a vajra seat

    In the south there is yellow Ratnasambhava...In the southwest there is blue Mamaki crowned by Akshobhya...In the southwest there is yellow Shaptavajra...

    So, when arrayed as Five Elements, you get Mamaki standing out very distinctly, not matching. But in terms of Body, Speech, and Mind, there is:

    the principal Akshobhya in union with Mamaki


    She must be similar to the hypostasis of Vajrasattva and Vajradhara out of Vajra Family.



    In dealing with Six Elements, this Guhyasamaja sadhana text does not use the name Dharmadhatu Vajra:

    six sources (Rupavajra, Shaptavajra, Gandhevajra, Rasavajra, Sparshavajra,
    Samantabhadra)

    First of all, it seems to be the male name Samantabhadra. Secondly, the feminized name is used mainly in Nepal as meaning white, Tathagata Family, center of five elements, but in many other sources, it refers to the sixth or mental element as done here. It seems to go without saying that Dharmadhatu Vajra would complete that list more accurately. In Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra, Sparsha and Dharmadhatu Vajra occupy odd, distinct places, bringing attention to themselves.

    NSP Akshobhyavajra mandala does not list Sparsha or Dharmadhatu Vajra; the whole thing is based from Nagarjuna's Pindikrama, which gives Sparsha with Vajrasattva (i. e., already centered), and does not even have Dharmadhatu Vajra or Vajradhatvishvari. Comparatively, Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra's mandala begins with both Sparsha and Dharmadhatuvajra in distinct places. Sparsha is hypostasized with Vajradhatvishvari, cf. Manjuvajra in Circle of Bliss.

    NSP however does permit Vajradhatvishvari as the queen of Six Chakravartins (or Jnanadakini or Vajravarahi can do it). So that is like being the Isvari of Dakini Jala.


    The Guhyasamaja sadhana actually uses Maitreya for the sixth sense; and here are the Mothers or Prajnas:

    earth, water, fire, wind, and space (Lochana, Mamaki, Pandaravasini, Tara, Manjushri)


    That makes it quite unclear who "Space Goddess" is.

    "She" is in the center of those first four, but, the principal would have to summon a consort. In the group of Five Elements, it would be considered Vajradhatvishvari. I get the impression that she, too, is supposed to "move" and take over the Sixth Element when it is deployed.

    From the translation of GST in A Critical Study, there are maybe a few points; the females are all the Tathagatas emanated as women by Mahavairocana. It expects you to be able to use a jewel or "mustard seed" that radiates five-colored light. It uses oxymorons like "There is no enlightenment...this is the sure way of enlightenment". After a girl is loved, she is consecrated as Mamaki, and then it is said that enjoying the Mother of Buddha attains Buddha Nature. It adds a fifth chakra, secret place, governed by Karma Family and Sparsha Vajra. You are supposed to do mantra instead of begging for food.

    It also repeats, Where is Mind? Space. Where is Space? Nowhere.

    I thought it was in Guhyasamaja, but I may have had a mistaken impression. Rotation of Yoginis is in Chakrasamvara's mandala, visually. However, it is mainly taught in Vajrapani's Laghutantratika, which is actually more famous as the premier commentary on the Six Yogas. It is also the first Kalachakra commentary, prior to Vimalaprabha. And so it is something like he is trying to comment the Six Yogas system "from" Guhyasamaja "through" Chakrasamvara "into" what then would have been considered the "new" Kalachakra.

    We are trying to open the window for how the Six Yogas work, moreso than any of those particular tantras. When we want to know about this, and the Five Stages and Abhisambodhis, we are going to want those commentaries. GST is about as user-friendly as a hedgehog. It has an egregious amount of samadhis.


    At one point, it calls the Blessed One, Mahapurusa. Some deities such as Manjuvajra and Vajramrita are already used here.

    There is a Locana, bestower of Cintamani Samaya, followed by Blue Khavajra (Mother of Space, Khavajradhatusamaya in the original). Then there is Drunken Yellow Samaya Tara.

    You use Sumbha to get Usnisa Samaya. On p. 113, Vajrasattva and Mamaki are together. Then you get to Ah Kham Vira Hum which is important to Mahavairocana. Cundavajri is on p. 118. Then you use Jambhala to get identity with all yaksinis. If you attain Usnisa siddhi, you are lord of the Cintamani. Body is Brahma, Speech is Mahesvara, and Mind--Vajradhara is Vishnu. Around 138 is the four-fold seduction of the principal by goddesses; Mamaki again is consort of all Tathagatas.




    Sometimes Indrabhuti is considered the source of Guhyasamaja and Dakini Jala. Taranatha does not record the former, and the latter is probably more like most of his things, which are commentaries, judging from the end of the full title as in P2531, Artha Tika.

    There are other documents like:

    Sri-Sarvabuddha-samayoga-mandala-vidhi-nama. (T. 1671, P. 2543)

    -Lamkara, T532

    Whereas on S3686, it is an Uttarottara Tantra.


    .
    So although it turned out to be correct that Vajradhatvishvari is in GST, it hasn't told us anything about how she moves or changes. If we are going to say, Tara works with the Six Yogas, Picuva Marici corresponds to the whole Dakini Jala and there is very little beyond her--but, either by what appears to be the meaning, or, the hypostasis in the first post, the ultimate one is Marici Vajradhatvishvari.

    In the translation, Blue Vajradhatvishvari is in parentheses in a table, but does not seem to be by name internally, except as notes, which are also aware of Mamaki:

    Ch. Four note two:

    This whole passage is a
    repetition of the mandala in the first Chapter, except that
    the positions of Mamakl (the vajra) and Locana (the eye) are
    reversed so that they are situated next to their usual partners (MamakI with Ratnasambhava since Akshobhya is in the
    centre).

    Ch. Five:

    'Mother of the Buddha' is Prajnaparamita, -- here Pr quotes a sloka reminiscent of Hindu trad-
    ition: 'hrdayastha mahdevI yogino yogadharani / janani sarvabuddhanam vajradhatvIsvarI smrta,' 'the great Goddess dwelling in the heart, sustainer of the yogin's practice, the
    Mother of all Buddhas, she is called Lady of the Vajra Realm.'

    Chapter Eight is the Guhya Abhisekha.


    Ch. Thirteen:

    20 Pr: 'This combines the two meditations of Ratnasambhava
    and Amitabha.' Ratnasambhava has the earth mandala, and his
    Consort Mamaki 'is 'the colour of the yellow Jewel; Amitabha's
    fire mandala should also be visualised, and his Consort
    Pandara is the colour of the red Wishing-gem.

    24 Mamaki is called 'Eye of Vajra Space' in 8, but 'Spaceborn Eye' in T, while Pandara is called 'Eye of Vajra Speech'
    in 8 and. 'Water-born Eye' in P (which suggests readings of 'khaja-' and. 'abja-');

    25 Pr: 'the Buddha' is Mahavajradhara, and the mandalas
    in these visualisations are interpreted as the 'three lights'
    (abhsatrayam), the 'three knowledges', the 'three voids',
    the basis of the stage of realisation.

    26 This refers to Mamaki (Khavajri) in her double function
    as Consort of Akshobhya (Space) and of Ratnasambhava (Jewel).


    Ch. 16:

    24 According to Pr this means the internal Wisdom mudra,
    who is VajradhatvisvarI, in the yogin's heart.


    In the Sanskrit, starting on p. 174, Dharmadhatu Vajra is on the first page, it does not say "Samantabhadra"; for some reason, she does not make it into the retinue. Samantabhadra does. There is Akasha Dhatu many times, but I am not noticing Vajra Dhatu or the like; p. 382 in a compound.


    So, Mamaki is in at least two families. In Iconography of Nepalese Buddhism, it first mentions Vajradhatvisvari in a way that is found in Vajravilasini's sadhana, since Ratnasambhava is normally in the South:

    Vajradhatvishvari

    She is said to be the consort of Buddha Ratna Sambhava. She
    is the same in essence as Buddha Ratna Sambhava. She is the
    embodiment of emptiness or the space element. She is yellow
    in colour. She is surrounded by the four Prajnas i.e. Locana,
    Mamaki, Pandara and Tara.

    [if so you would have a mandala centered on Jewel Family]

    He did not know of individual practices for the Prajnas; we have found only a few. In Nepal, they are a standard assembly, in a group of five including her.

    Vajradhatveshvari as described in the Pancakara of
    Advayavajra Samgraha resembles Tathagata Vajrasattva. She
    has various forms: two armed, six armed and eight armed.
    Her two arm form is described as follows:
    She is seated in Lalita asana. In her right hand she displays varada mudra with the stalk of a lotus support-
    ing a jewel and in her left hand she displays a vitarka
    mudra with the stalk of a lulus supporting a jewel.

    But she is never "just" her, because she is the thrust of flux:

    Because of her role as the embodiment of
    Tathata or Prajnaparamita she is also called Nairatma,
    Vajravarahi and Jnanadakini. In Sadhanamala she is
    identified with six headed and twelve armed Marici
    whose lord is Vairocana.

    Nairatma, etc., are simultaneously terms for the inner fire of the navel. Vajradhatvishvari however is the central life-wind. And so it would likely be more accurate to say the two are supposed to join. The fire would only be called "Nairatma" in one of her practices, where she is simultaneously Mind Element. Likewise, it is called Varahi, Jnanadakini, and Mahamaya in those specific practices. The fire can have a more generic name such as Candali or Vairocani because it is not yet in full force for us in any given sadhana, while Vajradhatvishvari is perhaps stuck as Space Element until you acquire Luminous Mind.

    As the Yellow Jewel Family version referred to, Vajravilasini does clearly say Dharmadhatu Vajra in the corresponding place.

    Alice Getty's Nepalese Vajradhatvishvari appears to switch the above:

    The Panca Dhyani-Buddha Sakti

    On the wall of the Vihar of Yama Guti in Cathmandu are, according to Hodgson, high reliefs of the five Sakti of the Dhyani-Buddhas. (See illustration, Sketch of Buddhism, Royal Asiatic Society, vol. ii, PI. in.)

    All of the five Sakti are dressed as Bodhisattva with the five-leaved crown, and have the lower limbs in the same position, called by Hodgson the 'Lallitaasana', but the more common term is 'royal ease' (v. Asana). They all hold the right hand in vara mudra, and the left in vitarka pose, except:

    Vajradhatvisvari, whose hands are in dharmacakra mudra, like her Dhyani Buddha Vairocana. A lotus-flower at each shoulder supports a flaming pearl in which is the Nepalese yin-yang. Her symbol may also be the triangle (v. trikona).

    Locana, sakti of Akshobhya. Her hands in vara and vitarka mudra hold the stalks of lotus-flowers, each of which supports a vajra standing on end.

    Mamaki, Sakti of Ratnasambhava, has the same attitude and mudra as above. Both of the lotus-flowers support three peacock feathers.

    Pandara, sakti of Amitabha. The lotus-flowers are closed (the utpala) and do not support a symbol (v. Green Tara).

    Tara, Sakti of Amoghasiddha; the lotus-flowers support double vajras.




    Her track in the series of Unions in Guhyasamaja sadhana (not the tantra) is:

    Vajrasattva with one face and two arms holding vajra and bell, and embracing the mother, white
    Vajradhatvishvari, with one face and two arms holding vajra and bell.

    white Vajradhara with three faces...My consort is white Vajradhatvishvari with three faces...

    dark blue Vajra Hatred...My consort Vajradhatvishvari transforms into blue Sparshavajra. She has three faces...


    When Blue Mamaki is in the southwest:

    blue Vajradhara with three faces...My consort is blue Sparshavajra crowned by Akshobhya with three faces


    Allright. So Sparsha Vajra or Touch Object is being perceived in a different light by Vajra Family and Vajradhara.




    This Sparsha Vajra has become the deity of one's secret organ. We get a good look at her, the body of Sparshavajra is filled with deities including Sound Object in Vajra Family:

    at the ear from HUM Shaptavajra embraced by
    Vajrapani

    at the vagina from KHAM Sparshavajra
    embraced by Sarvanivarana Viskambhini

    Aside from couples, she also places single goddesses:

    At the right hand from HUM comes Vetali; at the left hand from HUM Aparajita; at the
    mouth from HUM Bhrikuti; at the vagina from HUM Ekajata; at the channel of the right
    shoulder from HUM comes the tathagata’s consort Vajri; at the channel of the left
    shoulder from HUM Visvaratni; at the right knee from HUM Visvapadma; at the left knee
    from HUM Visvakarma; at the crown from HUM Akashavajra; and at the two soles from
    HUMs Earth-holder goddesses.


    Then there is what looks like Jewel Family Vajrasurya Abhisekha as with Vajra Tara:

    The insides of the vajra and lotus are filled with five-colored light
    rays. I become Ratnasambhava...



    There is Anuraga, then you become Vajradhara, and finally Amoghasiddhi.




    Similarly to GST, Kalachakra Tantra fuses Kalachakra and Vishvamata, Askshobhya and Prajnaparamita, Vajrasattva and Vajradhatvishvari.


    To streamline things, there is a late ca. 10th century Vajrapani tantra, which is believed composed in, and not much distributed outside of, Nepal, which seems almost exactly like a condensed and clarified GST:

    Candamaharoshana ch. I-VII

    Having only one commentary:

    Padmavati ch. 6

    which begins:

    Vajrasattva was dwelling in the vagina of Vajradhatvishvari.

    Her essence is the Body, Speech, and Mind of all the Tathagatas.

    Whereas GST is probably the first description of Generation Stage, Canda Maharoshana is really a Sahaja text, depending on Four Joys in the next blurb of speech. The couple then each declares they are in all males and females, but for they sake of the ignorant, they each produce five forms. This tantra, if read superficially, is almost like nothing. Extremely formulaic pattern without special features. It is simply at an advanced power level. It has no beginning. You have to be doing Suksma Yoga to start it. This is what we might call the undefinable upmost Square of Inverted Stupa.

    During their speech, they have become Black Acala and Anger or Dvesa Vajri.

    Their mandala just has four more Acalas and Vajris, each of whom is able to enter the middle, and you are supposed to do all five kinds. Very simple, just by colors and families.

    You do initiations up to Vajra Name. That is not remotely simple. We are doing good if we can even start to handle the First or Flask or Vase.

    For women, instead of a Crown with its initiation, there is minium or sindhura powder placed in the part of her hair. And then instead of Wisdom Consecration, she gets Method Consecration. These are a sexual union intended to operate the Four Joys. That is one of the few places anything speaks to women disciples as if a few things might work a little bit differently for them. The first is a traditional symbol, and the second makes sense in Buddhism. Method or Upaya is male, so, no matter how many Taras and other devis she followed, at some point she must anticipate this male invasion.




    You do Inverted Stupa and cast a mandala. Akshobhya emerges from the Sun with Mamaki. You enter and become Akshobhya, he ejaculates you into Mamaki, you are born as Canda Maharoshana, destroy Akshobhya and you both eat him and you enter union with Mamaki as Dvesa Vajri.

    in the Dasa Bhumika Sutra, Bodhisattvas of the Acala Bhumi (eighth) are said to "obtain the destruction of Akshobhya".

    Then the Four Vajris sing Apabrahmsa songs to you. You then pursue their individual unions. You do them all in attempts to discern your personal Family.

    Mantric goddesses here include Vajrayogini, Prajnaparamita, and Vauheri (?). The Rosary Mantra is the Picu Picu mantra. Prajnaparamita has union in Chapter Six. She then asks about Completion Stage. The answer is an extremely long command about constant sexual yoga; the next chapter is, what about when you are tired?

    Prajnaparamita arises as Vajracandi. Later, Candi is used as feminine for Canda; in the original, it is Tummo. If so then it would be Candali.

    The eighth chapter is about adoring Vajrayogini in those women who manifest her.

    Chapter Six is also summarized in Different Paths in relation to the knots of the subtle body.




    Sometimes it is said that it takes the Fourth Initiation to generate the Fourth Joy. However this third initiation is Gnosis Consort and the last is Mahamudra. If we look at the first two, they are in the Third Yoga, Pranayama:

    The First or Vase initiation uses Varuni, sprinkling, and a Five Buddha Crown. The second, Guhya or Secret Initiation, mixes divine body and Amrita.

    For the third or Prajnajnana:

    This state of awareness is represented as the third of four initiations for the Tantric yogi in which the Clear Light arises in the co-emergent (saha-ja) bliss of the wisdom-understanding union (prajna-jnana) of the yogi and yogini (the wisdom-lady). This initiation instruction reveals that the white element that contributes to the formation of bodhicitta is not coarse emitted semen, but the vital breath or vital current (prana) in the middle vein (shushumna) which is visualized as being drawn from the head centre (cakra) and forced to descend to the perineal-centre where it is visualized as encountering the vital liquid or the red element. The external organ proximate to the perineal centre is symbolized as the thunderbolt-jewel in the one sex, and as the lotus in the other. The "jewel-in-the-lotus" is prajna-jnana, yab-yum and other termed unions which produce the future body of a new Buddha. This initiation also indicates the sham of uninitiates in esoteric Tantra who abuse its apparently erotic content.


    We would say descends to the Navel.

    Vajrapani presumes we can do this, which is already considerably beyond the mustard seed of Guhyasamaja.

    In Pure Appearance, at this initiation, the Deity's Heart radiates blissful light, which is contagious. It is the samadhi of Bliss and Emptiness.

    Tantric Path expresses it as orgasm, and agrees with Four Joys.


    I think very little that it is empowerments and mandala entry that determine the advance of one's Pranayama. In Hindu India, all eighty-four Buddhist Mahasiddhas are accepted as successful adepts of yoga culture. They may believe that Buddhism is too atheistic or unorthodox, but they believe it made powerful yogis. Similarly, of the Nine Nath gurus, the first four human ones are Buddhist: Matsyendranath, Gorkanath, Jalandhara, and Kanha (Krsnacarya).

    Going from what Nath has to say about Laya Yoga, its name is similar to pralaya.

    Kubjika says:

    I am she who is threefold as emanation, persistence and withdrawal [i.e., sṛṣṭi-sthiti-laya-ātmikā].

    so, it is the dissolution of mental activity as well.

    Meditation is the means [Upaya] in laya yoga. One controls mind through the control of breath, so that full concentration is possible in meditation. Through meditation, one’s consciousness merges in the object of meditation and one realizes Atman. The state, in which the difference between the one who meditates the act of meditation and the object of meditation dissolves, is called samādhi or sāyujya.


    It "has" Hatha Yoga, but isn't necessarily the same:

    Unlike kundalini yoga, which starts with the lower chakras and moves energy upward, layayoga meditation starts with the Sahasrara...


    So it has a different or mental beginning, and, when it gains physical energy:

    In Layayoga the adept learns not only to raise kundalini power from the base of the spine up through each chakra to the crown of the head, but also to then skillfully guide this power back to its home at the base of the spine.

    There is a similar "looping" pattern to Buddhist Suksma Yoga.



    From a commentary:

    The deeper meaning of the sloka detailing the four yogas is that unless one has mastered mantra sadhana, laya or absorption is not possible. Although laya is supposed to take place during the time of kumbhaka, attainment is rare nowadays because of the erroneous notion that kumbhaka refers to the holding or restraining of the life breath or wind (pranavayu). The term kumbhaka refers to a container or that which is contained. The qualities of wind are motion and touch and so it cannot be restrained except by force which is counter to the vital principle of ahimsa (non-violence). Absorption is obtained through nada as sound is the first animate of space and wind evolved out of the resonating principle of sound. Therefore absorption of wind can only take place during kumbhaka through the use of the sound principle called mantra. Laya yoga is the process of reabsorption and marks the beginning of freedom from the fluctuating tendencies of the mind caused by the element wind.

    Unless the field of mantra yoga has been mastered the other activities will bear no fruit. Asanas correct the outer or gross body whose space is governed by the outer ear. Mantra activates the subtle or inner body through the space between the ear drum and cochlea. Then the coils of the cochlea through the combined practices of mantra, mudra and pranayama trigger the kundalini shakti into action. The cochlea, the innermost ear, is the direct line to the causal body (karana sharira) and the soul (jivatma).

    To conclude one should remember that the container is made of sound, sound swallows wind and lightning slashes the horizon.


    That was because people were discouraged by mantras.

    So it was primarily by that guidance that I was able to, mostly physiologically, experience what Buddhism calls Eight Joys. And so, for example, in Buddhist Yoga Tantra, you are not going anywhere without a shower of mantras, and so the failing mentioned above does not happen. And so no one can exactly initiate you into the processes of you own body. You cannot surgically extract Vairocana, and you can have pranic experiences that go at their own speed--meaning it can go through the whole cycle without you having any idea what a mandala is. If you have an instinct for yoga, probably from a prior birth, it might do that. But there is a better chance nothing will happen. That is why we want to arrange sadhanas like a timer system. There is not much use of doing one that you are not actually doing with your body.


    If one was a Laya Yoga adept, one could probably pretty easily walk on board to most of the higher tantras.

    The energetic level, so to speak, of the Third or Prajnajnana Initiation concerns Sahaja, which is Mahamudra, which is The Vessel, Bharati. It is equivalent to the sexual situation of Vilasini, Lama, or Karma Mudra. The answer of Vajradaka and Canda Maharoshana is in actually doing this.



    The phrase Prajnajnana is mantricly strewn in GST, when Karma Family and Amoghasiddhi have occupied the secret place:

    Om Ah Sparsha Vajra Kham Hum (Prajna Jnana Maha Mudra Samaya Mudra Guhyam)

    Om Ah Prajna Dhrik Ha Hum (Amoghasiddhi Prajna Jnana Maha Mudra Samaya Mudra Guhyam)


    Jewel Family is at the Navel:

    Ratnasambhava Nabhi


    Being one of the few places where there is a different saying for yoginis, this initiation would be called Upayajnana:

    Tattvajnana (skt): Knowledge of absolute truth, which is contrasted to knowledge of means (wisdom or knowledge that uses skillful means to save others) or Upayajnana

    From a Zen Commentary:

    The Buddhist, we may say, stand at the cross point or "origin" (原 黙),to use a mathematical term, of Tattvajnana on a vertical axis and Upayajnana on a horizontal one of the co-ordinates (座 標 軸) of the world; this point being also "oneness of opposites".


    So we are back in the Catuskoti. Gatekeepers shear the limbs off the Catuskoti, and they are the same, male or female. So as we can have females performing the normally-male Upaya of shearing, this rite is to unite her with a really big Upaya of her Family.

    If there is a spontaneous initiatrix, it is Guhyajnana Dakini. You can invoke her, or, she can appear. She is the Heart of Avalokiteshvara, and is herself power or empowement.

    This summary of initiation is together with Longchen Nyintik liturgy:

    These steps correspond to the fact that, as a human being, you have body, speech, mind, and a pure thread that runs through all of that but which is covered over by delusion. The four empowerments address each of those aspects in that order, which is a sequence of going progressively from coarse to subtle.

    The first empowerment is called the vase empowerment. It deals with the obscurations of the outer or body level of existence, which includes all of the physical senses and the world that we have based on those senses. The empowerment ripens your five, ordinary aggregates into their inherently pure aspects and plants the seed for future attainment of the physical form body of a buddha, the nirmanakaya.

    The second empowerment is called the secret empowerment. It deals with the obscurations of the subtle body within the physical body. It ripens the subtle body into its pure form, which is particularly connected with primordial sound. Because of that, this empowerment is where you are given the mantra of the deity. The empowerment plants the seed for the future attainment of the subtle form body of a buddha, the sambhogakaya.

    The third empowerment is called the prajna-jnana empowerment. It deals with the obscurations of mind. It uses a consort, which is the prajna part of the name, to lead the disciple, through unification of masculine and feminine principles, to the wisdom of a buddha, which is the jnana part of the name; hence it is called the prajnajnana empowerment. The empowerment ripens mind into the luminosity aspect of the essence of mind. It plants the seed for the future attainment of the dharmakaya.

    The fourth empowerment is called the word or precious word empowerment. It uses words or other signals to point to reality as it is, which is the thread that runs through all experience, both enlightened and un-enlightened. It matures the entire being into the rigpa-emptiness which is the ultimate reality that marks all things. It plants the seed for the future attainment of the svabhavikakaya.


    Prajnajnana is Mind Isolation, Mental Purification, or Citta Vishuddhi, which causes Luminosity, which is part of the Fifth Yoga, Smrti, or Sadhana, or Upaya.


    If it sounds familiar, I can do the empowerments as sort of a petition in Guru Yoga, but the actual Prajnajnana is something far more.


    The third initiation is going to mix your heart with Bharati, who will proceed into union with Jambala. And so, if you are one of those people who can fairly easily visualize these forms, that doesn't mean you should do it. Its purpose is not to help you get there. It has no need before its time, and, conversely, when it happens, that is what it is.



    The Acala deity is more like "King of Space" who should probably be understood as different Bodhisattvas when he is in different families. It is easily found as a Vairocana emanation. Ekajati (Mamo Botong) is a wrathful reflex of Akasha Garbha; Acala is also like a wrathful Akashagarbha. Acala is also the name of the Eighth Bhumi; however, using tantric Paramitas, Acala deity is a divider between the first six, which are the Six Families, and the last four, which are the Four Dakinis.

    Candamaharoshana uses "Five Empowerments", then Secret, and then Wisdom Consort is the last. "Secret" consists of offering the consort to the guru; and then the same one is returned:

    Next the teacher should whisper into the disciple’s ear about the division of the four joys. Then the teacher should go out. The wisdom consort should undress and, lying on her back, point to her secret place, saying [...] visualizing himself in the form of Caṇḍa­mahā­roṣaṇa and visualizing the wisdom consort in the form of Hatred Vajrī, should make love and note the four joys. When this is completed, he should offer the gaṇacakra feast with wine and meat, with the teacher as the guest of honor.

    “This was the wisdom empowerment.”


    Given the complete 84000 Canda Maharoshana, the further chapters are not all recipes and sailboats, there are fairly liberal with tantric information, most of which just seems to resemble what we already know, such as Candali as a generic name for fire:

    Then the goddess said, “In what way, O lord, does Great Bliss arise in the body through the union of wisdom and means?”

    The lord said:

    “The lalanā channel, with the nature of wisdom,
    Is located on the left.
    And the rasanā, with the nature of means,
    Is located on the right.
    9.­18
    “In the center between the lalanā and the rasanā
    Is located the avadhūtī.
    When the wind in the avadhūtī has become
    Of the same essence with semen,
    9.­19
    “It will descend from the fontanel of the skull,
    Passing through the opening of the penis, inside the bhaga of the woman.
    By the union of the wisdom and the means,
    Caṇḍālī, who is located at the navel,
    9.­20
    “Burns like a lamp‍—through this
    The best semen is caused to flow.
    Through this arises a lesser bliss,
    If the effort applied is small.
    9.­21
    “With big effort, the bliss is intense‍—
    For this is the nature of things.
    Whoever can engender this bliss
    Through regular practice,
    9.­22
    “Will become glorious Caṇḍa­mahā­roṣaṇa
    In this very life.”


    It says that Buddha also uses initiation by goddess:

    In order to destroy the wickedness of the world,
    The son of Māyādevī‍—the wise teacher‍—
    10.­26
    “Abandoned his 84,000 wives [F.319.b]
    And his entire harem,
    And went to the bank of Nairañjanā.
    He manifested the accomplishment of a buddha
    10.­27
    “By turning away the advancing Māras,
    But this was not so from the perspective of the absolute truth.
    This was not so, since it was in the female quarters, that the Buddha,
    Experiencing pleasure in the company of Gopā, became accomplished.


    Then identities shift as easily as shoes:

    “I am the son of Māyādevī,
    Who has now become Caṇḍaroṣaṇa.
    And you are the blessed lady Gopā,
    In the form of Prajñāpāramitā.


    He deciphers his name:

    By the syllable a is expressed
    The unfabricated innate nature.
    The syllable ca expresses joy,
    Supreme joy, the joy of cessation, and innate joy.
    14.­8
    “This syllable expresses
    The nature of the thus-named four joys.
    The la expresses the playfulness of a wanton woman,
    The exquisite pleasure of lovemaking.
    14.­9
    “The syllable a expresses wisdom,
    The syllable ca expresses means,
    The syllable la, because of its indicating pleasure,
    Expresses the union of wisdom and means.


    At the end is another mandala with different Family information:

    “I will now teach
    The arising of Perfection of Wisdom‌‍—
    The goddess who sits in sattvaparyaṅka posture,
    With the body of a sixteen-year-old.
    25.­3
    “She is blue, greatly exalted in merit,
    Crowned with Akṣobhya.
    In her raised right hand, she holds a red lotus;
    In her left hand, which is in the playful attitude,
    25.­4
    “There is a treatise on lovemaking.
    She sits on a moon that rests on a lotus,
    With firm, swollen breasts, boldly confident,
    With elongated eyes, speaking alluringly.
    25.­5
    “One should meditate on this goddess
    While focused on the innate Acala.
    As for the yoginī Viśvavajrī,
    Arisen from the gnosis of the syllable hūṁ,
    25.­6
    “One should visualize her in one’s heart‍—
    One will surely attain success.
    Alternatively one should meditate on the white Sarasvatī,
    Arisen from the syllable dhīḥ,
    25.­7
    “And crowned with Vairocana.
    Or the yellow Vajra­dhātvīśvarī,
    Arisen from vaṁ, crowned with Ratnasambhava.
    Or the red Kurukullā‍—
    25.­8
    “The goddess crowned with Amitābha
    And arisen from the gnosis of the syllable hrīṁ.
    Or the green Tārā,
    Arisen from the gnosis of the syllable tāṁ,
    25.­9
    “Crowned with Amoghasiddhi.

    Those all appear to be alternatively "vajra ladies of the heart", not distributed to limbs or chakras.

    This is--the Arising of Prajnaparamita. You visualize her externally, and place one of her forms in your heart while using the appropriate mantra:

    tatrāyaṃ japyamantraḥ | oṁ vivajri āgaccha āgaccha hūṁ svāhā | oṁ vajrasarasvatī āgaccha āgaccha dhīḥ svāhā | oṁ vajradhātvīśvarī āgaccha āgaccha vaṁ svāhā | oṁ kurukulle āgaccha āgaccha hrīṁ svāhā | oṁ tāre āgaccha āgaccha tāṁ svāhā ||


    Visvavajri sounds unusual to me, like the Crossed Vajra item, but, she comes from GST from the consorts of the Ten Wrathful Ones, when Akshobhya embraces Sparsha Vajra:

    Yamantaka and the others in the raksacakra are together with a prajna looking like themselves (or : 'their own light', tvabha] in order:- 1) Vajravetali, (2) Aparajita, (3) Bhrkuti, (4) Ekajata, (5) ViSvavajri, (6) Visvaratni, (7) Visvapadma, (8) Visvakarma, (9) Gaganavajrini, (10) Dharanidhara.

    And so it is the prefix "visva" being cycled through the families. But if we see how these rings fall into place, she would be like a generic Vetali. Because that is Wrathful Sarasvati who is Yamantaka Manjushri's consort, all we can say is in Canda Maharoshana, she appears to be emanated by Blue Prajnaparamita.


    These ladies of the heart are immediately familiar from GST, where, in the following somewhat fevered way, they are going to cause the Three Voids or Three Lights and Clear Light:

    (= vijnana-skandha and lord of the three lights or the three jnanas) blessed the four-cornered dustless mandala of 'Great Pledge' in the bhaga-s ( = the Clear Light resorted to by illustrious persons) of the diamond ladies ( — the Clear Light) of the heart belonging to the Body, Speech, and Mind of all the Tathagatas—'on all levels with diverse forms, both clear and the self-existence, of clarity, pervaded by a Buddha-cloud that thickly blazes with (five) tongues of flame (= the five ancillary winds), (each) full of all the (five) Tathagatas associated with the mandalas of clarity ( = Light), etc. (=Spread-of-Light and Culmination-of-Light).'

    There are a total of up to sixteen in advanced tantras; here,

    Yosits : Locana, Mamaki, Pandara, Tara; and Rupa vajra, Sabdavajra, Gandhavajra, Rasavajra, Sparsa vajra.

    Wayman is fairly certain these deal with the Fifth Yoga, Smrti, and the Fourth Stage, Abhisambodhi. Correspondingly, the Third Initiation, Prajnajnana.

    There is a subtle commentary about them:


    The peace abiding in the unborn, whose name would be 16-yeared by differentiation of time starting with a moment, is determined as the 'lady' (yosit). Possessing a calm nature, she is said to be lovely in appearance. The flower has the perfume of habit-energy in dependence and is full-blown with gnosis. The knowable in the family devoid of intrinsic nature is centered in omniscient knowledge. (There) the wise man should love such a lady belonging to the Dharmadhatu. She who dwells neither within nor without, nor in both or elsewhere, would be the yoga whose station is without location. Accordingly is Mamaki understood. The singleness of intrinsic nature is what is referred to as the empowerment. The cohabitation of oneness with space is the calm Buddha plane.

    So again this also becomes Mind Mandala, and, when you manage to...do something with Prajnaparamita deity, it reveals the real Vajradhatvishvari:

    Having drawn forth the (lady) Prajnaparamita (from the Clear Light) dwelling in his own heart who is the mother of the Buddha, he should engage in union with her, because it is said (in the Sarvarahasyatantra, verse 46): The great goddess dwelling in the heart, causing the yoga of the yogin, the mother of all the Buddhas, is called "Queen of the Diamond Realm'.


    That whole thing explains why in Tara Tantra there is just suddenly a White Vajra Tara, who is of the nature of the Dharmakaya, which is drawn forward as the Heart as above.




    According to The Met, this is Acala with Visvavajri:







    And before the tantra is done, it pulls off another twist:


    In the northwest corner
    Is Māmakī of yellow color,
    25.­20
    “With a vase and a bunch of rice twigs in her hands.


    Mamaki imitates Vasudhara?

    She has been twisted out of alignment from Hatred and is probably in the domain of Kubera:

    One should place Passion Vajrī at the eastern gate,
    Standing on a seat fashioned from Indra.
    25.­22
    “She holds a sword and a skull and is of red complexion.
    In the south, one should place the blue Hatred Vajrī;
    Holding a kartri knife, she makes a threatening gesture
    And stands on a seat fashioned from Yama.
    25.­23
    “In the west, one should place Conceit Vajrī,
    Holding a sickle and a vajra,
    Dressed in peacock’s feathers,
    And standing on top of Varuṇa.
    25.­24
    “In the north, one should place Delusion Vajrī,
    With a threatening gesture,
    Holding an aśoka twig,
    And standing on yellow Kubera.


    Next is a brief mandala having male deities in the corners, and only:

    To the west of the lord
    Is the goddess Parṇaśāvarī.

    And the very last bit looks like the principal experiencing different consorts:

    “One should visualize oneself in union
    With yellow wisdom holding a white lotus in her left hand.
    Caṇḍa­mahā­roṣaṇa, for his part, should be visualized as blue,
    And the wisdom, alternatively, as red or black.


    Since Mamaki, for example, directly takes a Dvesa Vajri form, we can find this in a mandala style or candelabra type list, where, for example, Mamaki, second from center on one side, is reflected into Dvesa Vajri, second from center, opposite side.


    There are at least three copies of some very old 1200s Drikung Kagyu Chakrasamvara thangkas. These have the simple or Sahaja Heruka Chakrasamvara, but what is observable is that it still shows the GST Generation Stage retinue.

    In the second register, starting at the left, are Samaya Vajra, Gauri [i. e. Pandara], Buddha Lochana, Mamaki and Samantabhadri [i.e. Vajradhatvishvari]. In the center of the row is Rinchen Drigungpa, the founder of the Drigung Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. Following in the row are Mohavajra, Dveshavajra, Matsaryavajra, Ragavajra, and Irshyavajra. Each of the ten female deities have three faces and six hands, and hold various attributes.














    I probably have misused the word "is"; her Sutra says that Pratisara's dharani places one under the protection of Mamaki. There is even a Nepalese Pancha Raksa which is aware of the regular names, but then has Pratisara = Vairocani, Mamaki in Vajra Family, Yellow Pandara in Jewel Family, Red Arya Tara, and Green Amala Tara. It is part of the first Old Age rite typically resulting in a chariot ride.

    Around p. 100 is a Sragdhara Tara sadhana, and a story of Ugra Tara Vajrayogini.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Guhyasamaja, Vajrasattva and Vajradhara, Dharmadhatu Vajra and Vajradhatvishvari



    The Guhyasamaja Tantra is based on a character I discovered elsewhere. Alex Wayman had come up to the question about there perhaps being seven mandalas in Namasangiti Manjushri, and perhaps Seven Families in Buddhism. The answer is something like "it could be allowed" but in order to do so, we have to think in terms of hypostasis.

    What happened with Namasangiti is apparently "backwards" to most systems such as Shingon and so forth, who, in contemplating Vajrasattva as the Sixth Dhyani Buddha, put him at the end or top of the system like a crown. But in Namasangiti, he became first, having taken over Karma Family's Mantra and Vidya domain or body. Amoghasiddhi was then granted a new or sixth wisdom described as Mahamudra. The rationale for this adjustment was Bodhicittavajra. The implication was that a person's Bodhicitta had gained Mahamudra intensity. This Vajrasattva is also Manjuvajra. Bodhicittavajra is involved with the sixth mandala:


    Chapter 4 of the Nāmamantrārthāvalokinī describes how the yogin visualizes himself as Mahāvairocana enthroned at the center of the Vajradhātumahāmaṇḍala, surrounded by the empty moon seats envisioned for other divinities. However, these moon seats only later become populated by means of the recitation of the Name-mantras presented in Chapter 5, within which Bodhicittavajra apparently replaces Mahāvairocana as the principal divinity.

    Vilāsavajra clearly describes Bodhicittavajra as occupying the central seat of the Vajradhātumahāmaṇḍala: ‘One should visualise Bodhicittavajra, transformed out of the syllable A, white in colour, possessing the Erotic Sentiment, crowned with the five Buddhas, seated in a state of Diamond-pride, adorned with every ornament, holding a vajra and bell, placed as before, at the centre of the maṇḍala’.

    Cf. Mahamudra and Samayamudra in Dunhuang Documents:

    mahāmudrā buddha-family headed by Bodhicittavajra

    He has taken over a Mahavairocana rite, which is almost identical to what happens in Guhyasamaja.



    Guhyasamaja was starting to look convoluted to me, and, it is written in a non-linear fashion in the worst possible way.


    Chapter One is the goal, to learn the Method of Guhyasamaja, which has four subjects, each having a group of four chapters, such as 5, 9, 17, 13. Already, you have to try to re-write it to even follow it.

    The first few chapters could be summarized as having:

    One, the whole realm of space filled with Tathagatas becomes a seed. Mahavairocana emanates deities, and the Akshobhya takes over the rite, offering Samaya. Eventually, Bodhicittavajra takes the center, and all the realms are blessed by Vajrasattva. Then he turns into a three-faced form. Then the retinue is emanated.

    Two introduces Samantabhadra--as no arising, this arising is proclaimed. So it seems to intend Samantabhadra as the activated gnostic principle evolved from Vajrasattva practice. From an encyclopedia, The Guhyasamāja-tantra devotes its second chapter to bodhicitta, describing it as the solid core (sāra, vajra) of the body, speech, and mind of all the buddhas.


    Three uses the seed which is the jewel of five colors. It makes sense that this is not exactly "in order", since, if given to someone as a training manual, they are not going to be able to do it after reading a few pages.


    So it has started Six Arm forms, Vajra Family, and the color Blue. Kha Dhatu or Space becomes the same as the consort, Sparsha Vajra. In most visions of seeing the sixth principle directly, it is glowing midnight blue. The Dharmakaya is usually explained similarly. So this blue space is almost literal, except it is Luminous Mind. It is its own special place lacking multiple colors.

    The tantra also starts using the term Vajra Kaya for the Three Vajras of Body, Speech, and Mind. This is the same as what becomes the more intricate Pitha system of Chakrasamvara.


    Wayman used at least three commentaries to understand it, which includes:

    Candrakirti's Pradipoddyotana on Chapter XVII

    This is the Atiyoga, or stage of the body-mandala containing the bodies of all (sarva) the thirty-two deities emanated from the Lord (Bhagavat) as the bodhicittavajra.


    We also have this text, which seems to be subtitled "Teaching on Six Families", Sat Koti Vyakhya. If Cunda says Sapta Samyaksambuddha Koti, perhaps it also means Families. Interestingly, I think there are at least four of these commentaries available in Sanskrit, also from Aryadeva, Nagarjuna, and Naro.


    The basic Guhyasamaja mandala is simple; According to Wayman,
    .

    only the five Buddhas, four yosits, and four krodhas are specifically indicated in that emanation. According to Ratnakarasanti's Kusumanjali-guhyasamaja-nibandha-nama (PTT, Vol. 64, p. 96-1), this involves the three secrets of the Buddha, the secret of Body, of Speech, and of Mind. "In brief, the secret of body is the lord Vairocana, and so on; the secret of speech is Locana, and so on; the secret of mind is Yamantaka, and so on"...In that emanating role Maha-vajradhara is called 'Bodhicittavajra' (Diamond of the Enlightenment Mind') because all the deities emanate from bodhicitta. But, as was mentioned, in the present case, only thirteen of the deities are emanated.


    It sounds like a hypostasis because Bodhicittavajra is also called Adi Buddha and Vajradhara. He is an effect from Akshobhya, who was approached by Vajrasattva, and seems to frequently be called Samantabhadra.


    In NSP, this Akshobhya Guhyasamaja mandala has the Wrathful and Bodhisattva deities already added. Sparsha Vajra is in union with Akshobhya, and in the second ring, stuffed in the corners, you see Sight, Sound, Scent, And Taste, making five senses:







    Sparsha Vajra is a lighter blue, which symbolizes the corresponding shakti becoming more energetic. Mamaki reflects this and it is easy to see she does not match her location.

    Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra does not begin in union, but, it has the additional deity for the sixth sense, and somewhat aberrantly, Green Sparsha Vajra and White Dharmadhatu Vajra are hanging downwards into the white wall:








    The main reason for the Manjuvajra practice is because that is how Guhyasamaja was taught by Manjughosha Manjushri to Jnanapada.


    Tibet Art's Akshobhya Guhyasamaja Mandala does not mention Vajradhatvishvari until with a Manjuvajra in the background.

    In Marpa's tradition, Guhyasamaja is crowned by White Vajradhara and Vajradhatvishvari.


    There is a good answer about her name from Akhu Sherab Gyatso:



    The consort with a peaceful expression is called Vajradhateshvari, and one who possesses a
    slight expression of fierceness is Sparshavajra.


    The perfect purity of material form ‘entrance’ is Rupa Vajra; the ‘entrance’ sound is Shapda
    Vajra; the ‘entrance’ smell is Gandha Vajra; the ‘entrance’ taste is Rasa Vajra; and the
    perfect purity of the entrance of tactile quality is Sparsha Vajra. In the system of
    Manjushrijnana [Jnanapada] one includes Vajradhatesvari [in the set] thus making the group six. Here,
    however, Vajradhatesvari is all pervading so one adds Samadrabadra, the perfect purity of
    mental consciousness ‘entrance’ as the sixth [member].

    Kyapgön Dorjechang once said that there are four possible relations of identity between
    Akshobya and Vajradhara. However, I do not remember clearly the examples he gave
    to illustrate this point. I asked others about this and some gave me the following
    version. The deity that abides in the space of the primordial Buddha is (a) Akshobya
    alone; while the Emanation Vajradhara is (b) Vajradhara alone. The Vajra Wrathful of
    protection circle and the meditative absorption of the supreme victorious mandala
    are both (c) Akshobhya and Vajradhara. Deities such as Vairocana and others are (d)
    neither of the two. In Dakpo’s Generation Stage Guide and so on [87a] it is stated
    that the principal deity of the ‘specially imagined’ class is Vajradhara alone; while the
    Guhyasamaja commentary principal deity of the ‘supreme victorious mandala’ and the ‘supreme activities’ is
    Akshobya alone. If viewed thus one could apply the same principle [i.e. the four
    possibilities] to Sparsha Vajra, Vajradhatesvari and others as well!


    So in Manjuvajra Guhyasamaja, it looks like Vajradhatvishvari is not Sparsha Vajra because she is Dharmadhatu Vajra, who is called Samantabhadra in the Arya Lineage or rather in the tantra text itself. Moreover, this definition only makes sense in one case, when one's Mental Object is primarily prana of the heart. I am pretty sure the tantra is saying you have to have this to enter the realm of the Six Arm deities. The Blue Crag was such a journeying site for siddhas such as Mandarava who described it similarly. Of course, the heart is the mind and the real Dharma realm; the Heart is Akshobhya and Vajrasattva is Gnosis.




    I am not sure this name is actually in the tantra, even from anything like "Queen of Space". What seemed most consistent in the Sanskrit text was Akasha Dhatu and Sparsha Vajra as Kha Dhatu. Akashadhatvishvari is the center of Five Dakinis in union with Vairocana--so arguably it is originally Locana. When Akshobhya takes over Space or the middle area, Akashadhatvishvari becomes Sparsha Vajra. It is also a name of Maitri's Dakini. When Varuni is invoked into the Flask, she is Akasha from the Ocean of Milk. And one could say we are examining Akash in two ways, its ability to become utterly formless and we dissolve everything, and, how all form is made from it.

    Dharmadhatu Vajra continues all the way through Laghu Heruka. Circle of Bliss believes she is the Empty Niche in a crown based on Manjuvajra Mandala, and that she is an alias of Vajradhatvishvari. Compared to Space, she is in a sixth void element.

    Again we might say Dharmadhatu Vajra is a Bodhisattva and an Ishvari is a Prajna, an Object and its Root Element. And then we may be forced to say she moves again, really becomes the consort of Vajradhara, because there will be other ways for Vajrasattva to express himself. Vajradhara may also have Nairatma or Vajravarahi. So they perhaps are hypostatically sharing sixth-principle goddesses because Vajradhara's Family doesn't exactly have anything different in it.



    Alice Getty does a reasonable job with Vajrasattva and Vajradhara:

    As sixth Dhyani-Buddha, Vajrasattva presides over the Yidam, and has the same relation to the Adi-Buddha that the Manushi (human) Buddha has to his ethereal counterpart or Dhyani-Buddha. The sixth sense is believed to have emanated from him, as well as the last of the six elements of which man is composed — the manas, or mind.

    ...in Nepal and Tibet the Adi-Buddha is frequently represented with his female energy, in which case he is called Yogambara, and the sakti, Jnanesvari [Jnanadakini].

    Vajradhara Sakti: Prajnaparamita.

    In Nepal:

    The Newar Buddhist creation legend from the Swayambhu-purana describes how the eternal flame of the Adi-Buddha was concealed beneath the Swayambhu Stupa, and of how the goddess Prajnaparmamita Guhyeshvari first revealed herself in the form of an aniconic 'reality source' or dharmodaya. Then from the five-coloured lights of the Swayambhu Jyotirupa, or 'Self-created Light-form', appeared the Five Buddhas and their female consorts (prajna) as the Five Mothers. And from the 'method-wisdom' (upaya-prajna) union of the Five Buddhas and the Five Mothers there next arose their five great 'Spiritual Sons'...



    I am not sure of either one of those goddess names ever directly being with Vajradhara, but, Father-Mother is ultimately Adi Buddha and Adi Prajna. In Hodgson's classification, that is Mahavairocana and Prajnaparamita (or Vajradhatvishvari), and the consort of Vajrasattva is called Vajrasattvatmika, meaning she is composed of him, which makes sense if he is a mantric and gnostic body.


    Let us suspend disbelief for a moment to try to clarify that in Yoga texts, Vajradhatvishvari primarily is Space Element, and then it is only in certain Higher Yogas such as Manjuvajra Guhyasamaja that result in her ascending to Mental Element. Around the 700s it is true that merely the teaching of prana related to fivefold form was enough to make the Cambodian king import and enshrine Vinasikha Tantra rather adamantly. In other words, even Five Families was considered powerful enough you try to keep it secret, and then in Buddhism, it may have been difficult to develop Vajrasattva and explain Six Families in any way. If we could say that it was perhaps better-known by the end of the Sarma period, and, there is a Guhyasamaja-based explanation which is a little more coherent, here is an almost accidental Candamaharoshana Tantra review from Arthur Avalon:

    Thus a Buddhistic Tantra named Chandamaharoshana (mentioned by - Jnanananda at the
    beginning of this book as one of the many consulted by him ) speaks of
    the union of Buddha Vajrasattva with Vajradhatvishvari. Buddha
    Vajrasattva speaks of himself as one who has got no material existence
    (Nishprapanchasvarupa) and has discarded all desire ( Sarvasamkalpa-
    varjita ) and the persons to whom he speaks are Vajrapani, by which
    is meant the sense of hearing in the united body of the two, viz.,
    Vajrasattva and Vajradhatvishvari, Svetachala ( white mountain ) by
    which is meant the sense of smell perception and so on. The book is
    revealed by Vajrapani. The commentator says that this Union between
    the Vajrasattva, by which is meant the destroyer of all pain arising
    out of attachment ( Raga ) and the like, and Vajradhatvishvari, by
    which is meant Bodhichitta which is concealed and restrained and
    worshipped by Prajna (Wisdom), is beyond the apprehension of the
    vulgar ( Ayancha viharak prakritajanasya atyantang guptam bhavatt ).
    ‘the place of utterance of this Tantra is a case in point.

    Near its beginning, Vajradhatvishvari meditates on Dvesavajri.

    atha bhagavatī vajradhātvīśvarī dveṣavajrīsamādhiṃ samāpadyedam udājahāra |


    devi devi mahāramyaṃ rahasyaṃ cātidurlabham |

    Canda Maharoshana with Mamaki, the Acalas, and Moha, Pisuna, Raga, and Irsya Vajri:







    Robert Thurman used what is perhaps the best...you can't quite translate her:

    Vajradhatvishvari, the queen of the vajra realm

    In STTS Chapter Two, this is a Vairocana-centered system. However, the central deity is Vajradhatvishvari, who emanates the deities from samadhi. In setting up the mandala, she uses a caitya. This is of course about the Guhya Vajradhatu mandala in the first post indicating a goddess equivalent of the standard Vajradhatu mandala. We found this begins a hypostasis with Sattvavajri.

    In Sarvadurgati Parishodhana, she is in the center of Vajri goddesses. Starts after Sattva Vajri, is Vajra Consecration, and appears to lead to Musti or Fist and Vajrosnisa as we have mentioned. The retinue includes Vajravajri.



    It was the Kalachakra system that used Viswamata (central energy from the heart down) whose higher aspect is Vajradhatvishvari (centered life energy from the heart up). However in this case, Viswamata is Gnosis, and Vajradhatvishvari is Space. She is distinct from Dharmadhatu Vajra. Its Chela initiations get to Offerings and a wrathful practice similar to Armor, and then Blue Vajrasattva unites with Blue Prajnaparamita because they are of Dharmakaya nature.

    Although Kalachakra deals with Six Families, it appears to have retained Vajradhatvishvari in the fifth. This cannot be "wrong" but let us say it uses deities in its own system that resembles nothing. The inner meaning and principles are the same, so, its subjects and commentary are of tremendous value, but nothing much about its retinue, which would have negative value if you want to understand the other tantras.

    The difference or change being made in her is about the same as the second initiation, when all the prior forces of one's life have become blissful liquid trickling into the body, and then successfully softening and opening the heart knot. This heart is said to be dead, inert, non-existent in most sentient beings, and experienced only in this way. So it is the actual Mind Mandala. I can do a practice training on it for years, based on the subject, which is good, but it is supposed to be Yogacara which means you personally live the event. That is more difficult. Just because you have Nectar, it is not automatically going to happen.



    This is independent research showing this type of fusion being done with Sadhanamala deities in a manuscript from ca. 1136, probably Bengal:

    According to Receptacle of the Sacred, Prajnaparamita starts out with two attendants, Janguli with snake and Mayuri with plume, both green. Then are added Kadhira, Durgottarini, and Vajra Tara. So this is Prajnaparamita with five emanations or Paramitas. Then, Janguli and Mayuri are replaced by Eight Arm Tara likely Marici, and Two Arm White Tara, and Vajra Tara with Eight Arms. With careful research, the author concludes that the art is telling the exact same story about these Taras in a format where technical care was taken to present Krsna Yamari, Hevajra, and Samvara closely according to NSP and so forth. They describe it as a Yoga exercise or that the female retinue is "about" to enter union with the males.

    On p. 160 is a chart of the icons.

    In previous manuscripts, Prajnaparamita was shown with Seven Past/One Future Buddhas; Six Arm Arch Marici was facing Vajrasattva. And then they suggest this facing creates Vajradhatvishvari, or, when Prajnaparamita is the actual Clear Light, then Marici arises as Vajradhatvishvari. Then the outer Janguli and Mayuri would be replaced with Marici and Sita. Both forms of the retinue are Six Paramitas, the first conceptually produced, the second spontaneously arising.


    That has Kadhira, or a source of Twenty-one Taras, and the recurrent Janguli related to Krsna Yamari tantra. By comparing the panels, it would mean as consorts, Durgottarini joins Krsna Yamari, Kadhira joins Vighnantaka, and White Tara would match Manjuvajra. Prajnaparamita joins "Enlightenment", who is called Mara Vijaya, a six armed yellow male ("maybe" Manjuvajra from NSP 1 or i. e., his mandala in this post).

    Six Arm Janguli is the Vidya of that.

    It is possible to have six arms and one face, but, usually means three faces.

    The Three Faced deity is certainly a stage in Guhyasamaja:

    When the Lord blessed this body, the Lord was seen by all the Tathagatas to have three heads. This is the stage called Maha-sadhana, and according to Tson-kha-pa, the phase of it called 'Victorious mandala' (vijaya-mandala). The Lord thus appeared in the role of the hierophant to teach the procedure to the disciples (in this case, the Tathagatas).

    Half of this is caged in language such as Seva and Upasadhana which sounds less meaningful to outsiders, but, is a cutstomized definition being applied to ordinary Hindu practices. But that enables us to catalog it with reference to the Six Yogas.


    The subject of the commentaries is almost all in trying to correlate the steps or stages of Six Yogas, Five Abhisambodhis, Four Initiations, and so forth. Guhyasamaja so to speak begins at the end:

    While that projection or spill-out of the deities [the original mandala] is the goal to be achieved (step four), the human performer has to start in a more humble manner. He is given a meditational sequence in which he first ascends to the plane of the void (step one). There he imagines germ syllables, which transform themselves into hand symbols (step two), and finally into the bodies of the deities (step three), thus the 'body mandala'. He can then proceed with his own spill-out as a mandala (the utsarga-mandala, infra) (step four). For the human performer the full set of thirty-two deities is stipulated in the case of the Aksobhya-mandala, available in Sanskrit, as was mentioned, in the Nispannayogavali. This mandala is based on Nagarjuna's Pindikrama.



    A few more of Wayman's notes about this hypostasis:


    The kuleSa (family master) is the previously-mentioned Vajrasattva of Aksobhya and Samantabhadra, but holds a vajra, wheel, padma, bell, gem, sword, and embraces a Vajra-dhatvisvari looking like himself.


    Concerning the remark 'Vajrasattva of Aksobhya and Samantabhadra', Nagarjuna's Pindikrta-sadhana, 52B-53, states: "Then he should enterprise the Atiyoga : Following upon Aksobhya he should develop a Vajrasattva, three-faced, radiant with six hands, and shining with sapphire light" ( atha atiyogam samarabhet / aksnbhyanupravesena trimukham sad bhujojjvalain / indranilaprabham diptamvajrasattvam vibha-vayct I ). Nagarjuna, in the subsequent verses, shows that this


    This Vajrasattva is in women and also in men at all times. Notice that the name Vajrasattva is employed for a sexless (or else, androgyne) body that is the same for men and women, and is explained as a mantra-body.




    ...involves placing the Guhyasamaja deities in spots of the body mandala. Ratnakarasanti (op. cit., p. 77-4, 5) comments : " 'three-faced' because the purity of the three liberations; and 'six-handed' because the purity of the six perfections" .

    It appears that Vajrasattva is the yogin possibility of a person, as the essence of the Tathagatas, Aksobhya, and as their enlightenment-pledge, Samantabhadra; who has advanced, equivalent to the non-tantric progression of the Bodhisattva during the first seven stages, to the last three Bodhisattva stages, as indicated by his embracing Vajradhatvisvari ('Queen of the Diamond Realm'), who is drawn from the yogin's own heart, according to the verse cited under nidana verse 33.



    Part of the delineation into Body, Speech, and Mind mandalas:

    The Guhyasamajalantra, Chapter XVIII, verse 99, mentions three kinds : bhaga-mandala. bodhicitta-mandala, and deha-mandala. Tsoh-kha-pa, in his independent Don gsal ba commentary on the Guhyasamaja devotes individual sections to the three mandalas, keeping the terminology of 'body-mandala' (deha-mandala), while substituting other names for the two other mandalas. In place of 'bhaga-mandala', he employs the term 'utsarga-mandala' (emission m.') from the Pradipoddyotana on Chapter VII (equivalent to its terminology 'house-m.' puram mandalam, Pradipoddyotana MS., chapter one). Tson-kha-pa, following the Pradipoddyotana on chapter VII, replaces the 'bodhicitta-m.' with the expression paramartha-mandala. He makes it clear that the thirty-two Guhya-samaja deities are involved in all three of the above-mentioned
    mandalas, which are evoked in the order deha-mandala, utsarga-mandala, and paramartha-mandala. The deha-mandala is perfected in the phase of yoga called Atiyoga, and both the utsarga-m. and the paramartha-m. belong to the phase of yoga called Maha-yoga, or Mahasadhana; and are respectively equivalent to the two sub-phases of Mahasadhana called 'Victorious Mandala' (vijaya-mandala) and 'Victory of the Rite' (karma-vijaya).


    Vijaya Mandala is within the overall Speech Mandala.

    A major reason we would not practice Guhyasamaja coldly off the page:

    The reason the Stage of Generation must precede can be illustrated in terms of the theory of winds. In this first stage the candidate comes to understand the nature of the winds which are not visible to the ordinary senses, and in the course of the yoga proper to this stage recites in accordance with the natural cycle of the winds. In the Stage of Completion he proceeds to combine those winds in extraordinary ways. Of course one must understand a thing (first stage) before one can manipulate it (second stage). It follows that unless one believes that there are these mystic winds the Upanisads speak about and which are so prominent in the commentarial literature of the Guhyasamajatantra, he can see little point to having these two successive stages of yoga; and, in fact, there is little profit to his pursuing the system at any level of application.


    No, they won't do much for you if you don't care for them to.

    The idea that they can is the basis of all these mantra systems, Vedic and tantric.


    Tantra subsumes the Sutra Bodhisattva Path:

    By yoga of a beginner, he attains the Eighth Stage, and seeing the three Lights he is settled in the Tenth Stage. Tson-kha-pa's Pancakrama comm.. Vol. 159, p. 4-4,5, cites the view of Spyod bsdus (Aryadeva's Caryamelapaka)that one attains the Eighth Stage by the Stage of Generation. The implication is that the last three stages of the Bodhisattva Path constitute part of the Stage of Completion. Thereafter, the commentators differ along sectarian lines.



    and to make a Full Buddha, there are really eleven or thirteen stages:

    "The Stage resorted to by all the Buddhas is the Thirteenth, and it is called the 'lady'." The two systems of stages, the ten plus one, on the one hand, and thirteen on the other, relate to two ways of assigning the initiations (abhiseka) and mystical visions of the Guhyasamajatantra.



    The three classes of goddesses pertain to three initiations:

    the 'incantation-born female' is the yogini at the final limit of the Stage of Generation; hence is involved in the Mahasadhana phase of 'invariant (letter) placement' (in the samadhi 'Victorious Mandala'), and presumably is the vidya of the Preceptor's Initiation. The 'field-born female' enables one to attain the s. Symbolic Clear-Light with the arcane state of body, speech,
    and mind; and so is the vidya of the 'Secret Initiation'. The
    'together-born female' enables one to attain the Illusory Body and the Goal Clear-Light (or the Clear Light of the Absolute Entity); hence is the vidya of the Prajnajnana Initiation; and since the Fourth Initiation is said to be just the same as the third, she is also the vidya or mudra intended here.

    Regarding the 'Secret Initiation', the Pradipoddyotana in its chapter eight devoted to this initiation cites the Tantra catalogued as Candraguhyatilaka ("yathoktam bhagavata guhye candratilake"):

    utsrjya ratnojiala-'bodhicittam samSuskamurtirfl sakalam jinanam / abhisincya m urdhnamalaratnavaiair visuddhavajrodbhavajnana-toyaih 11 Having drawn forth the bodhicitta jewel-blazing of the Jinas, he sprinkles all the arid body by way of the head with knowledge drops issuing from the pure vajra, (drops) with the power of the immaculate jewel.


    The context shows that the expression 'by way of the head* means that the candidate imagines that the substance flows down from the crown of the head and first stimulates the 'little tongue' (the uvula). For a clear statement of its further progress through the body, see Sri Laksmi's passage presented under nidana verse 'KA' (No. 22). For the reference to the
    tongue, the Pradipoddyotana on chapter seventeen quotes the 'Mulatantra' (in fact, the Tattvasamgraha of the Yoga-tantra class): jihvani talagatiim krtva nasikagram tu cintayet / suksmavajrasukhaspars'ad bhavet cittam samdhitam 11 Having placed the tongue on the 'roof of the mouth', he should contemplate the tip of the nose (of the face). From blissful contact with the subtle vajra (the little tongue), the mind becomes stabilized.


    That's pretty precise. You can do or are at this second initiation when you have already learned to melt the Bodhicitta, and now you can dispense it to the body. This is Kurukulla.



    Yogi Chen had surprisingly powerful things to say about the Third Initiation:

    the eventual union of the Red Bodhi and White Bodhi of the practitioner's body with that of his Dakini is quite a psychological matter in fact. Readers who read over the following lines will recognize that the Bodhicitta of Kunda is quite a must.


    If you can learn how to do this with a Jnana Mudra, you would be directly initiated by Guhyajnana Dakini. Or, if you could do it at all, physically. If you get to know her, then empowerment, per se, is not an issue. Here again it will be nothing without Generation Stage.


    Seva in the Stage of Generation is the conceptual reach up to the Clear Light. In the second [Completion] stage, the yogin is held to enter the Clear Light with a subtle body in the krama of Svadhisthana. Therefore, all the members and kramas up to Svadhisthana are the superior kind of Seva. Upasadhana in the Stage of Generation evokes the 'primeval lord' {adinatha) with a mantra-body (a kind of mahamudra). In the Stage of Completion, the Abhisambodhi-krama represents the emergence from the Clear Light with the Sambhoga body, a knowledge body (also a kind of mahamudra).



    In the 'evident meaning' (nitartha) interpretation of the Pradipoddyotana, both mantras incorporate the five Tathagatas and a sixth Buddha; in the former case, identified with the five winds by name, and the sixth (Aham) identified with Vajrasattva, who is the incessant bindu of the heart; in the latter case, identified with the five winds by the colors, constituting the rainbow of the verse. 'VAK.', and the sixth, (Aham) identified with Vajradhara, as the gnosis of the Supreme Entity.


    Then the Bhagavat,'Diamond of Body, Speech and Mind' ( = Vajradhara), the Tathagata, immersing, himself in the samadhi (gazing at the Clear Light) named 'intrinsic nature diamond of the dharmadhatu ( Clear Light) proclaimed this mantra which blesses the body, speech, and mind : OM—(Vairocana as a blue-rayed wind serving as the mount of the gnosis of the Clear Light of the [Absolute] Object). DHARMA— (Ratnasambhava, as a yellow-rayed wind . DHATU—(Amitabha, as a red-rayed wind). SVABHAVA— (Amoghasiddhi, as a green-rayed wind). ATMAKO—(Aksobhya, as a white-rayed wind). AHAM—(Vajradhara, that gnosis itself of the Clear Light of the [Absolute] Object . Mchan hgrel on the preceding : "This mantra expresses both the gnosis of the Clear Light of the Absolute Object and the five rays of wind which are its mount." Since 'VAK' refers in the praxis to the 'diamond muttering' a brief indication is given now about that...

    Tson-kha-pa's commentary on Pancakrama, Vol. 159, p. 31-2 Synonymous terms for the Three Lights: ... those three (i.e. prajna, upaya, and avidya); the three citta, manas, vijnana; the three, parikalpita, paratantra, parinispanna; the three, hatred, lust, delusion; and the three svabhavas. Among those, upaya is Spread-of-Light, prajna is Light, the combination of those two as hermaphrodite (or androgyne) is Culmination-of-Light. Among the two, ecstasy and void, 'Light' is the preponderance of void mentality (buddhi); 'Spread-of-Light' the reverse thereof; 'Culmination-of-Light' those two (ecstasy and void) in equal parts.

    The three lights constitute the fourth of the five signs presented in the Guhyasamaja, Chapter XVIII and included in Candrakirti's comments ('Documents', PART ONE). The first sign, a mirage, manifests through dissolution of earth into water. The second, smoke, through dissolution of water into fire. The third, fire-flies, through dissolution of fire into wind. The fourth, a changeable lamp, through dissolution of wind into the three lights. Through sequential dissolution of the three lights, there is the fifth sign, the Clear Light like a cloudless sky.


    Here, we have a slightly different saying in that Wind dissolves into Space, Space into Mind, Mind into Subtle Mind and three lights, using Eight Dissolutions. That is the system of Tara. And usually says starts with Smoke. Again the most literal way to think of it is death. You are relinquishing five senses one by one, and then mind or consciousness is the three lights. And in his commentary he was reluctant to use Yogacara terms, but, the Three Natures tell me more about the lights or voids themselves, Parikalpita (False), Paratantra (Other-dependent), and Parinispanna (Ultimate Meaning). No Ego, Suchness, and Ultimate Meaning are how to handle them.

    Why is the third light called avidya, well, it is black, and utterly unconscious, akin to deep or dreamless sleep. It is something like a quantum energy well you are trying to hop or transit to experience the Fourth or Absolute Object. If not then you just have three voids and a partial technique. The Six Yogas of Tara uses Eight Dissolutions. But since most practitioners cannot use this any time soon, then, in the terms of Dakini Jala Rahasya, there are Five Dissolutions ending with Sky.

    The full dissolution is the Seventh Dharma, Transference. It has two main applications, to a deity as spiritual practice, and at death. Because this is salvation to a human being, that is why we want to provide Yoga.


    Although there was evidently a Guhyasamaja reference to Nine Moods, they had to comment it from other traditions:

    'The nine sentiments of dramatic art' : this refers to accomplishing the Illusory Body from the wind-and-mind-only belonging to the sadhaka"s innate body (nija-deha).

    The first is from Sri Rahugupta-pada's PrakaSa-nama-Srihevajrasadhana (PTT, Vol, 56, p. 132-1): Among those (nine sentiments), the 'single taste' (ekarasa) together with (the goddess) Nairatmya is the 'erotic'; the staying at the burning ground is the 'heroic'; the furried brow and bared fangs is the 'disgusting'; the blazing light is the 'furious'; the enhancement (exaggeration) of face is the 'humorous'; the garland of dripping heads is the 'frightful'; the consciousness of assisting sentient beings is the 'compassionate'; the illusory form is the 'wonderful'; the defilement of lust, etc. is the 'tranquil'. The second is from Sri Laksmi, Vol. 63, p. 39-2 : (They are) union with the partner (mudra) ('erotic'), staying in the burning ground, etc. ('heroic')., enjoying the ambrosia ('furious'), rite of revived corpse (vetala-vidhi) ('disgusting'), holding of various emblems /humo-rous'), drastic rites (abhicara) ('frightful'), empathy with the great suffering of all sentient beings ('compassionate'), accomplishing enlightenment by the five great pledges, (samaya) in conflict with the world (i.e. the five that oppose the five layman vows) ('tranquil'), and the characteristic of having the Clear Light in immediacy ('wonderful').


    Marici uses Nine Moods; she is or becomes Vajradhatvishvari; and also has the unique title, Vajrasattva Ishvari, not meaning his consort, but a divine teacher of highest enlightenment to him. And she is Tara Twenty-one.
    Last edited by shaberon; 22nd August 2021 at 08:48.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Tara and Vajra Family, Maitri's Panchakara, Dharmadhatu, Guhyasamaja Chapter Fourteen, Ekajati, Arundhati




    We get into a bit of a bog with the synonymous names Samantabhadra and Vajradhatvishvari. It seems to be identical to the difference between Vairocana and Akshobhya-class tantras. They are different but I have found it is important to keep in mind there is a reason for them both. Just because Akshobhya is more profound, does not dismiss the underlying significance of Vairocana. It sounds like you are trying to graduate out of it, but it is more like you are making it and keeping it. And so for most practical purposes, let us describe it as the high end of Pranayama, related to making energy rise from the throat into the soft palate or Khecari point, where, physiologically, the five senses are joined in a bundle. This is like a Pentagram (shown as a cross) which is becoming attached to, not changed into, a Hexagram. With Akshobhya, you will quickly get the point of Six Families; but it is much like the Sixth has the Five.

    And so in STTS and public works in Nepal, Samantabhadra--Vajradhatvishvari remains with Vairocana and could be called Queen of Space. This perhaps only changes in certain commentarial traditions of Akshobhya tantras. Vajravilasini also employs the synonymous Bodhisattva goddess Dharmadhatu Vajra, having the personal name Padmajvalini or Padma Jalini, in the center, in Space Element. In her case she may well be the one effecting the separation or new birth of Space and Mind, is probably equivalent to the Third Initiation. So this generic name, Dharmadhatu Vajra, is specific to the sixth principle, which may be Samantabhadra--Vajradhatvishvari, in the traditions that elevate her position.

    So Akshobhya or Vajra Family replaces Vairocana in the center, and teaches the process which manifests the sixth principle through Vajrasattva.


    Rinpoche told us that Akshobhya is the primordial Buddha and that the Vajradhara was a certain relationship to him. That is to say that Akshobhya is the Heart of all beings, no matter how ignorant they may be about this. And so to better inform ourselves, this is who we are asking for his personal gnostic experience, which becomes the Sixth Family or Vajrasattva, which becomes the way of knowing Vajradhara. Without the intent, those additional Families cannot possibly exist. When they do, that experience is Vajradhatvisjvari. That is like the Heart governing a mostly Mental process of energizing the Khecari center. If you can actually feel something, that is the Crescent of our glyph, and when it burns, the Triangle. There are other yogas which cause the same sensation, and probably much faster, but to obtain the benefit of Buddhism we are going to want this Vajra Family from a pretty early stage.


    By examining Tara Tantra, it features peaceful white Vajra Family Tara Mother (or, Vajradhatvishvari) at the beginning point when, so to speak, Akshobhya has just replaced Vairocana in the Space Element. This is also similar to Maitri's Panchakara (one of the few descriptions of Prajnas); it uses Guhyasamaja syllables such as Vajradhrk, Jinajik, etc., and so this is highly akin to the Jewel of Five Colored Light from there.



    Panchakara is the knowledge or vidhi of a Hetu (Cause) Sattva. From the beginning, it is about Nisprapanca (unelaborated) Vajrasattva via a five Buddhas and five Yoginis Puja. As soon as you know this, there is:

    viśvavarṇapam

    which is a Pam syllable of Five Colored Light, which emits an Eight Petaled White Lotus. Then there is a sundisk, on which Blue Hum arises and becomes Blue Bhumi Sparsha deity with Vajra Family Symbol, who is of the nature:

    suviśuddhadharmmadhātuvijñānaskandhasvabhāvaḥ

    Vijnana Skandha--"consciousness" from the prior tabulation of only five skandhas--now has the nature of Purifying the Dharmadhatu.

    hetuphalātmakaḥ


    It uses the Three Syllables and Four Kayas, adding Svabhavikakaya.

    asaṃskṛtatathāgatātmakatvāt dharmmakāyaḥ, pratibhāsamātratvāt sambhogakāyaḥ, kalpitanirmmāṇakāyaṃ nirmmāṇakāyaḥ, kāyatritayaikarasattvāt svābhāvikakāyaḥ |


    After this introduction, the retinue appears to begin in the auspices of:


    asaṃskṛtamanodharmmaḥ copaḥsambhogalakṣaṇaḥ |



    tadeva nirmmitaṃ citraṃ bījaḥ sarvvasvabhāvataḥ |


    Asamskrta (Unconditioned) Mental Dharma:

    The asaṃskṛtas, not formed by causes, are unproduced (utpāda), without extinction (vyaya), and without duration-change (sthityanyathātva).

    ākāśa (space),
    pratisaṃkhyā-nirodha (observed cessation),
    apratisaṃkhyā-nirodha (unobserved cessation).

    It lacks Samskara or Samsara, the conditioned, changing dharmas.

    It entices the marks of Sambhogakaya.

    To understand Aryadeva better, note 867 defines Nirmitta as "created", similar to this Vaisnava passage:

    svarup-sakti-nirmitta-jagat [the world constructed by Krishna’s personal energy]

    The spelling for Signs is Nimitta. The thing that is created, Citra Bija, is likely a multi-colored seed.


    It then generates Akshobhya of the nature:

    ākāśaśabda

    which is all that is said about Akash. The basic change from Vairocana tantras is that he represented Sight, and since this consumes some 90% of ordinary waking consciousness, that is why he is first; but then Akshobhya takes over as Sound, Primordial and mantric. Therefor, the incoming Vajradhatvishvari is not for the user of Vairocana tantras.

    Then there comes White Vajrasattva without a location who is:

    manaḥsvabhāvaḥ

    dharmmadhātuparanāmā |

    Paranama:

    1. Change of form or state. 2. Maturity, fulness, ripeness. 3. End, last stage or state.

    and so i. e. inserting the name of the sixth element. Mind-born, changing and ripening of it.

    Akshobhya has no seed syllable and may only be in one's Sruti or Hearing, while Vajrasattva emrges from Hum and has an appearance.

    It may also be that the first passage simply refers to Akshobhya who is going to emanate Vajrasattva, and then this happens. He may just shift forms. At any rate, the Primordial Buddha, who is Sound and Space, provides a hyopstatic offshoot intended as Mind Element.


    This is followed by a ring of four Buddhas with the usual Skandhas, a ring of four Prajnas with the normal Elements, only at the end of which does the composite Vajradhatvishvari Nayika arise, more fully described as:

    bhagavatī tathatā śūnyatā prajñāpāramitā bhūtakoṭinairātmyeti vyapadiśyate |


    She has no syllable or mantra of her own. She is Alisvabhava Vajrasattvasvarupini, made by Vajrasattva arising from the vowels (Ali) or at least from Ah. Vajrasattva has a Body more or less made by himself, as are his sisters and consorts.



    Akshobhya will function like this in the center of five until someone actually makes the sixth principle as implied. The reason for this Vajra Family intersection with Tara Tantra is more historical than I thought:



    In Taranatha's Golden Rosary of Tara, Bhattarika Tara is an individual name as if a form of her. Understated, but:

    je-btsun-ma, Skt. bhattaraka. The Lady.


    He is oblivious to the overall background system of Tara, and only testifies the origin of the lineage that reached him. And it is like a twin to Acala.


    To eastern Bengal and an individual known as Hayapala:

    Then there came one called Guhyasila, a brahman who had a vision of the face of Vajrapani. From the latter he received the initiation for the Tara tantra and also obtained all the instructions and additional instructions. During that time, even though he taught some small sections of this tantra in a place of the vidyamantradharas, the verses in the tantra were not yet complete and he did not set them down in writing.

    Hayapala:

    Having gone to the vajrapitha of Uddiyana, he extracted from the possession of the dakinis the root and explanatory tantras entitled the Tarevisvakarmabhava Tantra, the Vajrapani Paramaguhya Tantra, and the Herukotpatti Tantra. In the country of Tripura, he built a temple in a dense forest and remained there. To ordinary beings he taught the abridged form of the Prajnaparamita. Having relied upon the vidyamantra of Tara, he gathered under his power the five kings of the eastern quarter. All of them developed faith in the Three Jewels. Moreover, he gathered under his power deities such as Uma Devi and Devaraja Praharsa. All of them presented him with offerings. Having relied upon the vidyamantra of Achala, he realized siddhis, and he conjured up in a circle measuring twelve great leagues apparitions of jewel trees, walls, palaces, devas, devis, and so forth. Having relied upon the vidyamantra of Vajrapani, he annihilated some five hundred individuals who hated the doctrine of the Buddha. For many years he taught the doctrines of the paramita dharma. Then, due to the power of the vidyamantra of Heruka, he went secretly into the sky, and with his physical body he departed for Alakavati.


    So Vajrapani is pretty important to her, and Heruka Generation Stage is a major explanation of her. Acala and Vajrapani work together, which is Canda Maharoshana. Tara in Vajra Family, or, Mamaki, is like "vast explanation". Likewise, Vajrapani is the custodian of tantra, the main male Bodhisattva who explains the secrets of it.


    Because, by name, Vajra Tara is a Jewel Family goddess holding a Vajra, that is a good bit like the "double nature" of Mamaki. By form, Vajra Tara is the closest thing to the Mothers of Tara Tantra. By function, she clearly grafts the sixth or Manasic sense.


    She does so using Nairatma, whereas there is also a white aspect of this same principle. Cunda is sometimes considered a sister or emanation of Vajrasattva, and, in Guhyasamaja, she would be unlikely to be mistaken for Candra or the Moon:

    Then the Blessed. One, Vajradahara, entered the samadhi
    called "Vajra of universal sound", and brought forth from his
    vajra body, speech and mind this great vajra meditation word,
    CUM.

    74-75 At the centre of space visualise the holy sun mandala,
    and. according to the ritual, clouds of Buddhas, the most renowned. Three Vajras; to make them descend into body, speech
    and mind, visualise Cundavajri, white in colour, complete
    with every adornment; visualising Vajrasattva the great King,
    place the mantra word.

    * The samadhi called. "Wisdom-light of the Vajra Samaya".


    Simple. Vajrasattva is that Samaya being. So she arises when he perceives Luminosity. Universal Sound cannot be much different than Akshobhya as above.

    If this happens and she appears as a Form, it is a Mental Object, Dharmadhatu Vajra.


    Here is an example of plain Dharmadhatu Vajra amidst the normal Sense Offering goddesses. The adept, Damarupa, himself holds a Dharmodaya in his left hand. At the bottom center, Dharmadhatu Vajra also holds one. She was misrepresented. Here, it is a White Dharmodaya as in VAT with Locana--Prajnaparamita, which appears to be related to Gagana Samdhi, only later becoming red.

    At the top left is the offering goddess Shabdavajra (sound), white with one face and two hands holding a vina (stringed instrument). Peaceful, wearing gold jewelry and various coloured silks she performs in a standing posture. In the middle is Rupavajra (form), white with one face, performing various mudras (gestures), standing. At the right is Ghandhevajra (smell), yellow, holding to the heart with both hands a white conch shell filled with scented water, standing. At the bottom left is Rasavajra (taste), red in colour, holding with both hands a white skullcup filled with nectar, in a seated posture. In the middle is Dharmadhatuvajra (space element [Chos in original, i. e. Dharma]), white, holding a triangular receptacle, seated. At the right is Sparshevajra (touch), green, holding extended in both hands a length of cloth, seated.













    Damarupa is famous as the 5th teacher of the Margapala (Tib. Lamdre) lineage along with the Chandali (Tummo) Perfection Stage Lineage.

    Lamdre Lineage: Vajradhara, Nairatmya, Virupa (9th century), Kanhapa, Damarupa, Avadhutipa...

    So usually, everything is easy to identify, so that the Siddhas are in reference to their systems. In relation to Chakrasamvara, Damarupa is over the three forms of Krsna Yamari, which are between multiple Avalokiteshvaras:








    And so when together with his disciple Avadhutipa, the roster should be quite clear, but, as related to Vairocana Hevajra:

    At the top center is the primordial Buddha Vajradhara, blue in colour with one face and two hands. To the left is the goddess/female buddha Tara. Alternating from right to left is a lineage of teachers in chronological order relating to a specific (but currently unknown Tara practice). The list of teachers presented here, so far, does not conform to the Nyen Lotsawa Tradition or the Suryagupta (aka Ravigupta) and his Seventeen Deity Tara Mandala Tradition...Along the bottom of the composition are ten Devi/goddess figures, each with one face and two hands, in assorted colours. So far, these ten figures do not correspond to any devi groups within the Hevajra system. It is also worth noting that these figures do not appear to be holding anything in their upraised right hand or in the left hand.











    Two kneeling Acalas can be identified there, but, some of those figures have been re-worked, and none correct. Mahamaya can also be identified. This is a little strange like a tacit admission of such prevalence of Tara that it could not all be recorded by institutions.


    Dharmadhatu is highly akin to Mt. Meru, there is a long yoga of "getting there" and a long yoga of "purifying its arising in stages". The idea that it is a "held object" by an Offering Goddess is the premier way to get it functioning easily, which eventually produces a kind of tantric rejuvenation to experience it in its own place or plane. At that point you would switch to the Red Dharmodaya as the actual source of an actually-manifested goddess. So again, it is moving from conceptual to self-arising, over the course of Three or Four of the Yogas.



    Dharmadhatu is not literally the first thing off the page in Guhyasamaja, but it certainly comes up. From an Indonesian version, one can find that it is fairly limited.

    Chapter Three in Guhyasamaja has a samadhi on "Vajra nature of the Dharmadhatu" with the mantra:

    Om Dharmadhatusvabhavatmako'ham

    and then there is the seed of five-colored light. So this mantra is something we probably haven't seen before this kind of intensity. There is a similar NSB mantra, but this direct one has been added to a prior practice with Emptiness Mantra. And so even though I use the latter fluently, I am perhaps even a bit intimidated by this next. It is something more than another phrase you learn to say. It is in tandem with an operative Jewel, which is much more stable and focused than what I have experienced just from "the energy of the centers". And so to do this mantra is selling your soul to a weird experience. One had perhaps better deal with the Offering Goddess Bodhisattva first. This Chapter has got to be at least the Fourth Yoga.



    The mantra is also used in Sadhanamala by Manjuvajra 83. After Emptiness Mantra and a meditation on Three Syllables and Vajra Kaya, then there is Dharmadhatu Mantra, followed by a significantly larger section. So, this is most likely Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra. I am not sure it mentions his form. He is going through stages of Jnanagarbha and Jnana Kaya, i. e. role of Vajrasattva. He also acts as a male Locana by the Purifying Stages or Suvisuddha Dharmadhatu. Manjuvajra is the first mandala in Namasangiti, and it goes up to that of Dharmadhatu Vagisvara Manjughosha. Also, here, he has a Lotus Family form where Dharmadhatu becomes the same as Clear Light:

    dharmadhātusamaṃ prabhāsvaraṃ bhāvayet /


    The mantra however is also in the very beginning of Sadhanamala, after Tri-samaya Raja, and emanates a Red (Gaura) Maitreya, and White (Sukla) Lokesvara. It has been done by Vajrasana Buddha Bhattaraka. From history of Thailand, Vajrasana Buddha is Akshobhya. The exercise appears to be simply Samaya to a Jnana Sattva. Sadhanamala may be like Guhyasamaja--giving a far goal such as Tri-samaya Raja first, and then minor methods like Vajrasana and then Sadaksari Mahavidya. And we can immediately turn around and use her as a Dharmadhatu Vajra.

    Otherwise Dharmadhatu is not a prolific topic at all. It has a few instances besides Manjushri. Vajra Tara also does its purifying like he does. As an identity of many evolving forms, it is Marici.


    It is the Caitya for Marici whose Heart Element contains a circle of Buddhas in Picuva Marici 144 (Nine Moods):

    dharmadhātuśite caitye dhātuhṛd buddhavartmani /

    Oddiyana Marici 140 is where she becomes Vajrasattva Ishvari, and is also in league with Vajradakini and Vetali. This is her Svadisthana Krama. Kurukulla 176 also has this krama, and Kurukulla 183 ascertains it is part of Hevajra Tantra. It means the Third of the Five Stages, Svadisthana is the product of a successful Mind Mandala, has achieved all Six Yogas. Then you develop Illusory Body and so forth. Marici and Kurukulla are on their way to train this stuff while they still do not stop.


    In Guhyasamaja, Dharmadhatu is in Chapter Four that used a girl as Mamaki:

    Amritakundali (bd.ud. rtsi khyil pa), his vajra is the
    double-vajra of the Samaya Family. This whole passage is a
    repetition of the mandala in the first Chapter, except that
    the positions of Mamakl (the vajra) and Locana (the eye) are
    reversed so that they are situated next to their usual partners (MamakI with Ratnasambhava since Akshobhya is in the
    centre). (37b-38a).

    3 'The Buddhas are the skandhas , form etc •, and. the Bodhisattvas are the ayatanas (the senses and their spheres of
    action), the eye etc.' According to the ordinary meaning, the
    girl is a girl of the yogin's Family, but the real meaning is
    that she is the Dharmadhatu.


    They are referring to a Symbolic Mandala, where Mamaki is the non-matching Vajra in the southwest, an an "eye" is a Wheel:










    In Guhyasamaja, after the Ten Wrathful Ones, Chapter Fourteen is a manifestation of goddesses that are over-translated so I am going to try to reduce it with the operative terms; English is around p. 90 and Sanskrit around p. 300. It has an older convention where "Dharma" indicates "Dharma Speech" and Lotus Family, rather than later contexts where it means Dharmakaya and the Heart. The standard name Lotus Family replaced Dharma or Dharma Speech while absorbing its meaning.



    Mahavajradhara enters the Supreme Samaya of Peace (Santi Samaya) and brings forth the Queen of Tathagatas (Bharya). This common word is perhaps also dual in meaning:

    Wife, Manavi, Bharya, Hendati

    bhartar meant supporter, husband, and bharya, she who is to be supported, or a wife

    (Mahāyānasutralamkara) by Maitreyanātha/ Āryāsaṅga together with its Commentary (Bharya) by Vasubandhu

    Mantricly, this first goddess is Siddhalocana Sarvartha Sadhani. In the remarks, she is Mother of Peace (Santijanani), Accomplishes all Actions (Sarvakarmaprasadhani), Mritasamjivani which is its own large subject, and arouses the Vajra Samayas (Vajrasamayacodani).

    Without further information, I would think he is talking about Tathagata Family and Locana arising as Dharmadhatu Suvishuddha. She is in the position of launching something which is going to be reviewed at great length and in great detail by Vajra Family.



    Second, Trisamaya Krodhavajra enters the Vajra Samaya of substance and non-substance (Bhava Abhava), and brings forth the Queen of Vajra Holders (Vajradharagramahisi), who, mantricly, is Santikara and Ghuttini. This last from what I recall is a destroyer aspect of Mamaki, based from the syllable Gha. Then she is called Vajra Mind (Vajracitta), who accomplishes Vajra Protection (Raksavajraprayoga), and gives Strength (Bala) to those who are in Fear (Bhaya).


    Third, Bhagavan enters Maharaga Samaya, and issues the Queen of the Dharma Body (Dharmakayagrabharya). This one uses the Kate Vikate mantra we have found used by Pandara. She is then called Vajradharma, who fortifies through Japa and Vak Vajra, i. e. Pranayama and Speech Mandala. If it is going to stick in Dharmakaya as the second or upcoming meaning, that is fine, it is supposed to proceed from Speech Mandala.


    Fourth, Bhagavan enters Birth of the Universal Samaya, Samanta Samaya Sambhava Vajra, and emanates a Queen of Samaya Beings, Samayasattvagrabharya, who has Tara's Ten Syllable Root Mantra. All Buddhas experience the Birth of Wisdom, Mahatmajah, and she is called Vajrakaya. She subjugates--Sainya--the realm of beings, Sattva Dhatu. They become enslaved and motionless, Vasakrt Ksanat. Karma Family Tara has become inextricable from Guhyasamaja Tantra, which makes it more feasible to suggest that Guhyasamaja is a particular method applied to a standing Six Yogas of Tara system. I am not sure that Tara speaks about Abhisambodhi. It might just be coming from the male or Father Tantras. The closest is probably White Kurukulla 185 who uses Vajragarbha for the purpose.


    Fifth, Bhagavan enters Vimala Rasmi Megha Vajra, Cloud of Infinite Rays, and brings forth Vajra Yamantaka. This is followed by a long dharani and contemplated again as Vajracitta. With a skull and this mantra, Locana and Mamaki will be captured (into Maha Vajra Kula). It ends explaining this as Dhruvam and "this was Bhagavan Cittavajra".


    Sixth, Vairocana enters Samaya Rasmi, and brings forth Amrita Samaya Vajrakrodha. In the dharani he becomes Amritakundali. This is contemplated as Vajrakaya.

    Seventh, Ratnaketu enters Buddha Rasmi Vajra. He brings forth Aparajita Mahakrodha. He has a shorter mantra that concentrates on the Mind of Enlightenment, Bodhicitta. He performs action against cruel Rakshasas.

    Eighth, Amitayus enters Amrita Sambhava Vajra, and issues Padmasambhava Vajrakrodha. He uses a long dharani and is called the King of Wisdom, Dharmavajramahagraja. He purifies the realm of Space, Khadhatu, which is full of poison, Visa, rembling Halahala.

    Ninth, Amoghasiddhi enters Amogha Samaya Sambhava Ketu Vajra and emanates Niladanda. There is a long dharani, and then all evil ones contemplate Vajrasattva. If they do something wrong, they are destroyed, Ghatakah.

    Tenth, Akshobhya enters Glory of Clouds in All Directions, Samantameghasriya, and emanates Mahabala. He causes Nagas to contemplate the Trikaya. This brings rain and Varimandala.

    Eleventh, Bhagavan enters Universal Destruction, Samantanirghata Vajra, and issues Takkiraja. With Vajrasattva Prayoga, this captures all the mantras of the three worlds.


    Twelfth, Bhagavan enters Vajra Water of the Garland of Wisdom, Jnanamalambuvajra, and brings forth Acala Vajra Canda Samaya. This makes all the Devas contemplate Vajra Kaya. This causes Rddhi to be captured in conjoined yantras.


    Thirteenth, Bhagavan enters Vajra Emanation of the Samaya and emanates Sumbha. He uses Sumbha Nisumbha mantra, and all the Maidens or Kanyas are captured. This uses Vajrasattva, Hook, and Noose.

    Fourteenth, Bhagavan enters Mahasamayatattvotpatti Vajra, which brings forth the dwelling of the truth of Samaya Speech, Guhya Vak Samaya Tattva. By your peaceful mantra, you capture the best of human maidens with an Air Mandala. Vairocana will capture Saci by using Vajramrita's mantra. A flaming hook in the Vajra Mandala will capture a sky maiden, Kha Kanya. Wrathful Vajra Samaya in the underworld (Patala) will capture a demon maiden, a Daitya Kanya, with spear, hook, and noose. Manjuvajra, Yamantaka, and Fire will capture a Yakshi maiden. Here, you have Three Classes of Yoginis, which views a Yakshi as "on the surface of the earth".


    Fifteenth, Bhagavan enters Vajra Wisdom Emanating throughout Space, Samantavijrmbhitajnanavajra, and brings forth the Samaya of the King of Vak Vajra, who is Ekajata. Mantricly, she is Sulini. This causes Naga Kanyas to contemplate Buddha Bodhi. Then you capture and enjoy one. She is already famous:

    Maa Shoolini (Mahashakti), the form and formless, is the root of knowledge, wisdom, creation, preservation and annihilation. She is Shakti or power of Lord Shiva.

    Shoolini was also manifested with the blessing of Lord Shiva to tame Narasimha.

    More specifically, she is the Right Wing of Sharaba:






    Pratyangira is the opposite wing.

    She is a patron of Solan, Himachal Pradesh. Sulini is mainly considered formless. She is usually represented as a dark, violent, Lion-mounted Durga. As to her similarity to Ekajata, if we overlook most of the details of her practice, in Sarada Tilaka, it leads to Muttering Hrim. Sp that is the same. She is also Queen of the Himalayas.

    This is still similar to Mahacina since a Naga or Kiratic culture extends from Assam into the trans-Himalaya.


    Modern Sulini at Lakshmi Narasimha Pitha:





    I recognized her immediately from Mangala Rupini, which is among the best of these pieces of music, from Adi Shankara's Soundaraya Lahiri. It has to do with her equivalency to Kamakhya Devi at Kamarupa, Assam. It was not hard because Sulini is in the first line.







    Dhukka Nivarana Ashtakam
    ****************************
    Mangala roopini madhiyani soolini manmadha paaniyale,
    Sangadam neengida saduthiyil vandhidum shankari soundariye,
    Kangana paaniyan kanimugam kanda nal karpaga kaminiye,
    Jeya jeya shankari gowri kripakari dhukka nivarani kamakshi.

    Kaanuru malarena kadhiroli kaatti kaathida vandhiduvaal,
    Thaanuru thavaoli thaaroli madhioli thaangiye veesiduvaal,
    Maanuru vizhizhaal maadhavar mozhizhaal maalaigal soodiduvaal,
    Jeya jeya shankari gowri kripakari dhukka nivarani kamakshi.

    Shankari soundari chaturmukan potrida sabayinil vandhavale,
    Pongari maavinil ponn adi vaithu porindhida vandhavale,
    Yenkulam thazhaithida ezhil vadivudane ezhunthanal durgayale,
    Jeya jeya shankari gowri kripakari dhukka nivarani kamakshi.

    Dhanadhana dhann dhana thaviloli muzhangida thanmani nee varuvaay,
    Gangana gan gana kadhiroli veesida kannmani nee varuvaay,
    Banbana bam bana parai oli koovida pannmani nee varuvaay,
    Jeya jeya shankari gowri kripakari dhukka nivarani kamakshi.

    Panchami bhairavi parvatha puthri panchanal paaniyale,
    Konjidum kumaranai gunamigu vezhanai koduththanal kumariyale,
    Sangadam theerthida samaradhu seythanal shakthi enum maaye,
    Jeya jeya shankari gowri kripakari dhukka nivarani kamakshi.

    Enniyapadi nee arulida varuvaay en kula deviyale,
    Panniya seyalin palan adhu nalamaay palgida aruliduvaay,
    Kannoli adhanaal karunayai kaatti kavalaigal theerpavale,
    Jeya jeya shankari gowri kripakari dhukka nivarani kamakshi.

    Idar tharum thollai inimel illai endru nee solliduvaay,
    Sudar tharum amudhe sruthigal koori sugam adhu thandhiduvaay,
    Padar tharum irulil paridhiyaay vandhu pazhavinay ottiduvaay,
    Jeya jeya shankari gowri kripakari dhukka nivarani kamakshi.

    Jeya jeya bala chamundeshwari jeya jeya sridevi,
    Jeya jeya durga sriparameshwari jeya jeya sridevi,
    Jeya jeya jayanthi mangalakaali jeya jeya sridevi,
    Jeya jeya shankari gowri kripakari dhukka nivarani kamakshi.











    If Ekajata is an aspect of the sixth or mental principle, according to a Vedic site:

    Manonmanidevi is the avatar connected with mind power. This manifestation is rarely seen in Siva temples. Sri Manonmanidevi worshipped the Lord with the help of Manimantra Shakti. There is a belief Mother Sri Sulini Durga and Mother Manonmanidevi, worshiped together with Chandra during Rahukaala daily, reap enormous benefits.

    Eka Jata is she who provides ‘kaivalya’ or unity with the Absolute; Ugra Tara is she who provides relief from unforeseen severe miseries and Nila Saraswathi is she who imparts jnana to her devotees.

    In Sadhanamala, capturing a Naga Kanya is the exclusive territory of White Kurukulla 180. In her case, it is mixed with the mantra of Seven Syllable deity. Vajra Tara 93, 94, and 110 attract Kanyas generally.



    After this in Guhyasamaja, the chapter is almost complete:

    Sixteenth, Bhagavan enters the Sky or Gagana Samaya Sambhava Vajra. This emanates the Dharma Samaya, Bhrkuti. Mantricly, she is Trasani and Sveta. This makes Daughters or Kanyas of the Vidyadharas contemplate wisdom or Jnana Vajra. Then you capture one with swaying gold earrings (Calat Kanaka Kundala). They are captured by the king of suppression (Nirodha).

    There are instructions on wrathful rites, and then another sequence based in Vajrakilaya. Overall these Kilas "transfix the whole vajra realm of space", Kha Dhatu Vajra Paryanta.


    So there was the discovery and acquisition of three classes of yoginis, followed by Naga Kanya and Kanya Kumari. Again, in the STTS and Sarvadurgati, there appears potentially to be the name of Kumara = Vajrasattva Family and Naga = Vajradhara Family. That is one of the closest things to seven families in this literature. Here, Ekajata and Bhrkuti are in peculiar places, they are not normally "Guhyasamaja deities". There is not any wiggle room whatsoever, Ekajata only has one word or name in her mantra, Sulini. Why, exactly, this has been missed by reviewers is numbing. It is that Durga from an area of the trans-Himalaya where the Pandavas hid in a cave for twelve years.

    In symbolism, she appears in a fierce form, and also benign. She thereby leads to Sanmukhi Kamakhya Devi or Kubjika. Kamakhya is mentioned in the Kalika Purana as the most important goddess of Tantric worship, and is referred to in the text as Mahamaya, the "great goddess of illusion", who takes on many forms depending on her mood. This leads to the subject of Four Major Pithas, which are common to Hindu and Buddhist tantras. Like (Bimala, Pada Khanda) inside the Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha, (Tara Tarini) Sthana Khanda (Breasts), near Brahmapur, Odisha, (Kamakhya, Yoni khanda) in Guwahati, Assam and (Dakshina Kali, Mukha khanda) in Kalighat Kolkata. In the song above, she engages the one Buddhist law about Dukkha, and these tantras also support Compassion and Bliss.

    Vindhyavasini Durga who is "possibly Sulini" can be traced in written form to at least 600 B. C. E.; Candi and Buddhist Tara are then said to be "of similar origin", Kiratic.


    Hindu Ugra Tara owes her notorious lesson to Vasistha experiencing the Atharva Veda mode of worship.

    There is an Ashram dedicated to Vashishtha in Guwahati, India. This Ashram is situated close to Assam-Meghalaya border to the south of Guwahati city and is a major tourist attraction of Guwahati. Vashishtha's Temple is situated in Vashisht village, Himachal Pradesh. This temple was founded by Vasistha, Guru of Rama and Lakshman. It is not far from Solani.


    Yet even more symbolicly, he is the husband of Arundhati--Tara:

    Arundhati is the wife of the great sage Vasishta and the eighth of the nine daughters of sage Kardama (a wish-born son of Lord Brahma) and Devahuti. She was also called Akshamala.

    She is the ideal wife, living in perfect harmony with her husband, and the embodiment of all the virtues that a married woman should possess. Indeed, as part of the south indian (Hindu) marriage ritual, the newly wed bride is shown the star pair Arundhati-Vasishta, in the constellation Ursa Major, as an example of how she ought to conduct herself hence. This constellation is commonly referred to as the Big Dipper or the Great Bear. In India, we call it the Sapta Rishi Constellation.

    It is said that Arundhatī (the star Alcor) is not seen by persons whose end has approached.

    The Mahabharata describes Arundhati as an ascetic who used to give discourses to even the seven sages. She is also the morning star, Venus. The name Arundhati, literally in Sanskrit means "washed from the rays of the sun".

    The daughter of Kerdama and wife of Vasisht'Ha, one of the seven Rishis; she is also one of the Pleiades.

    It is the origin of Cosmic Maya.

    In Indian astrology the Pleiades were known as the nakshatra Kṛttikā which in Sanskrit is translated as "the cutters". The Pleiades are called the star of fire, and their ruling deity is the fire god Agni. Karthigai (கார்த்திகை) in Tamil refers to the six wives of the six rishi (sages), the seventh being Arundhati the wife of Vasistha which relates to the star Alcor in Ursa Major. The six stars in the Pleiades correspond to six wives, while the faithful wife Arundhati stuck with Sage Vasistha in Ursa Major. The six wives fell in love with Agni, hence the name Pleiades (star of fire).

    The "wives" themselves did not have anything to do with it:

    Lord Karthikeya [Skanda--Mars] was born to Agni and Svaha, who impersonated the six stars of the Pleiades constellation or Karthika. Hence the name Karthikeya. While Arundhati remained devoted to Vasishta, the other six Rishies divorced their wives. Karthikeya was brought up by the Six Sisters, which became Karthika, while Alcor ( Arundhati ) remained close to Vasishta ( Mizar ).


    It started when:

    Agni, emerged from the flames of an offering performed by the seven Rishis and fell in love with the seven Krttika. Trying to forget his hopeless love for the Krttika, Agni wandered in the forest where he met Svaha. To conquer Agni’s love, Svaha disguised herself as six of the seven Krttika. Svaha could mimic only six of the Krttika because the seventh sister Arundhati was too devoted to her husband to be imitated.

    After a while, Svaha gave birth to a child that she named Skanda. With his birth, rumors began to spread that six of the Rishis’ wives were his mother. Six of the Rishis divorced their wives. Arundhati was the only one that remained with her husband as the star Alcor. The other six Krttika went away to become the Pleiades.

    A bit more detail is here where he sees them bathing.

    or:

    The Pleiades and the Great Bear existed in the same sky. The seven rishis and their seven wives. The God of Fire, Agni fell in love with Krithika but knew that nothing could be done as they were all married. So, in order to quell his love, he wandered off into the forest. Another woman named Swaha was in love with Agni. That’s why we say “Swaha” when offering things to the fire (Agni) during rituals. Swaha is the star at the tip of Taurus, Zeta Tauri. To claim her love with Agni, she disguised herself as Krithika and made Agni fall in love with them again. Under this act of infidelity to their husbands, all the women forming part of the Pleiades except one, Arundhati, were separated from their husbands.


    Arundhati is resistant to Doubt, like Sita. Agni was easily seduced by six of Svaha's disguises.

    To us in the material world, the process is again doubled, mirrored, or reversed by the Ganges or astral plane re-emanating the six Agni seeds.


    Vasistha is a mixed bag of Ugra Tara and Arundhati.

    He is a bit...timeless, because mostly symbolic. In the medieval era, Matsyendranath is considered Avalokiteshvara who emigrated from Assam to Nepal and brought rain, which had been blocked by his disciple Gorkanath. It is possible the original Kamakhya was a pre-Kirat Khasi goddess. Matsyendranath was considered to have been initiated by yoginis there. Because he was relatively late, 10th century, there was already a Vajrayana Buddhist establishment in Kamarupa.

    In some local traditions, Tara humbled Vasistha near Kamakhya, and suggests that Ekajata there is closely related to the tantric Buddhist schools. In Buddhism, Ekajati is thought of as a "foreign influence", and the foreign influence thinks she is due to Buddhism. They then proceed to extract their singular copy of Akshobhya Tantra based on Ugra Tara.


    In another local response which also accepts Red Ekajata as sexual energy:

    This is the basic theory of ekajata, she is the goddess of the uncontrolable

    energy which is extremely volatile.

    Tara is the patron goddess of begali mystics, the only tara that has strong

    buddhist link is mechandari tara which basically still has links with assamese

    tantra. She is known as purna pishachini or the complete vampiress if translated

    loosely.


    Their Tara forms are regognized by having Kartari (Scissors) rather than Kartri (Chopper).

    Kalika purana describes a Shakti peetha called Dikkara vasini [cf. Vishnu Purana]. Dikkara vasini has two forms, Tikshna kantha and Lalitha kantha. Tikshna kantha is black and pot bellied, also called as Ugra Tara or Eka jata. Lalitha kantha is gracefully attractive, also called as Tamreshwari. Yogini Tantra describes her area as a river bordering Arunchal.

    Ugra Tara is considered being at the Navel Pitha, a pool of water; Kamakhya Devi is nearby at the Yoni Pitha, which menstruates.

    From a more syncretic view on Ekajati:

    Those who are lazy in her practice, She smites them hard to wake up the untimely slumberer, for those who approach Her with their egos She punctures them by orchestrating terrible events until they realize the dharmakaya or body of Dharma which is experientially similar to the condition of non-duality. In Her right hand, She is sometimes shown holding a blood-dripping fresh heart in her palms, ripped out from those who break their vows of dharma. She is terrifying but She is also one of the fastest deities to confer true adhyatma onto a steadfast seeker.


    That has its Hindu significances, and, in Prajnaparamita Sutra, it is Emptiness of Internal Dharmas or the Six Senses:

    ṣaḍ adhyātmāyatana

    The eye is empty (śūnya): in it there is no ‘me’ (ātman) or ‘mine’ (ātmīya), and there is no dharma ‘eye’.

    Because it is Empty, it is not different from all other phenomena which are also Empty. No "self" makes a border differentiating the two.


    If Guhyasamaja is relatively early, ca. eighth century, and already carries the understanding of Ekajati as would make perfect sense related to Sulini, who has some of the oldest records of any kind, this is probably older than anything relating her to Assam. Ekajati is already a Raksasi, and she is in Mahamayuri Dharani, and in Mahavyutpatti with Tara.

    With Mayuri, Pisacis and Raksasis are enumerated in groups of eight to twelve until:

    Ananda, there is this great pisaca whose name is Ekajata who lives along the shoreline, smelling the scent of blood, and is able to travel eighty thousand yojanas [approximately 640,000 miles] within one night. This great raksasi often guards and protects a bodhisattva throughout the period of him being in the womb, during birth, and upon birth.

    May this being who vow by this [invocation] dharani of Mahamayuri Vidyarajni, protect me [your name] and my loved ones, and ensure our longevity of a hundred years as I intone this mantra.

    Her epithets include Matta Manditika and Svasti. However hers is the finale, the ninth use of the same mantra on the Pisaci class. After this are seventy-three names including Manditika, which has a meaning similar to Ornament.

    These seventy-three raksasis have great spiritual power, and radiate great radiance, whose forms and countenance are flawless, and are well known everywhere. During the battles between the heavenly beings and asuras, they displayed awesome might.

    That phrase is installed many times, into which is slipped a warning:

    They often feast on the flesh and blood of children, slip into the homes of newborns, and enter empty houses, traveling via light. They call upon the names of the individual, and drain the vitality off of humans. These horrendous beings, absent of compassion, are feared among men.


    The first group includes Hariti, Kali, and Karali, one of the Seven Tongues of Agni. Most of the others are not particularly discernable until the last wave prior to Ekajati:

    Brahmi / Raudri / Kaumari / Vaisnavi / Aindri / Varahi / Kauveri / Varuni / Yamya / Vayuvya / Agneyi / Mahakali

    It looks like a form of Eight Mothers Circle oddly ending on Varuni, followed by four gatekeepers similar to the Yamadhuti or Death's Messenger, etc., of samadhi, ending on the Wrathful form of Mahalakshmi.

    And then after the seventy-three Raksasis is a large Maitreya-extolling dharani with others such as Janguli, which finishes with a section reminiscent of the sixth principle:

    matangiye svaha / naga-hrdayaya svaha / garuda-hrdayaya svaha / manasiye svaha / maha-manasiye svaha /

    sadaksariye svaha / mani-bhadraya svaha / samanta-bhadraya svaha / maha-samantabhadraya svaha / maha-samayaya svaha / maha-pratisaraya svaha / sitavanaya svaha / maha-sitavanaya svaha / maha-dandadharaya svaha / mucilindaya svaha / jayantiye svaha / santiye svaha / asvakridaya svaha / maha-mayurya- vidyarajaya svaha.


    It looks to me like Ekajati in Guhyasamaja is the tip of an iceberg stealthily concealed. Mahamayuri pre-dates it by centuries, and it is not at all hard to see Ekajati as perhaps the center of those twelve deities. The long dharani employs Gauri goddesses that directly become tantric Generation Stage. It has the divisions of Janguli, as Matangi and Manasa, followed by a strand of synonyms starting with the simple teacher of Six Families, Sadaksari. It adds a few of what will be the Pancha Raksa although it is not sure this group is known yet. And of course Mayuri is among them, but, this is over thirty pages from her individually. The word "ugra" is nowhere in it; neither is the name Tara. Marici is a Raksasi. As an overlord of Yaksas,

    The great sage Vajrapani though lives in Rajagrha
    Often dwells in Mount Grdhrakuta.
    The deity Garuda resides in the Vipula mountain.

    Vajradhara is a Raksasi, and the main use of vajra is against poison. Vipula is also home of Vipula Durga, which becomes controlled by Buddhist Pratisara and why she is Vipula Siddhi. And Garuda also resides there, near Rajagrha.

    The way you make offerings at the beginning starts with:

    kali / karali / kumbhanti / samkhini / kamalaksi /

    which is immediately recognizable in general Indic Durga Puja:

    The Divine Power is
    addressed as Amba in Kashmir and Bhavani in
    Rajastan. While Gujarat calls her Kalyani, Mithila
    invokes her as Uma, Meenakshi, Kamalakshi,
    Chamundi, Saraswati, Durga, Bhagavati-are the
    other common nomenclatures attributed to the
    cosmic mother.


    or Kama Koti song:

    kamalESa sOdari kamalAkshi nArAyaNi
    nAda bindu kalA svarUpiNi kAtyAyani

    Meaning Lotus Eyes, that is not something you expect shortly following Kali, and I am not quite sure what a female Kumbhanda would look like:

    Kumbhāṇḍa was a dialectal form for "gourd", so they may get their name from being thought to resemble gourds in some way, e.g. in having big stomachs. But kumbhāṇḍa can also be interpreted as "pot-egg"; since "egg" (aṇḍa) was a common euphemism for "testicle", the kumbhāṇḍas were imagined having testicles "as big as pots".

    Sankhini is then more likely a complement, followed by another one.

    In a list including several Nepalese Pithas, Kamalakshi is in Salyan, southwest Nepal, where Sati's left backbone fell. There is not a corresponding "right" one.

    From another list, there is also Kamalakshi temple in Nepalgunj, Nepal, near Pashupatinath temple at Guhyeshwari temple Shakti or Sati Astadasha Shakti peeta.

    Name of a mother in the retinue of Skanda, [Mahābhārata].

    There is a Gauri 108 Names beginning with Manonmani, including Kamakshi, Kamalakshi, and Meenakshi. These are often grouped with Visalakshi, which is Annapurna of Varanasi. As a mnemonic, Madurai Meenakshi, Kanchi Kamakshi, Kasi Visalakshi, Arur Kamalakshi and Nagai Neelayadakshi from another album.

    So there are a few "big beautiful eyes" epithets which would not normally match "fang face" and other common attributes of Ekajati and Raksasi.


    Bhattacharya completely omitted White Ekajata, who appears to have one upswept braid, Naga Kings as ornaments, and is the very extreme:

    atyantabhīmarūpāṃ

    She is also Nabhimargena and Cintamani Kalpa (shared with Sadaksari).

    Nabhi--Navel and

    mārgeṇa—by following that path. Margena "by means of the path" is more prevalent than Marga "Path" in Buddhism.

    In Sadhanamala, it appears specifically and sparingly.

    Vasyadikhara Lokeshvara 38:

    svavajramārgeṇa


    Ekajati 123:

    praveśya kuliśamārgeṇa


    Tarodbhava Kurukulla 172:

    samayamudrayā sukhamārgeṇa


    Svadisthana Kurukulla 183:

    avadhūtīmārgena


    and Mayajala Kurukulla 181 in a complex way related to Amrita.


    Ekajati is synonymous to Samantabhadri, "Emptiness and Dharmadhatu". She may also be Red or Dark Maroon, mainly in Nyingmaas leader of Mamos and protector of mantra. In Sadhanamala, White Ekajati is followed by Cunda, which may explain the latter's presence in the large thangka. Gudrun Buhnemann states that Nagarjuna's Ekajata 127 begins with a white form, but, the sadhana does not seem to say this. It just says do a two arm Ekajati sadhana where she has a chopper and skullcup, whereas 128 has Rosary and Blue Lotus.


    The authorities seem to have fumbled White Ekajati, and no one has noticed the elephant in the room of her with Mayuri, which means she may not be in the Vedas or Puranas, but was known to Indian Buddhists at a quite early period in about the same way that she is much later. It lacks an ostensible "Mahacina" expression, until we unpack the meaning of Savari, which is included with Mayuri. Savaris are like Kinnaris and Lamas, "the best consort". Ekajati is not, personally, but has something to do with nurturing and protecting the practice.


    According to Iconography:

    Mahamayuri very frequently appears in a triad with Sitatara and Marici. In another triad she appears with Janguli and Ekajata. As Queen of the Magic Art, she is shown three-faced and sixhanded or eight-handed. In Nepal she is looked upon as chief of the Five Protectresses (Pancharakshas).


    A catalog called Asa Saphu includes:

    3225 pratyangira mahavidyarajni 3226 mahapratyangira nama dharani 3227 ekajata dharani 3228 ekajata dharani

    And in a Vietnamese catalog:

    Buddha Vacana Arya Ekajata Dharani Sutra


    and so there was probably enough about her to export her across the orient before Guhyasamaja was composed. Even if not, she has an equal footing with other dharani goddesses having their own Sutras. But most of them cannot claim to be the Big Raksasi in someone else's Sutra which is possibly the oldest surviving thing of its kind.

    If India is usually disowning of her, perhaps she is Lankan:

    Ekajaṭā (एकजटा).—A demoness of the castle of Rāvaṇa. This demoness talked very enticingly to coax Sītā to surrender herself to Rāvaṇa. (Sarga 23, Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa).

    Lanka would more resemble "along the shoreline" as Buddha said, than Tibet. If she is equal to someone of another area, this looks to have more to do with Sulini and Hrim syllable.


    Mayuri lacks the technical identifications of deities to Skandhas, etc., but this possibility was already in the background.

    There is an ancient, from at least ca. year 150 Samadhi Raja Sutra, also called Arya Samadhiraja Bhattarika.

    The Assembly begins with Meru, includes Dundubisvara and Ratnasambhava, Dharma Vyuha, and Vyuha Raja.


    A young man named Candraprabha asks questions, including one that is not exactly a question:

    One who is free from intoxication, passion, hatred and delusion,
    whose defects have all been extinguished, he follows the practice
    and thinks of his body as the empty sky. Indeed, all dharmas are
    by nature luminous


    Buddha's explanation begins with a motto of Vajra Family:

    There is no aversion in his mind. The bodhisattva whose mind is
    without aversion produces no harshness or ill will, and obtains
    these qualities as they have been described.

    Rather than a hundred samadhis like in Guhyasamaja, he says around a hundred things about this single samadhi, including the main tantric components:

    "It is thorough knowledge of the aggregates (skandha), the sameness
    of the bases of consciousness (dhatu) and withdrawal from the sense
    fields (ayatana).


    This does have an ancient Gilgit Manuscript, but, even older, from Nepal. In Nepal, the Guhyasamaja is considered a Sutra along with Golden Light, etc.

    Because Prajnaparamita contains a humongous amount of categories of lists having sometimes twenty or more members, anyone sitting around memorizing that stuff would creep along. When you focus the group above with a few other things, that is tantra. Since we presume all details are not written, there probably was a commentarial tradition that went along with Mayuri and MMK which could have easily assigned the Buddhas as Skandhas and so forth, prior to it appearing in any written classification.

    This is like other deities called Kriya because they lack the teaching which makes Yoga operate, but, many of them have it on other forms, and any of them might respond to it. Just because it is not taught as "a mandala" does not mean you cannot visualize Ekajati with Twelve Mothers if that appears to be a poignant moment in the Sutra. Ekajati is with basic Taras such as Khadira, who is not necessarily on Potalaka because:

    She appeared to Nagarjuna while he was meditating at a khadira (acacia) forest in the south of India. "Reting deity" because of its association with this location, just as a particular emanation of the goddess in India came to be known as Khadiravani Tara, because her shrine was in a grove of Khadira trees.


    Ekajati with Khadira sounds like she is holding a tiger skin towards the sky (digbhaga, only use of this word), when with Varada Tara or Mahasri, she has a chopper and skullcup. Ekajati is always present, and then Mayuri joins, outside of her regular group. Six Yogas Karma Family Tara suddenly looks a lot closer to Mayuri in her own Sutra. She starts with Marici and Ekajati, and adds Janguli and Mayuri. Mantricly, Mahasri appears to be telling you to accomplish Dhanada Krama; she does two Vyasthana or "definition" mudras similar to Dharmacakra, and thereby resembles a green two arm Prajnaparamita, except there should be a Gold Lion or Lion Throne. She is decked in a variety of flowers like the Asoka, Campaka, Nagesvara and Parijataka. Suryagupta gives two of these as equivalent to Tara Nine:

    Tārā Khadira-vaṇī or Tārā Vara-dā

    In Tibet, Khadira is usually mixed in with Amitabha, which is not the same. This is Six Yogas Tara whose sire is Amoghasiddhi. Tara is not increasing in arms, but companions. Dhanada, who does have four arms, is Entry to the Mandala, which uses a generic retinue. The direct flow is unaccompanied Mahattari or Sadanga Tara, Khadira who is a visionary stage similar to Illusory Body, and then Varada, or, moreover, Mahasri is Akanistha. All of the retinue members have plenty of other uses where they do grow in forms. But the main basic green Tara does not change much.


    In the link with Samadhi Raja Sutra, it is followed by an article about Santaraksita's Yogacara Madhyamaka, who somewhat follows:

    Similar Ideas Shared by Jnanagarbha, Kamalasila and Haribhadra


    and it is mainly this which Ratnakarasanti gave a few polishing touches and called it Nirakara. While there are sects, there has always been a kind of "neither and both" sect, which is making a few small adjustments to what could be broadly classed as differing views of Yogacara and Madhyamaka, and then combining them.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Vajrapani's Six Yogas, Vajra Surya and Vajramrita, Buddhakapala, and Karma Family Tara



    Rotation of Yoginis is really a perpetual clock starting on the Winter Solstice. It is explained in Vajrapani's Laghutantratika. This is an extensive twenty-one chapter work which gives a version of the Chakrasamvara Pitha system. It is from the view of Completion Stage using Six Chakras, and it is also using the Four Dakinis in a clockwise manner which is very unusual. So there are a few notes on Pithas and some other things and then we will copy the Six Yogas chapter in its entirety. Since there is no translation, of all things, this is one worth slowly dissecting over time.


    You are supposed to master the Yoga, do a Homa, and then practice the rotations continuously like a calendar for forty-five days. Vajrapani strongly suggests this, although it is not needed in Generation Stage.


    Among different classifications of major pithas, Purnagiri Pitha is actually used in Vajrapani's Laghutantratika which is a primal text of the Kalachakra school as for instance Vimalaprabha quotes from it. And this book manages to quote from Dakini Jala Rahasya. It says that "dakinicakrasamvara" is the only translation of samvara = excellent bliss = demchog, which is the Tibetan name for Heruka in Jewel Family (and Vajrapani's samadhi in this case). Otherwise Samvara is sdom pa meaning union of upaya and prajna.

    It is approximately equal to Naro's Sekkodesa by commenting the "known" Chakrasamvara into the "new" Kalachakra. Claudio says:

    Laghutantratìkà appears to be the most ancient Kàlacakra text, preceded only by the Adibuddhatantra of which only fragments survive, the longest being the Sekoddesa.

    According to tradition, the Àdibuddhatantra was revealed to Sucandra, the king of Sambhala, by Buddha himself, in Dhànyakataka, near Amaravati.

    It is not "this subject", but, when the Kalachakra mandala was displayed on the floor, the Dharmadhatu Vagisvara Manjughosha mandala was projected onto the ceiling of the stupa's dome.

    Only the section devoted to initiation {sekoddesa) arrived in India and then in Tibet.

    Rather than a 100,00 verse root tantra, he thinks of Kalachakra:

    ...the text seems to have originally consisted of ancient nuclei, like the Sekoddesa, which were acknowledged and quoted by various yogins, who subsequently decided to adhere and contribute to the doctrines that were expressed in those nuclei elaborating other sections of the text...

    The Contents and Introduction are English, and cannot narrow down a historical Vajrapani, this author, thought to be ca. 950-1,000.


    This text has mainly been preserved in Nepal having an interesting tabulations of the three nerves above and below the navel chakra where they join:

    Kaya Upaya Candra upper left; Citta Sunyata Rahu upper Avadhut; Vach Prajna Surya upper right.

    Mutra Vach lower left; Vis Kaya lower Avadhut; Sukra Citta lower right.



    It refers to Vistara as being part of Hevajra.

    Vajrapani is commenting Chakrasamvara into Kalachakra; he begins with the Four Jnana Cakra Dakinis and the Pithas and so on, and folds it into a Six Chakra system. He discusses the movement of yoginis in the Ganacakra, and is viewed as the pre-eminent spokesman of Sadanga Yoga.



    What is unusual is that Worship of Dutikas is a commentary on Chakrasamvara 6D. But here and in other places it looks like he (Vajrapani) is re-branding Chakrasamvara with some of the unique details of Kalachakra.

    He describes the Four Dakinis as the Family of Vajravarahi, and then casts them in normal clockwise order but switches their positions so it goes to Lama in the South and ends on Rupini in the North. I do not think it is like that in any Chakrasamvara literature.

    Also, he changed Dakini, who is in Vajra Family, to Vajradakini. This is how it is in Mahamaya Tantra. It is a difficult name, because it also means a class, and an individual who might not be in Vajra Family.

    He calls the Four Dakinis Bhoghinyas of cittavakjnanakaya vaktra bhedena. This means a concubine, a naga, or:

    Bhoginī (भोगिनी).—A Rahasya Yoginī Devī.*

    * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 19. 48.



    What seems important to the book is the theme of Eight Spoked Wheel, for which the eightfold Citta Vak Kaya circles are clearly intended to be practiced with the Eight Cemeteries.

    Then what I notice in the Pithas is that for instance Candaksi is Purnima, and the Mahanasa and others are Purnamas. They are almost the same, except Candaksi is the time period and the male is the act:

    [masculine] the same, full-moon sacrifice; [feminine] the day or night of full moon.


    He then has a section on Thirty-six Kuladutikas although there are thirty-seven kulas probably because:

    vajravarahi kulika...akulina dombini

    Then the Four Dakinis are Four Castes, and, all of the minor dakinis get a similar "personality trait", such as svanasya matangi, yamadamstrini pukkasi, and mahavirya ganika.

    In this case, Syamadevi is a Napiti or of the Barber Caste or Family.

    Fierce Matangi has been channeled into Dog Face, whereas, whether Barber should convert to Raja Matangi (Syama), might be a little difficult to justify.


    They are then given mounts or animal affiliations, such as Lama Asvi. This meditation is evidently the Samaya to them.

    They are then given Khecara Rupa which appear to be Bird affiliations, such as Rupini Kokila and Khandaroha Kokilaksi. This appears to increase the Samaya to Cemeteries, Amrita, and Samapatti.

    They are then given Places, such as Vajravarahi Private, Vajradakini is Atma Pitha of the Heart, Lama is Para Pitha of the Throat, Khandaroha is Mantra Pitha of the Navel, Rupini is Tattva Pitha of the Head, and Heruka is Sarva Pitha of Jnana Cakra. This obviously changes the Four Pithas from Chakrasamvara where Tara is in the crown.

    The Cemeteries are directly attached to this, they are Patala which seems to have Agni and Vayu at the center of the wheel.

    It recurs again under the designation of what looks like the special teaching of this book:


    Bogha, Laya, Adhikara, and Prabhutvam.

    Then comes shuffling and movement, such as Rupini has her peculiar sequence when leading things, and so on. This is very long and I am not sure what it may say about how or why this is happening. The different retinue rings are on different timers, some changing hourly, or every six hours, or daily, or in three days, using all sixty-two Chakrasamvara deities. It appears to take over a month for the whole thing to go round one time. We are still closer to the basic questions like what does it mean for Sparsha Vajra to go to the middle and then to change her in any way.


    Then there is "Development of Location" which begins with Inverted Stupa. Then you are doing Four Face Heruka and Varahi, and now the Four Dakinis are in the Jnana Chakra, and the sadhana has at least tracked that Khandaroha arises from Mam. Then the Cemeteries are given as a Ganacakra and the Pithas as the three cakras (Ciita Vak Kaya).

    The inner Jnanacakra where Heruka and Vajravarahi reside is evidently a change of terms and means Nirmana Cakra. It is the fulcrum between the outer and inner mandala. In most of our older commentaries, Jnana seems to be the upper, Mahasukha or Sahaja Cakra.

    Instead, it says the Kaya Cakra is the Sahaja Cakra, which is the forehead area of Pracanda, rather than the crown.

    Heruka's Four Faces make these correspondences:

    East, Mind--Citta, Dakini, Atma Pitha, Heart

    South, Speech--Vak--Sambhoga, Lama, Para Pitha, Throat

    West, Knowledge--Jnana, Khandaroha, Mantra Pitha, Navel

    North, Body--Kaya, Rupini, Tattva Ptha, Lalata/forehead


    Claudio notes these are a bit different than in Chatur Pitha Tantra (i. e., Jnanadakini).

    The rest of Vajrapani's text after the big rotations is a bit more familiar.

    X. Pills of Secret Elements is less a bunch of recipes and more Pancamrita.

    It is a Bali Offering which uses Heruka to attract dakinis. After a seemingly standard way of doing so, there is an exclusive use of Vajravairocani--quoted here along with what he says about her:

    oṁ vajravairocanīye svāhā| ity anena mantreṇa raksāṁ
    kṛtvā svagṛham āgatya catuḥsaṁdhyāsu caturvaktramantraṁ japed dvāda-
    śyām| aṣṭapadikaṁ trayodaśyām| caturviṁśatipadikaṁ caturda-
    śyāṁ ca| tato 'māvāsyāyāṁ sūryagrahaṇe uddhṛtya naravasayā
    mudgapramāṇāḥ gulikāḥ kuryāt| tayā gulikayā khānapānādi-
    kaṁ kuṇḍagolakobhavena sārdhaṁ prokṣitaṁ viśuddhaṁ bhavati|
    mukhe prakṣiptayā mukhaviśuddhir bhavati| gaṇacakre bhāvanākāle'pi
    sarvarakṣā bhavati| iti gulikāvidhiniyamaḥ||



    XII. Practice of Mantras continues to be based from Gahvara cemetery.

    It uses six, seven, and eight syllable Heruka mantras and then invokes Vajravairocani as the ten syllable mantra. Then there is Armor. It is a form of Homa and then you get Purification of the Four Faces.

    This goes back to Vajradakini and refers to Gahvara and Lama and the other dakinis, who are now apparently esoteric forms called Vajralama and so on.

    Then there is Purification of the Eight Doors, the cemetery yoginis, and then Purification of the Twenty-four Secondary Members. This gives personal mantras to each dakini, such as Candaksi is associated with Gahvara.



    XIV. Meditation on Love-Perfection and the Initiations concerns Mahamudra. It goes into Kamarupa and Kamasiddhi, Prajnaparamita, Karma Mudra and so on. It goes to Hevajra and Mayajala. It is a long section which gives Skullcup Initiation to Adi Buddha and others, and picks up Nairatma as purification of the skandhas.


    some snippets from Love-Perfection and the Initiations:

    tenāntargatena manasā
    'cyutabodhicittena karmamudrāprasaṅge jñānamudrāprasaṅge vā
    traidhātukalakṣaṇaṁ buddhabimbaṁ bhāvayed iti| traidhātukaṁ
    kāmarūpārūpalakṣaṇaṁ sthiracalabhāvasvabhāvā-
    tmakaṁ sarvākāravaropetaṁ bhāvayed aśeṣato yogīti| tad eva
    prajñāpāramitā sarvākāravaropetā sā cāsmin tantre kāmasiddhir ity uktā
    bhagavatā prajñātantratvād iti| tāṁ kāmasiddhiṁ bhāvayed yogī
    | iha kāmo mahārāgo vajrasattvo mahārthaḥ paramākṣaraḥ| siddhir

    (74)

    mahāmudrā prajñāpāramitā sarvākāravaropetā iti| athavā kāmo
    nirālambā mahākaruṇā siddhir sālambā mahāśūnyateti yogināṁ
    svasaṁvedyatvād iti| karmamudrājñānamudrāsiddhyor uttarā siddhiḥ
    | tāṁ mahāmudrāṁ kāmasiddhiṁ sarvajñatāṁ sarvākārajñatāṁ
    mārgajñatāṁ mārgākārajñatāṁ daśabalacaturvaiśāradyādibuddhagu-
    ṇadāyakīṁ bhāvayed buddhatvāya| iti tatrāntareṣu tathāgatani-
    yamaḥ| tatraṁ tantrāntareṇa boddhavyam iti tathāgatavacanāt| asyaiva
    bhāvanā dvidhā| pūrvabimbabhāvanā paścādbimbabhāvanā|
    pūrvabimbabhāvanā dhūmādinimittabhāvanā bimbaparyantam|

    So it indicates Vajrasattva experiencing Karma and Jnana Mudras, and there at the end you see Dhumadi (Smoke and others) Nimitta (Signs), which means it is going to teach the Dissolutions, which it does in Sadanga Yoga.



    tena paramādibuddhe bhagavān āha-
    kāmāvacarāṁ siddhiṁ sādhayet karmamudrayā| akaniṣṭhabhuvanapa-
    ryantaṁ rūpākhyāṁ jñānamudrayā||

    Akanistha principle appears tied to Jnanamudra.

    narā vajradharākārā yoṣito vajrayoṣitaḥ||

    A person becomes Vajradhara with the Vajra Ladies.




    XVIII. Sadanga Yoga

    goes on for very many pages (84-90).


    The Six Yogas chapter is a commentary on Chakrasamvara 9 & 10.

    Samputa Tantra says Six Yogas is the practice of "Guhyasamaja and the other tantras", and so Vajrapani must be commenting the way Guhyasamaja and Chakrasamvara practices have been Accomplished. And so he summarizes what he knows and it is this upon which Kalachakra is founded.

    Towards the end of the previous chapter, The Means to Attain Buddhahood, Vajra Muttering leads to Dharana or Retention of Prana, which produces Bliss like a fuel for Samadhi:

    ato dhyānapūrvaḥ pratyāhāro veditavyaḥ| mantrajāpapūrvaḥ prā-
    ṇāyāmo veditavyaḥ| atra mantrajāpaśabdena napuṁsakajāpo vajra-
    jāpo vā prāṇadhāraṇā ucyate| sukhapūrvānusmṛtir veditavyā| atra su-
    khaśabdena samādhir ucyate|


    Laukika Bala Yoga is the Fruit of Muttering, Withdrawal, and a noteworthy appearance of Samjna in a hyper form similar to Samjna Samjnin, followed by a Wheel with Consorts (Mudras):

    ādi-karmikāṇāṁ bālayogināṁ laukikaṁ phalaṁ mantrajāpena pratyāhāra-
    saṁjñijnā| dhyānena maṇḍalacakrādivikalpabhāvanācittena sukhena
    ca karmamudrājñānamudrākṣaraspandasukhena|





    Ch. XVIII p. 84

    Pratyahara:

    iha pratyāhāro nāma bāhyarūpādiviṣayeṣv apravṛttiś
    kṣurādīndriyaiś cakṣurvijñānādīnām| adhyātmani viṣayeṣu pravṛttir
    vyacakṣurādīndriyair divyacakṣurvijñānādīnām iti| adhyātmani śūnyatā-
    mbhanenāakalpitaṁ sarvabhāvadarśanaṁ śūnye pratisenādarśe
    mārikāyā iveti pratyāhārāṅgam ucyate traidhātukabuddhabimba-
    rśanād iti|


    Dhyana:

    tato dhyānaṁ nāma śūnyeṣu sarvadharmeṣu dṛṣṭeṣu satsu|
    ajñā nāma teṣu cittapravṛttiḥ| vitarko nāma bhāvagrahaṇaṁ citta
    sya| vicāro nāmo bhāvagrahaṇapratipattiḥ| ratir nāma sarvabhāveṣu
    tāropaṇam acalasukhaṁ nāma sarvabhāvebhyaḥ sukhasaṁpattiḥ| evaṁ
    ñcadhā dhyānāṅgam ucyate|


    Pranayama:

    tataḥ prāṇāyāmo nāma lalanārasanā-
    madakṣiṇamārganirodhaḥ| avadhūtīmadhyamārge prāṇavāyoḥ sadā
    avṛttir iti| pūrakakumbhakare cakayogenāvadhūtyām
    _kāreṇa śvāsaṁ| hūṁkāreṇa nirodham| āḥkāreṇa niḥśvāsam|
    candrarāhusūryasvabhāvena kurute yogīti prāṇāyāmāṅgam ucyate|


    Dharana:

    tato dhāraṇā nāma prāṇasya māhendravāruṇāgnivāyumaṇḍale nābhau
    hṛdi kaṇṭhe lalāṭe praveśo bāhye 'nirgamaḥ| bindau prāṇaniveśanam iti
    dhāraṇāṅgam ucyate|


    Smrti:

    tato 'nusmṛtir nāma sveṣṭadevatādarśanaṁ
    pratibimbākāraṁ vikalparahitam| tasmād anekaraśmisphuradrūpaṁ pra-
    bhāmaṇḍalam| tato 'nekākāraṁ sphuradrūpaṁ traidhātukaspharaṇam
    ity anusmṛtyaṅgam ucyate|


    Samadhi:

    tataḥ samādhir nāmeṣṭadevatānu-
    rāgād yadakṣarasukhaprāptis tasyām ekīkaraṇaṁ cittasya| grāhya-
    grāhakarahitaṁ cittaṁ samādhyaṅgam ucyate tathāgataiḥ| iha ṣaḍaṅ-
    gayogo 'tra saṁkṣepeṇokto| vistar<at>o lakṣābhidhāne paramādibuddhe
    vā sadgurūpadeśenāvagantavyo yoginā mahāmudrāsiddhaya
    iti|

    iha ṣaḍaṅgasya punar ādimārgabhāvanopadeśas tantrān-
    tareṣūkhaḥ| iha śrīsamājottare sevopasādhanaṁ sādhanaṁ mahāsā
    dhanaṁ ceti| tad eva bhagavān āha-

    sevākāle mahoṣṇīṣaṁ bimbaṁ vibhāvya yatnataḥ|
    upasādhanakāle tu bimbaṁ cāmṛtakuṇḍalīm||
    sādhane devatābimbaṁ bhāvayed yogatatparaḥ|
    mahāsādhanakāle tu bimbaṁ buddhādhipaṁ vibhum|| iti|


    So this is a Seva or Upa Sadhana. That means the male seed, Smrti, has to arise and succeed at something to make it a full Sadhana.

    It will activate via Dharmodaya and so on:


    atra saṁdhyābhāṣāntareṇoṣṇīṣabimbaṁ buddhabimbaṁ tra-
    idhātukam aśeṣataḥ| ākāśe dharmodaye cittavajraṁ pratiṣthāpya sevākāle
    prathamakāle pratyāhāreṇa bhāvayed dhyānāṅgena sthirīkuryād ity atra
    bhagavataḥ pratijñā-

    (86)

    sarvacintāṁ parityajya dinam ekaṁ parīkṣayet|
    yadi na syāt pratyayas tatra tadā me tanmṛṣā vacaḥ|| iti|

    It mentions Smoke which is the wrathful color of Samadhi:

    atra pratyayo dhūmādikaṁ nimittaṁ nānyan mantrādikaṁ
    dinenaikena sādhyate yena pratyayo bhaviṣyati mantriṇām| ato 'stināsti-
    buddhiṁ parityajya nirāśrayāṁ kṛtvā śūnye gambhīro nirālambaḥ
    pratyayo bhavati| sa ca pratyayārtho dhūmādiko bhāvyate
    yogineti tathāgataniyamaḥ| tathā-
    karaṇair bandhasaṁyogaiḥ sādhayed bhuvanatrayam| iti|
    buddhabimbaṁ bhuvanatrayaṁ sādhayet karaṇaiś cakṣurādibhiḥ| sa evo-
    padeśo guruvaktreṇāvagantavyaḥ| tatra gurūpadeśenākāśe prathamaṁ yogī dhūmaṁ paśyati na marīcikām iti svānubhavato jñeyam|

    He gives the signs of Dissolutions beginning with Dhuma--Smoke which results in Dakini Panjara which becomes related to Maya Svapna:

    tato marīcikā
    paścāt tad eva dhūmādikaṁ kalpanārahitaṁ pratisenāvad iti|
    evaṁ prathamaṁ dhūmanimittam| dvitīyaṁ marīcikānimittam|
    tṛtīyaṁ khadyotanimittam| caturtham dīpanimittam| pañcamaṁ
    nirabhragaganasaṁnibhaṁ nimittam iti samājottare| ḍākinī-
    vajrapañjare 'pi bhagavatoktam| tadupari bhagavān āha ḍākinīvajra-
    pañjare-

    sarvajñahetukaṁ tad dhi siddhinikaṭe nivartakam|
    paścān māyopamākāraṁ svapnākāraṁ kṣaṇāt kṣaṇaṁ|| ityādi|
    ato bhagavato vacanād ādau dhūmādinimittabhāvanā-
    pratyayo bhavati| kecit siddhikāle vadiṣyanti te sarve bhagavataḥ
    pratijñābhaṅgakāriṇaḥ| sarvacintāṁ parityajya dinam ekaṁ parīkṣayet
    pratyayam iti bhagavato vacanaviheṭhakāḥ| yat siddhikāle laukikaṁ
    dhūmādikaṁ tan nimittaṁ māyāsvapnopamaṁ na bhavati| sākṣād dhū-
    majvālādidahanakriyāsāmarthyāt tathā kuñkumapuṣparatnasuvarṇā-
    divṛṣṭir api| ataḥ ṣaḍaṅgayogād dhūmādikaṁ nimittaṁ bhavatīti
    | tathā ḍākinīvajrapañjare bhagavān āha-

    (87)

    "This" is Svadisthana or Water Moon, etc.:

    ṣaḍaṅgaṁ bhāvayet tasmāt svādhiṣṭhānasamaṁ punaḥ|
    paścāt saṁlakṣayec cihnam anulomavidhikramaiḥ|| iti|


    The Void and a Fire Bindu are in a Non or Nira Bhram Akasa which constitutes Maya Jala Samadhi:

    atra svādhiṣṭhānaṁ nāma saṁvṛteḥ satyadarśanaṁ śūnye darśanaṁ
    pratyāhāreṇa| cihnaṁ nāma meghadhūmādivat pratibhāsaḥ| sa ca pra-
    thamaṁ dṛśyate pradīpaparyantam|tata ākāśaṁ nirabhraṁ
    nirmalam iti| tantreṣv aparaṁ jvālādibinduparyantaṁ ṣaḍ-
    dhā nimittaṁ māyājāle samādhipaṭale proktaṁ bhagavatā|
    tadyathā|


    The Swayambhu or Self-Arisen Prajna Jnana Anala (Blaze):

    gaganodbhavaḥ svayambhūḥ prajñājñānānalo mahān||
    vairocano mahādīptir jñānajyotir virocanaḥ|
    jagatpradīpo jñānolko mahātejāḥ prabhāsvaraḥ||
    vidyārājo 'gramantreśo mantrarājo mahārthakṛt| iti|


    By pursuing this through Rahu to Majatejah Prabhasvara which is like Lightning--Vidyut, you reach a Blue Wheel and by Conquering the Three Worlds, Pranayama Locks one into the birth of a Kama Rupa:

    gāthādvayena māyājāle 'paranimittaṁ bhagavatoktaṁ saṁdhyābhā-
    ṣāntareṇa pūrvoktān nirabhragaganād bhavati pratibhāso yaḥ sa
    gaganodbhavaḥ svayambhūḥ sarvavikalparahitacittād iti| atra prajñājñānā-
    nala iti jvālāpratibhāsaḥ| vairocano mahādīptir iti candrapratibhāsaḥ| sa
    eva jñānajyotir virocana iti| jagatpradīpa iti sūryapratibhāso jñānol-
    ka iti rāhupratibhāsaḥ| mahātejāḥ prabhāsvara iti vidyutpratibhāsaḥ| vi-
    dyārājo 'gramantreśa iti bindupratibhāso nīlavarṇacandramaṇḍalākāra
    iti| mantrarājo mahārthakṛd iti sarvākāratraidhātukabhāvapratibhāso
    māyāsvapnapratisenātulyo dṛśyate yoginā pratyāhāreṇeti
    cakṣurādīndriyakaraṇena| tatra prāṇāyāmabandhena ebhiḥ karaṇair
    bandhasaṁyogaiḥ sādhayed bhuvanatrayaṁ kāmarūpārpyalakṣaṇaṁ sthi-
    racalasvabhāvātmakam iti| tathā ḍākinīvajrapañjare bhagavān
    āha-

    (88)

    sidhyaty aśeṣaniḥśeṣaṁ traidhātuka<ṁ> carācaram|
    lokadhātuṣu sarveṣu yāvanto vajradchinaḥ|| iti|
    ṣaḍaṅgabhāvanayeti bhagavato niyamaḥ| tathā śrīsamāje bhagavān
    āha-

    abhāve bhāvanābhāvo bhāvanā naiva bhāvanā|
    iti bhāvo na bhāvaḥ syād bhāvanā nopalabhyate|| it|
    ihābhāve nirabhragagane bhāvanā pratyāhāraḥ| sa <evābhāve>
    bhāvanābhāva iti bhāvanā naiva bhāvaneti| iha pratyāhārabhavanā yā
    'bhāve nirabhragagane sā bhāvanā naiva bhāvanā bhavati| vikalpabhā-
    vanārahitatvād iti bhāvo yaḥ pratyāhāreṇa dṛṣṭaḥ sa bhāvo na bhāvaḥ syād
    akalpitātītānāgatavartamānabhāvābhāvadarśanād iti| ato vikalpabhāva
    nā nopalabhyate pratyāhārabhāvanāyām iti bhagavato vākyam|
    iyaṁ bhāvanā prajñāpāramitāyām api bhagavatoktā|


    Indra (Sakra) has apparently fused with Ayus which has to do with Subhuti and Prajnaparamita and then Kausika Yoga applies:

    tadyathā|
    atha khalu śakro devānām indra āyuṣmantaṁ subhūtim etad avo-
    cat| ya āryasubhūte 'tra prajñāpāramitāyāṁ yogam āpasyate kva sa yo-
    gam āpsyate| subhūtir āha| ākāśe sa kauśika yogam āpsyate| yaḥ
    prajñāpāramitāyāṁ yogam āpsyate| abhyavakāśe sa
    kauśika yogam <āptukāmaḥ> yaḥ prajñāpāramitāyāṁ śikṣita-
    vyaṁ mansyata iti|

    Then comes Amritakundalin:

    mahāmudrābhāvanā pratisenāmāyātulyā nirabhre gagane
    bhagavatokteti| evaṁ pratyāhāreṇa dhyānena sevāṅgam
    ucyate| tato 'mṛtakuṇḍalībimbasaṁjñayā saṁdhyābhāṣāntareṇa vāyur
    uktaḥ| sa ca pañcaprakāraḥ| tathā samājottare bhagavān āha-

    (89)

    pañcaratnamayaṁ śvāsaṁ pañcabuddhair adhiṣṭhitam|
    niścārya piṇḍarūpeṇa nāsikāgre vibhāvayet|| iti|


    He is going to take the Quintessence to the main Nerves until going into Candali Yoga:

    iha pañcaratnaśabdena rasanā pañcamaṇḍaladhar-
    miṇyaḥ pṛthivyādipañcadhātavas tanmayaṁ śvāsaṁ pañcaratnama-
    yam iti savyanāsāpuṭe| tathā pañcabuddhā lalanāpañcamaṇḍaladharmi-
    no vijñānādipañcaskandhāḥ| tair adhiṣṭhitaṁ śvāsaṁ vāmanāsāpuṭa iti
    | niścārya piṇḍarūpeṇeti| iha piṇḍaṁ savyāvasavyamaṇḍalānām
    ekatvaṁ madhyamāyām avadhūtyāṁ prāṇavāyor iti| taṁ ca prā-
    ṇavāyuṁ niścārya piṇḍarūpeṇa nāsikāgre vibhāvayet| atra nāsikā-
    śabdena nābhihṛtkaṇṭhalalāṭoṣṇīṣakamalakarṇikocyate| tasyāgre
    bhāvayen nāsikāgre bhāvayet| karṇikāt karṇikāmadhye na savyāvasa-
    vyakamaladala iti| evaṁ bindusthāne piṇḍarūpeṇa nirodhitaḥ
    prāṇaḥ| tenaiva tasya dhāraṇocyate| evam aṅgadvayenopasā-
    dhanam amṛtakuṇḍalībimbeneti| tad evopasādhanaṁ vajrajāpa ity
    ucyate| madhyamābhinnāṅgena japtavya iti| prāṇasya na vāmadakṣiṇa-
    nāḍyāṁ pracāreṇeti| uṣṇīṣabimbe dṛṣṭe sati paścāt prāṇāyā-
    maṁ kuryān mantrīti| gurūpadeśaḥ saṁdhyābhāṣāntareṇā-
    vagantavya iti prāṇāyāmadhāraṇopasādhanam ucyate| tataḥ sādhane deva-
    tābimbam iti| iha dhāraṇābalena nābhisthāṁ caṇḍalīṁ jvalitāṁ pa-
    śyati yogī sarvāvaraṇarahitāṁ pratisenopamāṁ mahāmudrām anantabud-
    dharaśmimeghān sphārayantīṁ prabhāmaṇḍalavirājitā<m sā>nusmṛti<ḥ>
    sādhanam ucyate| dhāraṇānte caṇḍalīyogaṁ bhāvayed iti
    niyamaḥ| tatas tasyā jñānārciṣā skandhadhātvāyatanādīni dagdhāny
    ekalolībhavanti| vāmadakṣiṇanāḍīgatāni vijñānādipṛthivyādīni maṇḍa-
    lasvabhāvāni lalāṭe candramaṇḍale praviṣṭāni| tataś caṇḍālyā jñānārciṣā

    (90)

    candradrute sati yad bodhicittaṁ bindurūpenādhogataṁ kaṇṭhe
    hṛdi nābhau guhyakamale ānandapara maviramasvabhāvena| ta-
    to vajramaṇiṁ yāvat sahajānandasvabhāveneti| athavā vicitra
    vipākavimardavilakṣaṇasvabhāveneti| evaṁ ṣoḍaśakalāpūr-
    ṇaṁ maṇyantargataṁ yadā sukhaṁ dadāti bhāvanābalena cyavanasukha-
    sadṛśam iti dṛṣṭāntamātram| svarūpato dvīndriyajaṁ kṣarasukhaṁ koṭīsa-
    hasratamīm api kalāṁ nārghati paramākṣarasukhasyeti| ihākṣarasu-
    khāvasthā yā sahajānandarūpiṇī sāvasthā kāpy avijñeyā bālayoginām
    | bodhisattvaiḥ śūnyatā samādhir ity ucyate| na punar lokarūḍhyā
    nāstikyārthānupātinīti| evaṁ ṣaḍaṅgayogena mantrajāpena
    dhyānena sukhena ca yogitvaṁ yogināṁ sidhyate paramaṁ puṇy-
    aṁ pavitraṁ pāpanāśanam| janmanīhaiva sādhyasādhakaniyamo
    bhagavatoktaḥ||



    The culmination is a Sahajananda Rupini, which certainly sounds like the intention of the Four Dakinis if understood well from the beginning.

    The final few chapters deal with Pledges (Guhyasamaja, Namasangiti, Eight Great Pledges, and breaking them).






    Since Vajra Family is making esoteric requests through Tara, here is a Nepalese archive of dharanis where another of the Pancha Raksha, Mantranusarini, is singly lifted out:

    parabrahmasvarUpiNI vajrayoginI

    vajrayoginI mantrAnusArinI

    ugratArA vajrayogiNI

    vajrayoginIguhyeCvarI nairAtmAghyeCvarI

    vajrayoginyA CrImatmantrANusAraNI

    "Vajrayogini and Buddha" on the cover of Aparamita Ayur with Bhattarika Sragdhara and Bhattarika Ekajati

    Right after "Chum Dharani" is vajrayoginI parameCvara dhAraNI. One would guess this is talking about Cunda.


    So, at lower levels anyway, Ugra Tara and Mantranusarini work for this. I suppose it is fair to say that Blue Tara is the "public face" of Vajrayogini. Mantranusarini is the only one of these where nothing says she has wrathful traits:

    mahāmantrānusāriṇī caturbhujaikamukhī kṛṣṇā dakṣiṇa-
    bhujadvaye vajravaradavatī vāmabhujadvaye paraśupāśavatī huṃkāra-
    bījā akṣobhyakirīṭinī sūryyāsanaprabhā ceti /

    If you were then to engage the full service mode of PR 206, then, Pramardani becomes a Four Face Eight Arm Wrathful Vajra Family goddess who is overk the Yaksas doing Mahabala Krama and Raudra Avesa, and so she has it all. But she is the only one of them like this. Mantranusarini enters Jewel Family, turns white, and increases to Twelve Arms, several of which are doing mudras such as Dharmacakra and Samadhi mudras. And then mantricly, she is the only Viraj in Sadhanamala. And so if we learn four of her epithets, Vimala, Vipula, Amrita, Viraja, she has just given us the main threads throughout all the goddess dharanis.



    Besides showing a Mother with a Five Buddha Crown in Vajra Family, Tara requested something called Vajrapani Paramaguhya, which, I am not sure is "a tantra" as in a text title, but, it is found in a Javanese commentary from Borobodur:

    In SHK is an explanation of 10 Paramitas, followed by references to Mahaguhya (great secret: yoga, meditation, 10 paramitas) and paramaguhya (highest secret: breath control).


    There is a bit more detail about it in Hinduism and Buddhism:

    The emphasis laid on Bajra (that is vajra or dorje),
    ghanta, mudra, mandala, mystic syllables, and Devis marks it as
    an offshoot of Tantrism and it offers many parallels to Nepalese
    literature...

    Under Prajnaparamita is given a somewhat obscure account of the doctrine of Sunyata. Then
    follows the exposition of Paramaguhya (the highest secret) and
    Mahaguhya (the great secret). The latter is defined as being Yoga, the
    bhavanas, the four noble truths and the ten paramitas. The former
    explains the embodiment of Bhatara Visesha, that is to say the
    way in which Buddhas, gods and the world of phenomena are evolved from
    a primordial principle, called Advaya and apparently equivalent to the
    Nepalese Adibuddha. Advaya is the father of Buddha and
    Advayajnana, also called Bharali Prajnaparamita, is his mother, but
    the Buddha principle at this stage is also called Divarupa. In the
    next stage this Divarupa takes form as Sakyamuni, who is regarded
    as a superhuman form of Buddhahood rather than as a human teacher, for
    he produces from his right and left side respectively Lokesvara and
    Bajrapani. These beings produce, the first Akshobhya and
    Ratnasambhava, the second Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi, but Vairocana
    springs directly from the face of Sakyamuni. The five superhuman
    Buddhas are thus accounted for. From Vairocana spring Isvara
    (Siva), Brahma, and Vishnu: from them the elements, the human
    body and the whole world. A considerable part of the treatise is
    occupied with connecting these various emanations of the Advaya with
    mystic syllables and in showing how the five Buddhas correspond to the
    different skandas, elements, senses, etc. Finally we are told that
    there are five Devis, or female counterparts corresponding in the same
    order to the Buddhas named above and called Locana, Mamaki,
    Pandaravasini, Tara and Dhatvisvari. But it is declared that
    the first and last of these are the same and therefore there are
    really only four Devis.

    Paramaguhya = "breath control" = Nepalese Buddhist cosmology. This is in the context of having fused the more well-known Garbhadhatu and Vajradhatu mandalas, i.e. the system of Five joined to that of Six.


    To explain Tara Tantra, it was necessary to obtain Herukotpatti or Heruka Generation Stage as well. That must mean what is necessary to get started and succeed in the Six Yogas. It may have a stand-alone version, but, this is also iterated into some of the most important tantras in an organized manner. Paramaguhya and Herukotpatti are more like subjects than they are specific texts. The first can be in Javanese with a title I can't even read, and then it tells me nothing that is not already known or available. Although it does say that Dhatvishvari is a loop rewind to Locana. This is probably kind of true, but, moreover, it has left open the question of which Dhatu you mean. Once it is Akasha, and then it is Vajra. And perhaps the main barrier, when one is ready, it is Kama Dhatu or the Kama Loka itself, at which point Ekajati and Kali are unavoidable. If we follow the Panchakara pattern, central male makes ring of male deities, makes ring of female deities, makes a fifth female who is implicitly the center who then becomes like a new kind of Locana who slips out to the East anyway, and then the energy can circle the ring again and come out on top and drop back into the center, etc.

    To an extent, such things as Dhatu and Lights are perceptible to ordinary waking consciousness, and yet they remain if one is in a mental-only state, which is where you are going to find Kama Loka.

    Because Locana means the unfolding waves of Dharmadhatu, this brings in subtle Dhatus that may be described as aspects of the mental realm, and so it is circular, makes feedback, and she grows in intensity. When we look in the Six Yogas, it will quickly subordinate the human or meat Eye to the divine one, which itself moves on to Nectar and so forth.





    So if she wants Paramaguhya, we already have most of a template. It has to do with Pranayama and a Quintessence. Then if she says Heruka Generation Stage, Herukotpatti, this is our main field of focus anyway. According to note 15, it is equivalent to the beginning of Vajradhatu Mandala, Chapter Three of Samputa Tantra, which we would have to find in those expanding capsules of the accessible edition. Takes a minute to open, but we can use it any time.


    The important tantra that we do not have a full version of is the Vajramrita. This tantra teaching is requested by Mamaki. It appears to begin with the goddess equivalent of Vajradhatu Mandala, i. e. Guhyamandala, then uses terms clearly indicating yoga practice, until it spawns the crux of the many layers of wrathful underworld journeys, Vajrahumkara, who is similar to accomplishing Trailokyavijaya. This is something like a "mission" that can be accomplished by Vajrapani or various deities such as Yamantaka. The MMK is mostly a performance by Yamantaka, who happens to include Vajrabhairava as a minor retinue member. The Vajrabhairava Tantra itself is a later teaching by goddess Vetali. And so there are various ways of doing it, all of which fold into Humkara subsequently.

    Humkara transforms the Ten Wrathful Ones, such that Padmantaka becomes Vajrosnisa, and Amritakundali becomes Vajrakundali. The Sun in Sarvadurgati Parishodhana is the couple Vajrakundalin and Vajramrita. So at the very least, Amritakundalin is liberated from Directional Guarding, and in one sense enters the sun with a female Vajramrita, and by his original name, he becomes an important independent deity, an upgraded Ganapati.

    Jewel Family is Vajra Surya, the sun. This is most like the "connective tissue", since Vajrasurya, or Secret Sun, is a title of Ratnasambhava (with Mamaki) as used in Anandagarbha's time, when a yogi called Gambhiravajra propitiated Vajrasurya by means of Sarvabuddha Samayoga Dakini Jala tantra in Sitavana cemetery. He obtained the vision of Vajramrita Maha Mandala and the sadharana siddhi.

    He was then sent to Dhumasthira to find a blue (utpala) woman with an emerald-colored tikka. She conferred to him the initiation of Catuh Vajra Amrita Mandala. She taught him the rest of the tantras, he meditated on Heruka, until attaining Mahamudra siddhi.

    In Sadhanamala, Vajra Surya initiation is internal to Vajra Tara.

    This must have much to do with the harnessing of wrathful power for the purposes of Amrita.


    According to Himalayan Art, Vajramrita and the related forms of Amrita Humkara, Amrita Krodha and Amrita Kundalin (Amritakundali) are described in the Abhidhana Tantra in the Chakrasmvara Literature. In this tantra, the initial "Amritas" are "Vajras", so you get Vajrahumkara and so on.

    So there is some kind of breakage to the original Wrathful Ones.

    Usually, from this point in sadhanas, Usnisa deities arise, starting with Vajrosnisa, and Vairocana uses Om Ah Vi Ra Kham Hum to attach to the elements and become the sixth principle of mind, and then you have Akshobhya tantra replacing him especially for the purpose of Samayas. Here after Humkara you get Herukotpatti, which manifests Amritakundalin:

    The chapter titles of the Vajrāmṛtatantra are:

    First chapter (guhyamaṇḍalakaraṇābhinaya-nirdeśa),
    Second chapter (tattvayogajñāna-nirdeśa),
    Third chapter (mantrotpatti-nirdeśa),
    Fourth chapter (homavidhi-nirdeśa),
    Fifth chapter (karmaprasara-nirdeśa),
    Sixth chapter (vajrahūṃkārasādhana-nirdeśa),
    Seventh chapter (geyanṛtyābhiṣekatattvāvabodha-nirdeśa),
    Eighth chapter (śrī-herukotpatti-nirdeśa),
    Ninth chapter (śrī-amṛtakuṇḍalyutpatti-nirdeśa),
    Tenth chapter (vetālasādhana-nirdeśa),
    Eleventh chapter (pañcāmṛtasādhanopāya-nirdeśa).


    This tantra is said to use technical visualizations, such as deities moving in from the edge of the lotus petals. Most of these retinues appear to be eight-spoked wheels, wherein each goddess is a Vidya or Wisdom. It has four principal male deities, is considered Jewel Family tantra, and whereas it appears to borrow the Secret Sun from Sarvadurgati Parishodhana, the majority of the activity is done by Vajra Family.

    That seems to summarize the standard male-based and/or Vajradhatu systems in six chapters. Then it turns to Heruka Yoga.

    Afterwards it begets the male All-Accomplishing being Amritakundalin. So this becomes the specific pursuit here. The female equivalent is Khandaroha, who is, so to speak, Varuni "inside" the sadhana. So, in a system of Tara, that is the emphasis for Generation Stage.



    One of the first, attributed to Saraha, of these explanatory tantras is Buddhakapala, which is only partially available to us. Although it may be "early", its power level is incredible, probably beyond Mahamaya Tantra. Both of these are just personal names or particular manifestations of Heruka. It happens to be structured similarly to Vajramrita, with Herukotpatti coming in at around the same area. This is from the same goddess song study where we got the Krsna Yamari information:



    The following verses occur in texts associated with the Buddhakapāla Tantra. In the commentary, the Abhayapaddhati, these verses appear in the seventh chapter, called the “Generation of Heruka and his maṇḍala” (maṇḍala-herukotpatti-bhāvanā-ākhyā). Furthermore the same verses also occur in a similar maṇḍala ritual in the Sādhanāmālā. The seventh chapter of the Abhayapaddhati is a long description and explication of this maṇḍala ritual. After an extended passage, we reach the trope and motif of dissolving into emptiness, described as a liquid. Then out of this liquid, four trembling goddesses (sphuritāś catasro devyaḥ), observing the Lord (prabhum apaśyantyaḥ), with concern for His various previous vows (pūrva-praṇidhi-veśeṣa-āpekṣayā), full-throatedly (sotkaṇṭhya) arouse the Lord with songs:

    kicce ṇiccaa visāagaü loa ṇimantia kāī |
    taha vattā ṇa jaï sambharasi uṭṭhahiṃ saala visāī ||

    How can you summon forth the world while lost in despondence?
    If you do not honor your commitments, the world leaps into despair.

    kajja appāṇa vi karia pia mā karasu viṇavi citta |
    bhavabhaa paḍiā saala jaṇu uṭṭhahi joinimitta ||

    Doing one’s own duties, O Dearest, do not think conceptually!
    Worldly beings are falling into existential angst; Arise O Friend of Yoginīs!

    pūvvapaï jjaha sambharasi mā kara kājja visāu |
    taï athaminne saala jaṇu pariavajja gaüsāu ||

    If you remember your prior pledges, do not neglect your commitments!
    While you’re absent, worldly beings on the Buddhist path lose their resolve.

    miche̐ māṇa vi mā karahi pia uṭṭhaï suṇasahāva |
    kāmahi joiṇi vinda tuhu phiṭṭaü ahavā bhāva ||

    Do not think deludedly, O Dear One. Arise O Nature of Emptiness!
    Embrace the horde of yoginīs, otherwise you maim the world.



    So, Tara is like an outer-to-inner assistant for all three of those tantras. They do not work right out of their own books. There are perhaps more stories of individuals being trained in Buddhist schools that do not understand Prajnaparamita philosophy to begin with, or can't get anything out of yoga. For years, sometimes rolling in to the double digits. Tara is going to take the place of all that until the actual male seed or Heruka is necessary to proceed.




    Karma Family Tara can begin Twenty-one Taras, the Six Yogas, and personally be the Sixth Yoga in her wrathful aspect Candi.

    This view is considerably simpler than either her own tantra or Heruka.

    It mainly just takes basic Tara and gives her the ability to bring in her Sambhogakaya form, and/or to transport ourselves out of ordinary consciousness into that realm.

    Although she has specific sadhanas in Sadhanamala which distinguish her by retinue, a review of durable artifacts suggests the related forms are identifiable more by their poses than by their attendants.

    Because the majority of images are in Lalita or have a dangling foot, the main one that does not is Prajnaparamita; but, she is supposed to have two lotuses, and is not associated with this assembly. So when we look at what was probably the dominant form in the medieval system, it was not her:


    Here is an old Archeological Survey assessment of a Mahattari statue from stupa 189 at Ratnagiri: "Dressed in a sati and chest-cloth, Mahattari Tara (pi. XCVI A) is seated in the vajra-paryankasana attitude on a visva-padma with her right palm, in the vara-mudra, resting against the knee and raised left hand holding the stalk of an utpala. She is adorned with valayas, beaded armlets with a triangular piece, a beaded necklace of the chhannavira type, ear-rings and a mukuta with three ornate triangular pieces. Tied by a string, the major part of the hair is arranged on the crown in the form of a bun, while a few coiled locks fall on the shoulders. Behind the head is the elongated halo, pointed at the crown, on either side of which is a garland-bearing vidyadhari flying through clouds towards the goddess."


    From Survey no. 8, Mahattari is in Stupa 68. Of the statue, it was found on the filled-up top of Stupa 189. Her personal stupa is similar:

    Inside the oblong niche is the bejewelled Mahattari Tara seated in the vajra-paryankasana attitude on a double-petalled lotus, below which is a bowl of offerings. With her right palm in the vara-mudra and left holding
    an utpala-stalk, she wears a sati, an utterly a worn in an upavitt fashion, two bangles
    around each wrist, beaded armlets, a beaded hara, an ear-stud in her left ear, an ear-ring
    in right ear and a high mukuta. Behind her head is a halo, while at the top corner of
    the dexter is a part of a flower. The frame of the niche is relieved with half-flowers
    within triangular borders, the triangular space above the beaded lintel also presenting
    a half-flower.

    There are other descriptions, nameless Taras, Vajra Tara, Cunda, multiple Maricis, etc.


    What is thought to be Mahattari in a major broken outdoor Ratnagiri image is hard to distinguish from Varada Tara or Mahasri because of the companions. It is an Amoghasiddhi All Buddhas Tara with Janguli, Marici, Ekajata, Mayuri. Also with Avalokiteshvara and Manjugosha. It is still a vajra feet, varada mudra, one lotus, and with lavish clothing. There are lion supports (Simhanada) and people reading a book, The halo is plain. She is not Black but Syama on a moon and lotus cushion.

    I don't know of photos of those, only reports.

    She is supposed to be alone.

    Mahattari has Vajra Feet, but only one lotus. This series attributed to H. H. 10th Karmapa seems to be based on her form with variable retinues. If it looks like this but has two lotuses, it is probably Seven Eyes Tara.



    In Lakshmi Tantra, the root of her name is synonymous to Mahasri, and to Formless or Adi Shakti:

    Mahalakshmi is the highest (mahat). Mahasri is the ultimate resort of the noble (mahat).


    That represents a shakti method of arranging Tattvas into Families; Maha Tattva being expressed as the Five Dakinis, for example, while it is also Mahat or cosmic mind.

    Buddhist Mahalakshmi is a Lion-mounted aspect of Green Tara who has accomplished and arises from Yamantaka. So she is indirect compared to the straight Tara path. But if we look at a basic male expression of Generation Stage, we also wind up using Yamantaka at least for the style of Nectars and Meats. Tara is giving a nudge towards incorporating this.

    Mahasri, the "ultimate resort", is much closer to the Sambhogakaya we seek to evoke and/or reach its domain. Yamantaka is a specific commitment, whereas Mahasri will automatically function to the extent one can use Sutra deities, yoga, and dharani in one's personal time and develop Dhanada Krama.


    And in the sadhana, she is supposed to have all four retinue members, but, one of her few identifications shows Mahasri with Marici and Ekajata who does not have a chopper.


    We can show that in a series. Because metal and stone are more durable than paintings, when recognized by her Mudra, Mahasri can "scale up" her retinue just as she is:






















    Only one statuette of the deity has been discovered so far. It is now in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, In conformity with the Sadhana the principal deity Mahasri Tara is shown as one-faced and two*armed exhibiting the Vyakhyana or the Dharmacakra mudra. There are two night lotuses on either side. The principal deity sits in the Rajalila pose on a lion-throne and bears on her crown the miniature figure of Amoghasiddhi with the Abhaya mudra...The Indian Museum image seems to be the only image representing Mahasri Tara where the sculpture does not deviate even a little from the description given in the Sadhanamala.

    I suppose the lower miniatures are Mayuri and Janguli.



    Prajnaparamita usually has Vajra Feet, so, somethng is likely Mahasri if it is Tara-posed and old, such as this Tibetan ca. 1000s:







    unknown:








    It looks like at one time, this "teaching moment" form may have has its own basic to advanced practice, but, just going from what is in Sadhanamala, we are mainly just considering the bigger magnificent one as the resident of Tara's Pure Land.



    Khadira does not have defined feet. Bhattacharya did find her relics in India which suggest she may also be solo:






    With Marici and Ekajati:







    Under Amoghasiddhi:







    With Vajra Feet and no companions, she loses distinction from Mahattari.

    She is related to Twenty-one Taras, and is not alone in her sadhana, which is based on a vision of Nagarjuna's. That does not quite represent transport in your entirety to a Pure Land, nor is it a beginner exercise where you get a weak visualization from effort. It is perhaps her Nirmanakaya, not an incarnation such as Princess Bhrkuti, but an illusory manifestation that contacts the physical plane.




    Ratnagiri is gated by Gaja Lakshmi (Elephant Lakshmi), is believed to be the source of Kalachakra Tantra, whereas Vajradaka Tantra says it comes from there. It is in Jaipur, the neighbor of Viraj. From a distribution of sculptures, it is pretty easy to see that the Sadhanamala Taras were greatly represented in
    Orissa:


    4. Simhanada Tārā Ratnagiri (3), Sheragarh (1), Bhubaneswar (1),
    —(5)

    5. Khadiravani Tārā Jaraka (2), Tikiria Temple in Banpur
    Achutarajpur, Ratnagiri, Baneswarnasi,
    Choudwar, Sundargram—(9)

    6. Mahattari Tārā Ratnagiri (2), Achutarajpur, Tiadisahi, Baudh, --
    (6)

    7. Mahasri Tārā Bhubaneswar- (1)

    8. Dhanada Tārā Kapilesvara Temple in Bhubaneswar, Varaha
    temple Jajpur, brought from Solampur, Baseli
    Thakurani at Bania Sahi in Cuttack, Kapila
    Prasad 1 – (4)

    9. Four-armed Sita Tārā Solampur – 1

    10. Four-armed
    DurgotTārāni Tārā
    Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri (2)

    11. Vajra Tārā Ajodhya, Ratnagiri (2)

    12. Cintamani Tārā Nagaspur, Adaspur-2

    Laksmi, the brahmanical goddess of prosperity is known in Buddhism as
    Vasudhara. Her popular form is Kumari. In Nepal Kumari worship is vital in any religious
    worship. Similarly Janguli is known is Buddhism as Manasa while the folk name is Jagulei
    in Orissa.



    Simhanada is not a name of Tara, is probably Mahalakshmi. It is used as a name in Bihar and Orissa Monuments, and in Development of Buddhist Iconography, which is also about the Prajnas and over thirty nuances of Bhrkuti.

    Mahalakshmi is in the Speech Mandala of Kalachakra Tantra with Mars. Dolpopa's Praises to Glorious Kalachakra says that she is standing on a lion. Dolpopa was raised in Nyingma and trained in Vajrakilaya and Red Manjushri, and, unsatisfied, ran away at seventeen to train with Sakya and Jonang masters, from whom he assembled what he called Shentong.

    Adibuddha emanates two goddesses, Mahalakshmi and Sarasvati.

    Hindu Mahalakshmi Sadhana.

    According to Ananda Sarasvati:

    The first mention of Goddess Mahalakshmi was found in 250 BC as Gajalakshmi, Lakshmi bedecked with jewellery seated on lotus and flanked by two white elephants, seen on stupas. These stupas were constructed by Emperor Ashoka in Sanchi and Bodh Gaya.

    She is in MMK:

    namaḥ samanta­buddhānām apratihatagati pracāriṇām /
    tadyathā / {B31r} oṁ śrīḥ // 2.65 //

    ap2.­66
    eṣā vidyā mahā­lakṣmī lokanāthais tu deśitā /
    mudrā sampuṭayā yuktā mahā­rājyapradāyikā // 2.66 //


    She is also in Dakarnava Tantra (is a heart channel).

    Lion-mounted Green Mahalakshmi, crowned by Yamantaka, surrounded by Yakshis, is IWS 325. This has Nine Treasure vases, uses Srim syllable, and is not the same mantra as Mahasri, but it says she is Sri Devi for her Offerings. She has a lotus with a gem, and refuge mudra. She is called a Prajnaparamita goddess who emerges from Gagana Ganja Samadhi. Mantricly, she is Kamala Vasini, which, if we go back to the Hindu version, is the same as what Vasistha says. After her are the simple Vasudharas, Ila, Cowherd, Fruitpicker, and Manohara.


    This Mahalakshmi sadhana means "complete with the charnel ground requisite". But, prior to that, Vasumati Mahalakshmi is her simple Ila Devi form that starts the Dharanis. This is where she has more in common with Hinduism; even so, her Pitha changes in different systems:


    Kubjika Tantra describes the center of Orissa, the Sri Mandira in Puri, the abode of Mahalakshmi: mahalakshmimaya pitha uddiyanamtah param [Purnagiri]. In the tantra, Mahalakshmi presides at Kolagiri (Kolhapur)--and this is the same as in Vajradaka Tantra.

    In Sri Pitha Stava, Sword Mahalakshmi on Lion has the powers of Gandharvas and Vidyadharas, and is at Isana Pitha of Devikota.

    Mahalakshmi is counted as the eighth Matrika in the Asta-matrika tradition followed in the Nepal region.—Mahalakshmi described as having been created by the effulgence of all the gods is depicted as Ashtadasha Bhuja Mahalakshmi, with eighteen arms.

    So, if we try to talk to her, at first, "I give you Vasudhara and dharanis", followed by, "I will be back when you have burned out the Cemeteries", after which, "I am Annapurna". This also leaves us open to some of her non-Buddhist depictions, such as Siddha Lakshmi, Lakshmi Tantra, and Adbhuta Ramayana. Buddhist Mahalakshmi is unusual in that no permission is needed to do her sadhana, aside from having an entry threshhold. Effectively, she is thoroughly disguised as Vasudhara, while we may utilize the good and true parts from other sources.


    There was also a remark that the main description of Ratnasambhava is in Maitri's Panchakara, despite him being known in the fourth-century Golden Light Sutra. In between these two, we find Vajra Surya.


    The Ellora complex, completed around the 600s and forgotten, has some of the same Taras, but in more of an MMK and Three Jewels format. The Dhyani Buddhas or Pacha Jina cannot be determined from these relics. Ratnagiri was perhaps abandoned around the 1600s, but has never been forgotten.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Twenty-one Praises of Tara



    This is a common song which is a bit difficult to learn if you are not a native speaker. Right now we are going to exclude the translation. That is because it is a Dharani which is, so to speak, a spell lifted from a particular tantra of which it is a component. We are not exactly doing the tantra. We are working with a group of sounds under the view of the milieu in which they were composed. If used with faith and concentration, they work.


    Some of the inspiration that this is not just for historical accuracy is due to twentieth-century Delok Dawa Drolma Chandra Tara:





    Unlike the vast majority of what are called Eighty-four Mahasiddhas, this young lady had no issues with training. By the time she was sixteen, she was so proficient at Six Yogas that she could do the Ninth or Nirodha Sampatti, and, against the wishes of her authorities, went into Suspended Animation for several days. And her story is reported in Journey to Realms beyond Death. One may have to get the full text for further details, but, she testifies that in the Akanistha, Tara's song is still being sung to Tara by many Taras in Sanskrit.


    I am not sure if Vajra Family = Akshobhya = Sound is why the Tara Tantra has Vajra Family Mother and the song certainly uses the Hum syllable. We are directed to the Generation of Heruka as supporting material.



    The commentaries that are used nowadays have very little to do with the song itself, but, mostly discuss deities particular to their own systems, which mostly are not the Taras which were practiced when the song originated. They are, it seems, tangential to some degree or other.

    The Suryagupta system uses two Green Taras outside of the Twenty-One, so those two do not have verses. First is the commonly invoked Green Arya Tara, and the second is Khadira. Like Durga and Sati, the "twenty-second" is seen as the source of multiple forms. She is Nagarjuna's Tara, transmitted directly to First Karmapa.

    Other systems may just use a single Green Tara to host it. Or, as one finds Peaceful White and Green Taras together in actually the vast majority of all thangkas of retinues or mandalas, you could look at it that way.


    Virgil-esque, Dawa Drolma was escorted from childhood and through her journey by White Tara. The same is true for Nyan Lotsawa who records a slightly different White Tara than generally known in Tibet. In Sadhanamala, White or Sita Tara is different altogether, seemingly her own sub-system based on Blue Lotus or Utpala Mudra.




    To have an easy translation of the song, Treasure Vase of Benefit and Happiness is written up in a nice page-per-verse commentary; as it is said that Suryagupta mainly discussed Tara's forms than the meaning of the verses, the same kind of thing is evident here with simple Atisha Taras. Most of the material is actually about the specific Tara rather than the verse or why she should be there. We can refer to this, but, in some cases, there will be questions about the verse, and in general we are going to replace system-specific Taras with ones from the overall Indian pantheon. Suryagupta and Atisha are examples, and most likely Candragomin had a larger host of Taras than the whole song.

    All the verses with a recording of the recital are posted here.


    This post is commentarial, meaning a look at particular Tara forms in the view of using Sadhanamala examples, rather than sub-system goddesses that have no outside existence.

    In each verse, we will keep a "role" that Suryagupta used, and a Maitreya comment. The latter is because Tara opens twenty-one knots in the subtle body, which releases Twenty-one Qualities of Dharmakaya, which is this group from the textbook standard basis of all Mahayana. Half of these already have their own links, and a few do not really need any detail, such as "absence of forgetfulness". Some of the others we can rebuild. Maitreya did not comment the song, rather, the song deals with twenty-one attributes based on this. They are not on a one-to-one basis like Pithas, i. e. we cannot say Tara Ten = Eyes or anything like that.


    Both the commentary and In Praise of Tara suggest something like Tara One is the appearance of her Nirmanakaya, which is recognized as a radiation of the Dharmakaya, which is the Trailokya Natha of the verse. In Praise of Tara groups the following verses into thirds. Because the copy is not the greatest, I only got bits of it. Here again, Wilson places a caveat, that these assignments are perhaps a bit arbitrary; also, most of the forms do not match the song, which he thought would work with Tara Nine Deity mandala which comes with the song. That perhaps is too easy, no one has asked why the accompanying practice should be overlooked. So this outline is probably not much different from the linked commentary, except it was with Suryagupta's forms:


    A. Praise in terms of Her story (1)

    Kayas ('Bodies') (2- 15) Praise in terms of Her activities (16- 21).

    1, Praise in terms of Her Sambhogakaya aspects, includes:

    a. b.

    Praise in terms of peaceful aspects (2 -7) Praise in terms of fierce aspects (8- 14).

    a, Praise in terms of peaceful aspects, includes six homages. i. Praise in terms of the brightness and luminous radiance of Her countenance...iv. Praise in terms of Her suppression of adverse factors...vi. Praise in terms of Her destroying opponents

    b, Praise in terms of fierce aspects, includes seven homages. i. Her quality of cleansing maras and the two obscurations...ii. Praise in terms of Her hand symbols, right and left...iii. Praise in terms of Her diadem and laughter...iv. Praise in terms of the accomplishment of activities through the ten directional guardians...v. Praise in terms of Her crown-ornaments...vi. Praise in terms of Her fierce posture...vii. Praise in terms of Her radiating light from Hum

    Praise in terms of Her Dharmakaya aspect (15)

    C, Praise in terms of Her activities, includes six homages. 1. Activities of Her peaceful and fierce mantras...3· The activity of dispelling poisons...4. The activity of dispelling conflict and bad dreams...5. Tara's activity of dispelling fever...6. The activity of subduing evil spirits and corpse-raisers


    He says that Khadira obviously does not match verse nine, and, it is she who may be selected as "outside" the group, which is not reflected by commentaries that do not mention any twenty-second Tara. So we may want to replace Nine by one that matches, and, since Khadira also works as a stand-alone, Tara summonner, or link to Akanistha, and the song as a whole praises Tara's Root Mantra used by Khadira, then, we might want to base it from her, as the source of both two to Twenty-one Taras and Six Limb Yoga.

    We may keep a few Tara form comments where it is from an Indian kind. There are going to be spots that are kind of inconclusive for the time being.


    So at first we are going to think of a Karma Family Tara, and learn others for the verses.

    IWS 9 is Nyan's Sadanga Yoga Tara. She is just a basic Green Tara crowned by Amoghasiddhi, but, she does the sly move of summoning Tara from Potala. She uses normal Tara mantra, Tara Mahakarunika Dharani, and 108 Names of Tara, in other words her Kriya basket.

    Nyan's Green Tara is a bit extra verdant like Khadira:







    It does not mean she has Six Arms, Sadanga refers to our system of Yoga, Six Limb Yoga.

    Guge style Khadira showing that Ekajati is not required to use a chopper:








    Recent Newari version where Dhyani Buddha Amoghasiddhi is Haritam, lighter vegetative green, and Samaya Tara on the lower left is Syama or Dark Green. Sambhoga Kaya Tara perhaps Khadira in the middle is Blue-Green. Descending on the right are Dhanada, Three Eyed White Tara, Mahacinakrama Tara, and Vajra Tara:






    So we want to contemplate Green Karma Tara as essentially the hostess of the song's retinue, and, at the same time, she is the representative of a higher or Akanistha Tara such as Mahasri. And then the Sevenfold Service of Tara is its own practice wherein the one evokes the other.




    NAMA SARVATATHAGATANAM. TAD-YATHA:

    OM NAMO SUKASA NAMA TARE PARAMITA

    Verse One:


    namas tāre ture vīre kṣaṇair dyuti-nibhêkṣaṇe |

    trailokya-nātha-vaktrābja-vikasat-kesarôdbhave ||


    Her Dharmakaya Quality is Thirty-seven Point Enlightenment.

    One accomplishes Enlightened Activity.

    Suryagupta calls her Tārā Tura-vīrā or Tārā Pravīrā.

    Sitabani in her personal dharani has:

    virāta ravīrā-tara

    vīrāindrā

    vire five times

    viramati


    If I ask Dharani Samgraha for Ture Vira, it is Ekajati. She could host this according to the Samgraha. But so far the closest thing to Vira Tara from most of the Indian literature is Sitabani. She lacks an individual Lotus Family image unfortunately. We can find one Sadhanamala and a few NSP Sitabanis and more of her explanation and dharani in this post.

    From the available images, NSP Sitabani similar to Pravira Tara:





    Om Jim Sitabaniyai Namah

    “...on the orb of the sun on a double lotus there is Mahāśītavatī sitting in the Ardhaparyaṅka attitude with the halo of of the sun. She is red in colour, and her faces show the red, the white and the blue colour in the first, the right and the left faces respectively. She is eight-armed. In the four right hands she displays 1. the lotus with the Abhaya-mudrā, 2. the arrow, 3. the Vajra and 4. the sword. In the four left hands she shows 1. the noose with the Tarjanī, 2. the bow, 3. the jewel banner and 4. the manuscript against the chest”.




    The next two Taras are agreeable to our basic format of Deity Yoga.


    namaḥ śata-śarac-candra-saṃpūrṇa-paṭalânane |

    tārā-sahasra-nikara-prahasat-kiraṇôjjvale ||

    Four Immeasurables

    Two removes nightmares and untimely death.

    Sarasvati; Her right hand holds a mirror, which is like a full moon engraved with an HRĪ syllable. This one is in a thousand stars--tara--how are they prahasat – laughing, smiling? It could be interpreted as "bright", if stars, not her personal name. However Tara was Yeshe Dawa Jnana Chandra in the universe where she attained Buddhahood with Dundubisvara--Amoghasiddhi. Sometimes the coloration in this verse is "moonlight in autumn" as to the face of Sarasvati. "Starburst" may be more appropriate for the second line, the background, as we might say there are ways to express brilliant white radiance versus a soft lunar glow.

    Because this form of Sarasvati strongly resembles the one from the first exercise or Bindu-Nada of Muttering Om Ah Hum which directly proceeds to the next type of Tara, this may be the best one here. This is simultaneously the most basic technique essential for all Pranayama, and, the herald of the Fifth or Akashic or Manasic Element, which itself is a type of marker or borderland for the stages of yoga practice.





    namaḥ kanaka-nīlābja-pāṇi-padma-vibhūṣite |

    dāna-vīrya-tapaḥ-śānti-titikṣā-dhyāna-gocare ||


    Eight Perfect Freedoms

    Three is for prolonging life and enlightened Qualities.

    Suryagupta calls her Tārā Kanaka-varṇī, she holds a blue lotus, the second line is qualities which are or are similar to the Paramitas, so, Gold Prajnaparamita fits here. Wilson says some of this was simply "ignored". Gold Prajnaparamita however is the flagship or Sutra goddess of our Guru Yoga.

    Although it is correct that Prajnaparamita largely fades from view by her personal name in the tantras, that is because she is the root hypostasis of Viswamata and Vajradhatvishvari (in Kalachakra), of Marici Vajradhatvishvari, and of Guhyeshvari. She is like the beginning of Buddhist goddesses after absorbing normal Sarasvati, and the core driver of them until Full Enlightenment. In the broadest sense, Guhyeshvari is like the vast explainer of how Marici gets to maximum.







    namas tathāgatôṣṇīṣa-vijayânanta-cāriṇī |

    aśeṣa-pāramitā-prāpta-jina-putra-niṣevite ||


    Nine states of successive abiding

    Four is Usnisa Vijaya in standard role. She enriches practitioners by dissolving the fourteen subtle essences of the animate, inanimate, and other subtle essences of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. In reality, she has achieved the sacred, unchanging body of eternity...the crown of nine yānas (Atiyoga).

    Here, it must have been too obvious...this deity matches the verse, and the comment matches Maitreya's note. We're not arguing just for the sake of rebellion, so, if our questions can be satisfied, it is good and we keep it. Either of those most likely refer to Nine Sampattis. Since these actually are the tantric Gauri goddesses, this is where the rubber meets the road, which is why we have a lot of material for this. The Gauris are Generation Stage which is what we are building on a Dharani basis, which, so to speak, "refers to" Heruka Yoga.

    They were originally a group of four, but, there are Nine Dhyanas. These are enhanced at first by Five Factors (vitarka, vicara, piti, sukha, ekagatta) and eventually by the Seven Jewels of Enlightenment, until they attain the degree of Samapatti or "cannot be disturbed".

    Here, the seven consciousnesses [the six sense consciousnesses and klesha mind] cease in the final samadhi of the nine samapattis.].

    The ninth or Nirodha causes suspended animation.

    Usnisa Vijaya is among the most paramount dharani goddesses, having an excellent recording posted there.


    From entering Maitreya's Tibetan on Rigpa Wiki:

    mthar gyis gnas pa'i snyoms 'jug dgu

    It matches:

    Nine serene states of successive abiding (mthar gyis gnas pa'i snyoms par 'jug pa dgu).

    The four dhyanas, the four formless states, and the shravaka's samadhi of peace, also known as the serenity of cessation.

    mthar gyis gnas pa'i snyoms par 'jug pa dgu

    navānupūrvavihārasamāpattiḥ


    If these words of Maitreya match this particular deity, there we go.









    namas tuttāre-hūṃ-kāra-pūritâśâdi-gantare |

    sapta-loka-kramâkrānti niḥśeṣâkarṣaṇa-kṣame ||



    Eight spheres of subjugation (aṣṭāvabhibhvāyatanāni)

    Five is Subjugation and removal of fear.

    This is sometimes Kurukulla, but Suryagupta has Humkara Nadini, who has her own practice of arising from Hum. Here is a point where we might ask, why does the song have Sapta Loka or seven worlds and yet it also has Trailokya or three. This could, in turn, be thought of as referring to Agni and Ganapati (Three), and Savitri Gayatri (Seven). In other words it does mean something but it comes from Puranic sources outside of Buddhism and you can usually only find out about that in a footnote.

    Abhibhava (अभिभव).—

    1) Defeat, subjugation, subjection, overpowering;

    Physically, the plan of Old Bhubaneswar is based on the 'Asta Ayatana' concept, such that shrines are located at the four cardinal points and at the four intermediate points.

    Although "Ayatana" has the tantric meaning of sense faculties, it also has broader meanings.

    Āyātana (आयातन) refers to “sacred site” and replaces the term “Kṣetra” or “sacred fields” visited by the Goddess on her pilgrimage

    Spheres, residences, sanctuaries, and so forth are summarized by this.

    From line 1519, they are in Sanskrit and Tibetan, which is part of the Mahavyutpatti or original translation dictionary.

    Eight Bases of Overcoming:

    eight masteries: : 1-2] The two masteries over all external sentient and insentient forms by means of the conception that they are inner forms. 3-4] The two masteries over all external sentient and insentient forms by means of the conception that they are inner formlessness. 5-8] The four masteries of emitting rays of light to gain mastery over the external colors of blue, yellow, red and white by willing them to be absorbed within.

    I believe this topic refers to Eight Vimokshas, which is liberation by realizing Emptiness of the "spheres" of Dhyana and Sampatti. Picuva Marici deals with Eight Vimokshas, but, she is quite advanced, and Marici is pretty much reserved for the last verse. I am not sure of a good match here yet.

    The verse does not necessarily use her feet, because she is doing Krama which we have called Method, normally, a male principle, but is applied to Devis in the same way it is its own name of a non-Buddhist philosophy:

    In the phenomenal realm when the different operations of our cognitive apparatus and psychoses are directed to the grasp of external multiplicity, the whole situation is reckoned as krama. Likewise, when the phenomenal level is transcended by diverting the same mechanism towards the trans-phenomenal, non-dual, undifferentiated reality, everything is automatically realized in its essentially trans-sequential character. This phenomenon is designated as akrama.

    Maṅkha in his Śrīkaṇṭhacarita mentions Mahānaya, another name of Krama, as a distinct philosophical school where the act of creation follows that of withdrawal, implying that the Krama system ardently adheres to the cyclic notion of Reality. This allusion to Krama in a literary work of the eleventh century is a sufficient proof of the popularity of the Krama school, even beyond the philosophical circles.

    While all other systems including the Kula, Pratyabhijñā and Trika of Kashmir Śaivism are Śiva-oriented, the Krama is Śakti-oriented. The Krama is more closely connected with the immanent reality and interprets immanence as an essential expression of transcendence. Against this, the Pratyabhijñā and Kula systems are immediately concerned with reality as unity (abheda) or the transcendental aspect of Reality.

    Kṣemarāja takes the word Krama to stand for the succession of the cyclic consciousness iof emanation (sṛṣṭi), sustenance (sthiti) and withdrawal (saṃhṛti). According to him, it is called Krama because it (i) causes emanation etc. to appear in succession (Krama) and (ii) itself constitutes the very nature of that (as well as their) successive appearance. Hence Krama is the system that deals with such a phenomenon exclusively, all other aspects remaining subordinate to it.

    That is what is Akranti or Overpowering the Seven Worlds.

    The commentary says:

    The ultimate meaning is that through practice, when non-conceptual neutral ālaya’s clarity is cognized, the formless realms dissolve. When the simple pure luminosity of the undiscriminating clarity of ālaya-vijñāna, or “base of consciousness” is cognized, the form realms dissolve. When mental consciousness is free from delusion and the five sensory cognitions, the desire realm ceases. These cessations are the abiding purity, or the fruition of purification. At this stage of awareness, the seven worlds are the seven cognitions, where all the concepts of desire and the other three realms without exception dissolve into dharmadhātu.

    Circle of Bliss says Samkranti is Consciousness Transference, one of the Six Yogas of Naro--we suspect they mean the Sixth Dharma.

    Saṃkrānti (संक्रान्ति) refers to the “transference/transmission” (of power—the deity’s energy) according to the Kubjikāmatatantra 4.71-72ab.—(Cf. Tantrasadbhāva 3.92-93ab)

    It has this meaning in general, and in Naro's Six Dharmas.

    It is also the Sun transferring to new signs such as Makara Samkranti at Sabarimala when Makara Jyoti is seen.

    Here I have not yet come up with anything satisfactorily conclusive about a specific Tara, and the next verse has even more questioning behind it.




    namaḥ śakrānala-brahma-marud-viśvêśvarârcite |

    bhūta-vetāla-gandharva-gaṇa-yakṣa-puras-kṛte ||


    Ten Totalities

    Six purifies the Ten Directions.

    Suryagupta calls her Trailokyavijaya; the terma says Drolma Jikché Chenmo; Skt. Tārā Mahābairavā. The terma's interpretation is compared to Vajravidarana, so, is not far from Red Vasudhara, called Vajravidarani. Here, however, are classes of Puranic entities, you can practically see the Marut Gana forming itself. If it is easy enough to see five creatures in line two, the top line may be clearer if extracted as the deities:

    Indra Agni Brahma Vayu Visvakarman

    And so it would look to me like it is talking about Five Upper and Lower Winds. Both of these honor and worship Tara.

    The way they are given in the Nikaya is the Form Elements, the Colors (Blue, Yellow, Red, White), and finally:


    9. One perceives the space-totality

    10. One perceives the consciousness-totality above, below, all-around: non-dual, unlimited. These are the ten totalities. Now, of these ten totalities, this is supreme: when one perceives the consciousness-totality above, below, all-around: non-dual, unlimited.

    It looks like the same thing that was just in the pattern of Eight, plus those two.

    The commentary says:

    The inner meaning of this is that Indra and the other gods are the personification of five elements, and the spirits are the personification of the five aggregates. Their reverence symbolizes the purity of the elements and aggregates, which are the base of the male and female Buddhas.

    It is backwards...it is just a commentary so it doesn't have to be so tight except...it is backwards.

    It does reflect the tantra since the "center of four others" is now an Upper and Lower axis, and, it distinguishes the Sixth from the Fifth.

    Jigje Chenmo as used by them is Bhairavi, as in Sera Monastery:

    Jigje Lhakhang houses the image of Bhairava with his consort Bhairavi.

    That is definitely a deity with roots, whereas the Trailokya Vijaya Tara is a non-wrathful sattva paryanka form.

    Hindu Bhairavi is part of the Mahavidyas.

    In Kubjika tantra:

    (You are) Bhairavī whose being is (infinitely) great. (You are) the All and, (universally) pervasive, (are also) Revatī.


    In the Siddha Cult in Tamilnadu (sculpture)

    Bhairavīcakra (भैरवीचक्र).—The worship of Śakti is centered chiefly in mystic circle known as Bhairavi Cakra.

    The Bhairavis are features in numerous erotic sculptures in the region, which is replicated in Buddhism by Jambhala and Vasudhara.

    2) Bhairavi is also a title for a female adept in Kundalini Tantra. A Yogini is a student of Tantra, or an aspirent. A Bhairavi is one who has succeeded. Supposedly there are many more levels of achievement than these two, but Tantra is, in essence, a mystery religion, and one would have to be initiated, to learn them all. The name "Bhairavi" means "Terror," or "awe-inspiring," so the one who has achieved the state of Bhairavi, is beyond the fear of death, and therefore awesome.



    The equivalent in Buddhist sadhana practice is Yellow Vajrabhairavi. She is not Vajrabhairava's consort; that is Vetali. Vajrabhairavi is a Hum-arisen Vajraraudri goddess of the Seven Jewels of Enlightenment--Virya. Vajraraudri personally is Hrih.

    IWS 70 contains "guesswork" as to the Sanskrit names of the Seven Jewels. Jigs ma was called Bhima. Hubert Decleer made corrections based on the Vajradaka sadhana; Himalayan Passages scrubs the Tibetan "back translations" of Seven Syllable goddesses and says Bhima is Vajrabhairavi, Rudrani is Ghoracandi, Vasavartini is Vajrabhaskari, and Vyavalokita is Vajraraudri. Bhattacarya's names for the retinue match Decleer's, so, this is the main formula we are using.

    Saumya is with Vajrabhairavi in the Vajrakilaya Tantra. Or, she perhaps most tangibly is a Vajra Kila Gatekeeper in a group of Bird Face goddesses:

    In the east is the goddess Vajrayaksa with the head of a hoopoe bird holding in her hand an iron hook. In the south is Vajrabhairavi with the head of a magpie, holding a noose. In the west is Vajramrta with the head of an owl holding fetters in her hand and in the north is *Ghataka (gSod-byed) with the head of a hawk holding in her hand a bell.

    (cf. p. 90)

    If she pertains to Noose, she pertains to Sumbha, the Nadir.

    The rest in Tibetan gets messy:

    In Kalachakra, Jigs ma is Ghora, but Bhima is Jigs byed ma--whereas Dragmo is both Ugra and Raudri. Drag mo is particularly worshipped in Jokhang temple. The name Drag mo has main variants of Mari Rabjam and Lion Face. There is a sakti called IHa mo drag mo; her body is smoke-coloured and her attributes are a chopper and a skull-cup. But it is Mari Rabjam who takes the title Dorje Dragmo and has a green form, and a white form on a stag almost exactly like Sri, and so this is all about a Palden Lhamo hypostasis that protects the area around Ganden and Sera and Mari Rabjam hill.

    How close to "Bhima is Vajrabhairavi" that gets is...perhaps reasonable. Vajrabhairavi is Virya, Bhima is Vira, which is a bit like saying energy and its display.


    Bhima after Trasani in 108 Names of Tara.

    Jigs Byed in Armor. Jigs Ma in Armor in the "mistaken" translations.

    'jigs byed bzhad pa terrifying Laughter [n. of Charnel Ground]

    Vira, Bhima, and Bhairava collide in the character of Heruka. The female Bhairavi is, therefor, not a consort of Vajrabhairava (Manjushri), but of Heruka.

    Bhimakali was established since approximately the time of Pradyumna and the defeat of Banasura. In rare versions of the temple legend, Bhimakali slew Banasura. Bhimakali was established and accepted the Bushahrs of Kanchi after Pradyumna's dynasty ended. She is a virgin on the second floor of her now 800 year old temple. It is believed to be the Puranic Kailasa.

    Bhima is like Vajragandhari and more. Hiuen Tsiang recorded a Bhima Devi in Gandahar. There is a study on the history of tantra and/or puja compared to the Vedas, placing the first identifiable Pancha Ayatana at ca. year 300. It then places this in the context of Bhima Devi temple, and finds the elusive Vinayaki. They think the Buddhists call her Ganapati Hrdaya. Bhima Devi is called older than Lajja Gauri in Peshawar.

    On an icon related to sixteen matrikas, her appearance is quite close to Bagalamukhi.

    In Orissa, it was found that Vajravarahi over-wrote Vajrabhairavi in the Seven Syllable retinue, which again would double her exactly how she usually is in Armor Deities.

    It is as if Vajrabhairavi were a clarifying yellow detail like Vairocani allowing these retinues to omit Varahi.

    The goddesses of the Seven Jewels of Enlightenment are called the Six Yoginis, meaning they are related to the Armor Deities, and they are naked three-eyed Maharaudras who are subjected to the Pancamrta and Muttering. Their few verses are equivalent to the whole Six Chakravartins system, and, some of these details are missing in Abhidhanottara Tantra.

    Omitting Sound and Earth, the six similar goddesses from Samputa Tantra are:

    Vajraraudri, Vajrabimba [Ekajati], Ragavajra [Mahamaya in Vajradaka 1.16], Vajrasaumya, Vajrayakshi, Vajradakini

    They are Four Armed Saumyas.

    The Six are only Seven by Union with a male.

    The reason they are Saumyas (pleasing to the mind) is hard to see, since Heruka is generated as Two Armed in the Cemeteries with Eight goddesses presumably Gauris, then Four Armed embracing Varahi, then Six Armed entering union with Varahi, and their forms are given without names:


    The practitioner should then visualize
    Himself in the center of a bhaga. {2.3.38}
    “Then he should visualize the consort (mudrā)
    As united with the main deity.
    On the lotus petals, he should draw the goddesses
    Standing on skull cup platforms. {2.3.39}
    “Their forms, of different colors, are pleasing to the mind
    And they each have one face and four arms.


    “The syllable hrīḥ of the goddesses
    Should then be placed on the petals.
    It should be joined with the four seed syllables
    That are the nature of the four types of offerings. {2.3.54}
    “It should be joined with the first sound (oṁ), and so forth,
    And placed on the female gatekeepers all around.
    Then the practitioner should insert
    His vajra into the bhaga. {2.3.55}

    They are re-cast in Chapter Three with Gauris. Thirty-seven Deities without Gauris is described in mandala form.


    Six Yoginis function as Armor Deities, as Saumyas part of Generation Stage with Samputa, and as Raudras part of the Seven Jewels of Enlightenment with Vajradaka. Himalayan Passages shows the whole Sanskrit and translation minus the last line:

    kanthika ricakam ratnam kundalam bhasma sutrakam--sad vai paramita eta mudrarupena yojitah

    The first line says it is to extract an explanation of the Seven Syllable mantra, and the second that you have to do preliminaries up to emptiness-bodhi mantra; and so yes, we are designing preliminaries, and then ways of immersing ourselves in Emptiness Mantra while extracting such an explanation, i. e. Quintessence and Six Families. That is why this is one of the most precise sadhanas. When you can do it, you are immediately converted into a Bodhisattva, because its deities are the Path.

    Verse Six is quite comprehensive and is worth proceeding gingerly to determine who is a close match.




    namas traḍ-iti-phaṭ-kāra-para-yantra-pramardini |

    pratyâlīḍha-pada-nyāse śikhi-jvalâkulêkṣaṇe ||


    Absence of destructive emotions (Klesha)

    Seven is Transference.

    Suryagupta has Tārā Pramardinī.

    Buddha's ultimate samadhi, Vajrapamo Nama Samadhi, is also called Para Sainya Pramardin, eliminating the last obstructions, destroying the last hostile forces. Pramardin means crushing, destroying. Phat is a weapon syllable, used here against enemy yantras. She is in an advancing pose and here it looks more to me like she has Flaming Crown, Sikhin Jvala. That is the token for Transference, although more strongly suggestive of Jewel Family, Ratnasikhi, Ratnaketu, etc., all meaning about the same thing.

    Pramardani has her own Sutra which we have extracted and linked in that post. At first, in basic Pancha Raksa, she is in the East as a non-descript Vairocana goddess. In PR 206, she does not move, but arises as a staggeringly large, ferocious Vajra Family goddess. Her Sutra is relatively large, and involves going to Vaisali; and then it refers to the use of all five Pancha Raksa Sutras. That is like most tantra, centering on Vairocana for the early phase, but then really making samayas and initiations through Akshobhya. So then she is certainly an agent of learning the "class" of Vajra Samadhi.







    namas ture mahâghore māra-vīra-vināśini |

    bhṛkuṭī-kṛta-vaktrābja-sarva-śatru-niṣūdini ||


    Knowledge from aspiration

    Eight = Completion Stage.

    The terma has Tārā Aparajitā.


    Suryagupta's Vasitottara has a similar sound to Vasi Yoga; vasi is Tamil for Prana. In Agasthya's school, if one can do a single Uttama Pranayama, one is absolved of sin. This is a single breath with the 64,000 winds balanced. That is what is Invincible. It is unlikely to have anything to do with that name though. Aparajita is a very good one to include.

    Aparajita at Ratnagiri is a witness of Final Enlightenment, of the activity of Pramardani at full strength. She herself is the Power of the Buddha.

    Aparajita is a very good example of a Tara who would have been extensively known in medieval times, and relatively obscure now.





    namas triratna-mudrâṅka-hṛdyâṅguli-vibhūṣite |

    bhūṣitâśeṣa-dik-cakra-nikara-sva-karâkule ||


    Six Abhijna


    Nine = Consecration

    Tārā Khadira-vaṇī or Tārā Vara-dā--although the verse says she is doing the Three Jewels Mudra. Either one of those are able to summon Tara from Akanistha, and so in fact do embody Consecration. However, we have plenty of reason to kick her out of this retinue of twenty-one, since she is the head of it.

    And in this case, studying the verse itself carries its own suggestion.

    The verse gives Three Jewels which is Prithvi Mudra, like Dharmachakra but using the ring finger, which recharges Muladhara chakra.


    From the same question on Verse Nine, it is clandestinely done by all Taras:

    She typically holds the stem of the lotus flower between her left thumb and left ring finger, and the other three fingers are gently held open. This particular ritual hand position or symbolic hand gesture (mudra) is referred to as the Prithivi Mudra which recharges the root chakra (Muladhara) aligning it with earth energies (Gertrud Hirschi, Mudras, p.84). "Her left hand is in the gesture of the Three Jewels, with the thumb and ring finger touching and the other three fingers stretched upward...

    The commentary also says that Tara's remaining fingers do this around her held lotus.

    I personally would have recognized it almost forty years ago. Simple elemental mudras like that are a common practice.

    The Tara that represents this is Twenty-six arm Cunda who does Mula Mudra with both of her main hands. Mula Mudra helps in finding the androgynous energy in your pranic body.

    Mandalas Life on Cunda's hands. Now of course these are sometimes variable as to how they are actually shown, but, the original uses the expression Mula Mudra. But their mandala uses an alternate version with the pinky involved.


    Miranda Shaw found a beautiful Nalanda Stone Cunda where it again looks different. There are so many kinds of Cunda it is hard to believe she is represented by only four words.

    There is a common tale of a male Cunda the Blacksmith, but, in Swayambhu Purana, Buddha enters Nepal and gets a female disciple named Cunda, to whom he tells the history of Swayambhu. If you look in the last chapter, the spelling is Cuda, but, it is followed by Cale Cule and Dharani Parama Vidya, and then:

    etanpuṇyānubhāvena cūṃḍeyaṃ bhikṣuṇī satī|

    pañcābhijñāvatī varṣairdvādaśabhirbhaved dhruvaṃ||6||



    Varuni's noteworthy gesture is "Counting", or Bindu mudra, or Tattva mudra, which is able to flick nectar, and dip meat into alcohol, similar to Prithvi mudra, ring finger to thumb.

    So, in strictly the elemental sense, ring finger to thumb is Earth. The name of this may change, or, what the hand is doing may change, but, it specifically says that the larger Cundas do this as Mula Mudra. She has almost every item including a pitcher, so, she could easily sprinkle water for Consecration as Suryagupta suggests.

    The commentary gives Khadira the subject of Eight Fears, which does not come from Tara Tantra, it is Kapalika Tara. That is an individual form/separate practice.

    If the subject does not fit, and Khadira is supposed to be outside, and Cunda is the only one who prominently displays two of these mudras without flowers in the way, and, Cunda is not Sarasvati, but, she does have a massive form in Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra, which is, so to speak, "over" Sattva Vajri, and, this embarks on some strange female equivalent of Vajra Family hypostasis, because, Sattva Vajri is arising in Vajra Family and "going to" Vajrasattva, whereas Cunda, if anything, may be his "sister"...or something...


    One could say she is a very non-iconic, non-tantric Mahayana goddess, patron of the Pala dynasty and common across Asia.








    She is Karuna for purposes of Golden Light Dharani, and in a subtle tantric track of arising in her major form, described in the Usnisa Vijaya post. In Cunda's temple at Pattikera, a land grant on behalf of Durgottarini Tara was found. The Club of Cunda was the power that began the Pala Dynasty.






    namaḥ prabhu-ditâṭopa-mukuṭâkṣipta-mālinī |

    hasat-prahasat-tuttāre-māra-loka-vaśaṃkari ||


    Four Pratisamvits

    Ten = Entering the Mandala

    Here, the terma has Trailokyavijaya. Due to hasa and prahasa, Laughter, Mahacina Krama and Ekajati suggest themselves. The commentary does not say it should mean "shining" here. Tara Ten's crown emanates garlands, which, I suppose, are implied to be of light. Malini is also a deity in her own right who seems to be an aspect of Pandara. However the Laughing Goddess or Attahasa is persistent all the way through Buddhakapala Tantra. And this trait is very primordial with Vajra Family.






    namaḥ samanta-bhūpāla-paṭalâkarṣaṇa-kṣame |

    calad-bhṝ-kuṭi-hūṃ-kāra-sarvâpada-vimocinī ||

    Four universal purities (Catvari Parishuddha)

    Eleven = Increase (Paustika or Vardhani)

    The terma has Vasudhara. The main power here is Akarsana, summoning from any of the world-systems. A meaning of calat bhrkuti could be vibration of the Ajna center. It may be a facial sneer, but, as a common word, bhrkuti can be a glance of concentration, which does not have to be deeply furrowed.

    Vasudhara has her own section in our Table of Contents, and, at an advanced level, she also emanates in Vajra Family. She also has an aspect of Akarsani or Hook Goddess.




    namaḥ śikhaṇḍa-khaṇḍêndu-mukuṭâbharaṇôjjvale |

    amitābha-jaṭâbhāra-bhāsvāra-kiraṇa-dhruve ||

    Ten Powers--Vasita

    Twelve = Homa

    Both traditions use something similar to Prasanna, but, she is very tantric, and Day--Night Tara is the only one who matches "crescent moon and Amitabha in her hair". She is a good basic practice which uses this song, so, they are almost the same. Day--Night Tara in next post.

    In terms of precise accuracy to the song's lyrics, there is almost nothing more appropriate than this.




    namaḥ kalpânta-huta-bhug-jvāla-mālântara-sthite |

    ālīḍha-mudita-ābaddha-ripu-cakra-vinaśiti ||

    Ten Strengths--Bala

    Thirteen Subdues Hindrances

    The verse says her joy destroys enemies. It also has Flame Garlands, and, this is probably a stock enough expression that it may be unnecessary if you say Malini. It can be fire or a rosary depending on context. The commentary says:

    She makes them content and joyous, and subdues the malefic forces of the two obscurations. The inner meaning is that this indicates the realization that “exhausts all phenomena”. Just as the fire at the end of the eon consumes the world, when the primordial wisdom swirls in dharmadhātu, the outer earth and stones, the inner animate body, and the secret conceptions are also exhausted. So the foes of the two obscurations are subjugated, and the joy of the great tranquility of the core of inner clarity of primordial wisdom that does not dwell in the extremes of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa is experienced.





    namaḥ kara-talā-ghāta-caraṇā-hata-bhūtale |

    bhṛkuṭī-kṛta-hūṃ-kāra-sapta-pātāla-bhedini ||

    Four Fearlessnesses

    Fourteen = Circle of Protection

    Wrathful Bhrkuti

    The commentary says:

    The seven underworlds, which are like layers of seven roofs, are: the abodes of demons, the general base, the higher base, the baseless, the specific base, the base of essence, the perfect base, and the pure base. In reality, the two soles striking symbolize striking the crucial point of the path of the non-duality of pristine wisdom and the basic sphere, which uproots the seven latencies or seven cognitions with their objects.

    which sounds like Yogacara based in Seven Consciousnesses.

    Bhrkuti post. This is also instructive because most Bhrkutis are really peaceful, and this wrathful one can be found to occupy this verse in Guge and Nepal.






    namaḥ śive śubhe śānte śānta-nirvāṇa-gocare |

    svāhā-praṇava-saṃyukte mahā-pāpaka-nāśini ||

    Eighteen Unshared Attributes

    Fifteen = Purifying Mental and Emotional Defilements

    A form of Santi in both traditions.

    This is the only time Nirvana is mentioned. So this verse is called Dharmakaya as by Wilson. Her mantras with Svaha and Pranava (Om) destroy sin. Actually, the commentary just slipped "mantra" in parenthesis. It doesn't say that in the verse, does it? No, that says "samyukta", which is a past tense similar to "yoga accomplished". Something has been conjoined, Om, a kind of universal dawn, with whatever you put in between, to Svaha, mental sacrifice by fire, where Ganapati acts as your "priest", which is part of why he gets hypostasized into Amritakundalin, carrying the etherealized remnants of your mantra to their target, or even into the sun.

    If taken in its own context, we might think...Santi...could be White Vajra Family Mother that is just here in Tara Tantra.

    It is not really part of a name or identity of any Tara. Mantranusarini has no "features", whereas Mahapratyangira has the form of Youth and Beauty, Yauvana. She is Blue and seems Peaceful.

    Sadaksari is:

    sarve mayā anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇadhātau

    Vajra Tara is the same thing more powerfully, Nirvana Dhatu.

    The nirvanic reference could also indicate an Akanistha goddess such as Mahasri Tara.





    namaḥ pramuditâbaddha-ripu-gātra-prabhedini |

    daśâkṣara-pada-nyāsa-vidyā-hūṃ-kāra-dīpite ||

    Having nothing to guard

    Sixteen = Cutting Attachments

    Here, Suryagupta has something similar to Ragavajri, attachment-cutter; the terma uses Tārā Kiraṇojjvalā. At the beginning, she "prabhedini", a form of bhedini or what she does to your knots, to enemies, by joy; it is like saying Namaha to Tara who just did that in another verse. The second line says her Ten Syllable mantra is a Nyasa accompanied by a Dipa or lamp-like entity arising from Hum. A fiery Tara would make sense, that one's Tibetan name is Drolma Barwé Öchen.

    Because there is a particular Ten Syllable Nyasa goddess, Dhanada, and, she spawns a mandala from Hum, that is one of the closest possible matches.

    There is some Dhanada information posted. She is "difficult" because she is the whole mandala assembly based on Quintessence. This is, so to speak, on the level of various Four Arm Rosary goddesses, among whom she is found in the lower register of Seven Syllable deity. He does not have Mahacinakrama Tara, but he does have Dhanada, Tarodbhava Kurukulla, Prajnaparamita, Cunda, and (likely) Vasudhara.

    Taranatha calls her an aspect of Vasudhara; she is found in the names of Lakshmi. Mantricly, she resembles Mahasri Tara. Dhanada is semi-advanced in Karma Family:










    namas ture-pādâghāte hūṃ-kārâkāra-bījite |

    meru-mandāra-kailāsa-bhuvana-traya-cālini ||

    Three Close Mindfulnesses

    Seventeen subjugates obstacles.

    Suryagupta has Sukha Sadhani here.

    Mandara is the "mountain", or Jnana, used to churn the Ocean of Milk, or Kha Dhatu. Tara is causing these three powerful mountains and the Three Worlds to Calini, which is what happens when Cunda spins something. She does Cale or intentional motion, opposite of which is A-cala, motionless or immovable. The verse however says Hum is her Bija.

    Four Arm Sita Tara with Marici and Mayuri arises from White Hum. But this Tara Seventeen is Padaghata, "stomping", or, moreover, "killing with" her feet. It uses Gha, the destroyer syllable. White Night Tara arises from Hum, but it says she smites the ground with her left hand.

    Obscurely, Padaghata is to "massage by feet" in Ayurveda and Kalaripeyatu (martial arts), i. e. for someone to walk on your back. That...does not really fit the way these things are usually described. Cale is the same root as in Calat or "swaying" earrings. This verse does not say Mt. Meru was Vinasini or destroyed as it could have said. I am not sure why would attack or destroy Meru. If extreme motion or calini were applied to Meru, my spine, I might not care for that, kind of like someone might not want their earrings kicked off their head. The commentary says:

    The ultimate meaning is that the quavering of the three worlds is purification of the three doors, (body, speech and mind).

    At least they said something about the verse that it is not sheerly destructive force being engaged here.






    namaḥ sura-sarâkāra-hariṇâṅka-kara-sthite |

    tāra-dvi-rukta-phaṭ-kārair aśeṣa-viṣanāśini ||


    Absence of forgetfulness

    Eighteen cures Naga diseases.

    Drolma Maja Chenmo; Skt. Tārā Mahāmāyūrī

    This one is Hare Moon and Nectar of the Gods. The commentary says:

    The eighteenth homage is to Maja Chenmo, Tib the “Great Peahen”, who averts and pacifies poison. She is as white as the moon, and sits on a blue lotus. In her left hand, she holds a full moon marked with a rabbit, which is the shape of the ocean of nectar of the god realm. With her radiance and her chanting of the mantra, OṂ TĀRE TUTTĀRE TURE SARVA VETRA TĀRE PHAṬ SVĀHĀ, which has two TĀREs and a PHAṬ syllable, she clears all poisons, both animate and inanimate, without a trace. Generally, all obstacles arise from poisons, and the base of all the animate and inanimate poisons is our afflictions. She clears all the poisons of sentient beings without a trace with the medicine of the truth of reality.

    I like the image although I do not find "Moon", "shape of the ocean of nectar" is from sura sarakara

    Sura--Brandy--Varuni

    Sara:

    3) The coagulum of curds or milk, cream.

    Then Harini (doe) anka "mark", i. e. it sounds like it should be shaped like the Golden Deer.

    Here it ends Visa--poison nasini--destroyer, so, Mayuri still works. I do not know where that mantra or the moon came from.




    namaḥ sura-gaṇâdhyakṣa-sura-kinara-sevite |

    ābaddha-muditâbhoga-kali-duḥsvapna-nāśini ||


    Complete elimination of habitual tendencies

    Nineteen pacifies Dreams

    Drolma Mipam Gyalmo; Skt. Tārā Ajitarājñī (i.e. Sitatapatra)


    This verse appears contradictory. Yakshas and Kinnaras are Asuras (Daityas).

    Suras means Devas, i. e. those who took Sura--Varuni from the Churning. Although it is possible to find opposite Puranas wherein the Daityas--Asuras are the ones who take her. Cf. Vishnu Purana, or Bhagavata, and that the Rg Veda for Varuna calls him an asura, viz:

    Asura (असुर).—a. [asu-ra Uṇ1.42]

    1) Living, alive, spiritual.

    2) An epithet of the Supreme Spirit or Varuṇa.

    3) Incorporeal, super-human, divine.

    1) Asura (असुर):—[from asu] a mfn. (√2. as, [Uṇādi-sūtra]), spiritual, incorporeal, divine, [Ṛg-veda; Atharva-veda; Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā]

    Asura (असुर).—[adjective] spiritual, divine. [masculine] spirit, [especially] the highest spirit, later a bad spirit, demon

    According to Prajnaparamita XLVI, “the power of the Asuras is equal to that of the Devas. Why? Because sometimes they are vanquished by the Devas and sometimes they vanquish the Devas...The Asura destiny is called thus because the Asuras appear at the head of a list; the others, namely, the Kiṃnaras, Gandharvas, Kuṃbhāṇḍas, Yakṣas, Bhūtas, etc. constitute one and the same destiny with them”.

    They have been Puranically-related since the Pali canon:

    Besides these we find Paharada (A.iv.197, 200) (v.l. Mahabhadda), Sambara (S.i.227), Verocana (S.i.225; probably another name for Rahu, see DA.ii.689), Bali (D.ii.259), Sucitti (D.ii.269) and Namuci (D.ii.269).

    The Asuras are spoken of as dwelling in the ocean after having been conquered by Vajira hattha (Indra, elsewhere, (J.v.139) called Asurappamaddana) and are called Vasavas brethren, of wondrous powers and of great glory. They were present at the preaching of the Maha Samaya Sutta (see DA.ii.689). Buddhaghosa says that they were all descendants of an Asura maiden named Sujata. This cannot be the Sujata, Vepacittis daughter, whom Sakka married (J.i.205-6). See also Danava.

    There were evidently several classes of Asuras, and two are mentioned in the Pitakas, the Kalakanjakas and the Danaveghasas. The Danaveghasas carried bows in their hands. The Kalakanjakas were of fearsome shape (D.ii.259), and were considered the lowest among the Asuras (D.iii.7; see also Kalankajaka and Vepacitti).

    Some of them live in the highest sphere of existence of the apayas (between the one of humans and the one of animals) while others in the set of the world devas. An ordinary human being cannot glimpse an asura.

    Apāya (अपाय).—(= Pali id., also Sanskrit but not in this technical application), evil state, = durgati, q.v. There are three such (see s.v. gati): in hells, as animals, as ghosts. In Pali this group of three is rare; usually there are four, life as asuras being added.

    The male Asura is extremely ugly and furious, and always fight with each other. The female Asura is as beautiful as an angel. They are proud of themselves, thus reluctant to learn and practice Buddhism.

    Asura in Buddhism is the name of the lowest ranks of the deities or demigods of the Kamadhatu.

    The Buddhist asuras are broadly derived, in general character, from the wicked asuras of Hinduism, but have acquired some very distinctive myths which are only found in Buddhist texts.


    In any case, the verse honors Tara as "the one who is served by" those.


    Duhsvapna is Dukkha Svapna, bad dream, i. e. nightmare, which she Nasini, destroys. Kali seems to be translated as "disputes" which are likewise destroyed by her Joy. As a lower-case general word, that is appropriate, i. e. Kali Yuga "age of strife and quarrels". If one were to think of Parasol as like a big eraser to what we know as Kali Yuga, that sounds rather appropriate.


    She is white and holds a white umbrella. Indra, Brahma, gods of the desire and form realms, demons and local gods who harm beings, and the gods of mountains, lakes and trees who help beings, honor her without exception. In general, by the mantra that is blessed by her and the visualization of her body as armor, all conflicts and bad dreams can be averted. In particular, the multi-colored vajras and the sparkles they emit avert religious and political critics, and make their statements powerless. She wears a crown to symbolize honoring lamas as deities, actualization of primordial wisdom, and stabilization of bodhicitta. She wears earrings as a sign of refraining from the humiliation of lamas. Her armlets, bracelets, and anklets, six in number, signify that she refrains from killing insects. Her necklaces represent her perfect recitation of mantra. Her belt, lower garments and ornaments indicate that her body is endowed with bodhicitta. All of her ornaments are like fine armor, whose splendor can avert criticism and the bad dreams caused by the imbalance of the winds (prāṇa), channels (nāḍī ) and seminal essence (bindu). The inner meaning is that by having the karmic wind flow into the central channel, dbu ma Tib, avadhūtī Skr, the experience of the armor of emptiness is actualized, averting the delusions that cause conflict and bad dreams.

    Parasol has one of the most important Sutras along with a very good dharani recording, and she is way too big to ever make it into a single post. She is a phenomenal hypostasis that works up to a 145-page dharani.






    namaś candrârka-saṃpūrṇa-nayana-dyuti-bhāsure |

    hara-dvirukta-tuttāre-viṣama-jvara-nāśini ||

    Great compassion

    Twenty removes Disease

    Parnasabari


    She is orange and her hand holds a vase of nectar on a blue lotus. Her left eye is like the full moon and her right eye is like the sun. Her right eye emits blazing rays that burn all the lords of diseases, (those who command the evil spirits that bring disease) like haystacks. Clear nectar flows from the moon, (her left eye) curing the causes and effects of diseases and epidemics. Her mantra, OṂ TĀRE TUTTĀRE TURE NAMA TĀRE NAMO HARA HŪṂ HARA SVĀHĀ has two HARA sounds and a TUTTĀRE. The mantra can cure even the most dangerous incurable epidemics. The ultimate meaning is that if the mother-sphere of transcendent wisdom is realized, the most dangerous epidemics of afflictions, their causes and fruitions, can be cured.


    So goes that version, but, Parnasabari is the Queen of Pisacis and Sabaris, is relevant to and appears in Samputa Tantra, and also appears to be an outer basis for Varuni. There is a lot more to her than her general Broom function. She is among the oldest deities having written evidence, a ca. year 300 receipt of a woman offering gold to Parnasabari. I believe she strongly represents an oral tradition which infused most of these dharanis with tantric components, as the written tantras themselves do later on.





    namas tritatā-vinyāsa-śiva-śakti-samanvite |

    graha-vetāla-yakṣa-gaṇa-nāśani pravare ture ||

    Omniscience


    Twenty-one is Sky-going and attaining Akanistha in this lifetime.

    tritatā – thirdness [here m.c. for tri-tathatā ‘three suchnesses’]


    Shiva and Shakti Samanvita, Endowed with, possessing, full of.

    Suchness is a sublime state, she arranged three of them, quite possibly meaning the Three Voids. You would be in possession of these, if completely full of non-dual Shiva and Shakti. Any of those words could have a generic meaning, like sakti--spear, but, this is a fairly recognizable divine couple being translated as "the power of serenity". I would not dare translate Shiva as "serenity" and I am not even a Saivite. Buddhism already had several technical terms for "serenity", such as Shamatha, Ksanti, or Prasrabdhi. And so to me it sounds more like an insurance policy that Buddhist Suchness simply has anything Shiva and Shakti could say or do in their own terms, blanketed.


    Marici, the “Goddess with Brilliance”, who can restore the life force. She is white, her left hand is in the boon-giving mūdra, and her right hand is in the refuge-giving mūdra, holding a blue lotus on which sit the auspicious golden fishes. At her three places: crown, throat, and heart, are OṂ, ĀḤ, and HŪṂ, respectively, which form the sublime protection against all obstacles. The light rays from these letters protect the three doors of beings from the harm of all outer obstacles caused by evil forces, both form and formless. They also protect beings from the inner obstacles of ill health, and the secret obstacles of dualistic affliction. The rays have the power to pacify them without a trace. Particularly, the rays from the three letters can restore the life force stolen by spirits, zombies, and yakṣas, and eliminate their harmful intentions and actions. The homage is to TURE, the great compassionate lady who acts swiftly for the benefit of sentient beings. The true meaning is that Tārā has the power to guide the minds of beings to be tamed in the “three approaches to liberation”. These are: emptiness, attributelessness and aspirationlessness, or, the suchness of an entity, its nature and compassion, and the clearing of all its obscurations. Ultimately the vajra body, speech and mind are the primordially pure nature of all phenomena. By meditating on the sphere of the indivisibility of the three vajras, the demons, sufferings, zombies, and yakṣas are transformed by the great bliss of primordial wisdom.

    It ends by saying the song praises Tara's root mantra.

    So for example some days you go off and do something for Usnisavijaya, which gets built into the song, which is further compressed into any Ten Syllable Tara practice. Over time, it weaves a tapestry.
    Last edited by shaberon; 1st September 2023 at 18:19.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Day--Night Tara


    Neither Rinjung Gyatsa nor IWS had any lineage information about this. I was able to find in a Sakya catalog:

    Sādhana of sGrol ma Nyin zhi mtshan khro and collected rituals according to the Indian text of Nyi ma sbas pa


    sometimes spelled like Nyima Bepai, it means Suryagupta.

    However, it is also attributed to Tilo, Naro, and Phamthingpa, by a person who holds the transmitted sadhana, or the same thing with more Tara material. This probably means it came from Suryagupta, and got to Tilo.


    Rinjung Gyatsa fails to mention the song, which is in IWS and the online sadhana.


    Sadhanamala does not contain anything from Suryagupta that I know of. It does however have an extremely direct Lotus Family Tara to whom no form seems to be assigned. The closest thing to a name is Arya Tara, which, without further information, you take as Peaceful Green Tara. This one also returns us to Manitare, or, what we found as a kind of secret missing trigger to Avalokiteshvara, absent from his IWS icons. And then she has the compelling designation Amitabha Garbha Tantra. Half of her is a dharani, and then there is the short mantra.


    Arya Tara 108:

    namo ratnatrayāya /

    nama āryāvalokiteśvarāya bodhisattvāya mahāsattvāya
    mahākāruṇikāya namas tārāyai, tad yathā, oṃ tāre tāraya
    huṃ huṃ huṃ samayasthite bhara sarvābharaṇabhūṣite padme padme
    padmabhuje padmāsanasthe hasa hasa trailokyavarade sarvadevadānavapūjite
    smarāhi bhagavattathāgatapurataḥ samayaṃ dhara
    dhara mahāsattvāvalokite maṇikanakavicittābharaṇe oṃ
    vilokaya bhavati tāre huṃ huṃ huṃ phaṭ svāhā / mūlamantraḥ
    sadhātuke caitye aṣṭottarasahasraṃ japet / tato hi pūrṇe sati
    bhagavatīm āryatārāṃ paśyati, yam icchati tam varaṃ labhate / oṃ
    maṇitāre huṃ lakṣajāpenāryā agrata upatiṣṭhati, yad icchati
    tam sarvaṃ dadāti / vinā maṇḍalakasnānopavāsena kevalaṃ
    jāpamātreṇa sidhyati / sarvakāryaṃ ca sādhayati /

    // labdhā(ma)mitābhagarbhatantre bhagavatyāryatārāyāḥ
    kalpoddeśaḥ samāptaḥ //


    This is followed by a type of cue for what looks like it means: all of Lotus Family tantra. Sragdhara 109 (Garland) is a Samaptah that does not have additional mantras. It appears to be a prose narration which is beyond my linguistic ability. Sragdhara does, however, have a large section in Dharani Samgraha, and she also has stand-alone dharani texts that are with Mahakarunika, meaning Avalokiteshvara and Lotus Family. I really do not know what Sragdhara 109 is saying but it touches on the following:

    cintā vacana

    which is relevant to Cintamani, and so also to Manitare. Then--we can scroll upwards just a little bit to Verse Eighteen, and, here is the "Hare mark" or Harina Anka, followed by Hrim which is Maya Bija:

    madhyahariṇāṅkavalayopari māyābījaṃ


    I mean...I would not just notice this except "Hare Moon" did not quite seem to fit the verse, because, well, of that word combination. Same phrase in a book that, as far as I know, excludes Suryagupta.

    Someone would probably say the following means "bright as ten million suns"; or perhaps it means Surya Family or Jewel Family:

    tattvabījasūryakoṭisamaprabhaṃ


    Perhaps following after cinta, here it says the Mani mantra is Ausadhi, which is either a healing plant, or, magical healing by a lay healer, very strong, Tathagata Jnana Amrita:

    maṇimantrauṣadhibalaṃ tathāgatajñānāmṛtaṃ


    This has an attribution:

    mahāpaṇḍitaḥ śrīsarvajñamitranāmā

    kāśmīrakavi

    Kavya, Poet of Kashmir; both Suryagupta, and, the other lineages near his in RG and IWS are Kasmiri.

    As a general noun, sragdhara is also a poetical meter which is frequently used by sadhanas. I believe the entire Kalachakra Tantra is in sragdhara.


    If one looks at the way Sadhanamala is written, there is Dhanada 107, which is difficult. It is a generic, but full mandala, a bit bigger than Tara Tantra, with thirteen deities. And then you get this Lotus Family Tara which is kind of telling you to spend some time outside of Sadhanamala in a thing that is heavily mantric. Because the next increment forward is Vajra Tara 110 which is colossal. There is another deity of similar to Vajra Tara's four faced form which is Pithesvari Tara, which was intended as a Standing Yoga for girls, but, Siddha Saraha got it anyway.


    So, yes, I think you can say there is a peaceful Lotus Family Green Tara which is mostly in that Sragdhara line. This part of Day--Night Tara seems sound.

    Concerning Wrathful Night Tara, it is tempting to think of her as a version of the previous White Tara in the books. Both RG and IWS precede Day--Night Tara with a pairing of Green and White Taras from the Kashmiri Pandit, i. e. Sakya Pandita or Sa-pan. These have slightly different information. In IWS, the green one is crowned by Amoghasiddhi, but RG says by guru in the form of Vajrasattva. She has Concentration Hero. In both cases, White Tara has Vajra Feet and is crowned by Amitabha; IWS adds she has come out of the Ocean of Milk. She has eight copies and they all chant a longevity mantra.

    Otherwise, there is not a form like that wrathful white one. If we transport "night" back to Sanskrit, we are going to get Kalaratri, who is also not like this. White Tara subscribes to "saying Hara twice" which means "Tara's wrathful mantra" which means this one. There may be one or two more like it.

    Manohara says Hara once, Parnasabari Verse Twenty is twice, although I am not sure she personally has such a mantra.

    The Suryagupta double Tara is one of the few places it says to involve the song, so, I would err on the side of caution that this Tara probably is his comment on the verse that matches the form. Whereas his Karma Family Tara may not and may not have Twenty-one Taras at all, but is more like Guhyasamaja. And then he has the twenty-one for the song. These are probably all different texts or practices.

    The next suggestion would be that since Avalokiteshvara is emanating them, he has emanated White Bhrkuti. In Tibet, White Tara is though to be Nepalese Princess Bhrkuti.

    Moreover she is an androgyne like Euunuch Mahakala. She has a leopard-skin sleeveless vest. The pattern of leopard spots are vaginas. Tiger stripes are phallic shapes. She also has a tiger skin scarf.




    IWS sadhanas usually have additional details than in Taranatha's Rinjung Gyatsa. These have usually been placed by the Panchen lineages. For instance, RG says "Tara appears before me"; IWS adds "dissolves into me and I self-generate as Tara". When something is called "Praise", that in itself designates outer generation. So we generally are going to sanitize anything that looks like changing your own form, and keep everything at the "praise" level.


    To do Day--Night Tara, the Avalokiteshvara is similar to Simhanada, but there would be a lion; similar to Cittavisrama, "Resting in the nature of mind", who supports himself by a hand; the latter considered a type of Khasarpana, which appears to be the closest match. Amoghapasha is occasionally shown with two arms.

    According to Himalayan Art:

    Khasarpana, meaning 'sky flyer' in Sanskrit is also written in Tibetan language texts as Khasarpani. The term refers to several types of iconographic figures. The first type is a generic peaceful male subject with one face, two hands, white in colour, the right hand in a gesture of generosity, holding a lotus stem in the left hand. Often there is a seated Amitabha Buddha in the crown and a krishnasara deer skin over the left shoulder...The Sadhanasamucchaya has two forms of Khasarpana. The first (folio 44) clearly states that it is extracted from the Sarva Durgati Parishodhana Tantra, belonging to the Yoga Class of the four Classes of Tantra.

    There are Sadhanamala exercises that place him at the level of Emptiness Mantra and Muttering, and then he has larger articles one for Maya Jala and one classed as Vistara.

    Gyantse Khumbum Khasarpana mural:











    He is normally with all four, Tara, Bhrkuti, Sudhana, Hayagriva. What is bizarre is that Khasarpana 26 adds the Buddhas and Prajnas, but, he still has his original retinue, and, I suppose, since Tara is there, Vajradhatvishvari replaces her customary position beside Amoghasiddhi. Instead, in this sadhana, he is either going to emanate Tara much as she is there, or, as the odd one with Vajra Family marks that is fat. She is not quite iconicly perfect:










    On a lotus seat with a moon disk, from White Hrih arises Two arm White Avalokiteshvara, bestowing supreme realization (Or: boon granting) with the right hand, and holding the stem of a white lotus in the left. As the lotus opens, there is a Green Tam syllable, from which Tara arises, looking at me with pleased eyes. Her hair is pinned up on the left, and hangs down on the right. At her crown is a crescent moon and Amitabha.

    Recite the song of praise seven times, and her Ten Syllable mantra, Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha.

    At night, the lotus opens to reveal a White Hum.

    Three-eyed white Tara, extremely fierce, with blazing yellow hair standing on end, brandishes a vajra in her right hand, makes a threatening gesture with her left, and smacks the ground from time to time. As well as cat skins, she wears jewels, and has a hanging green snake for a necklace. She sits (or: stands in pratyalidha) on a lotus and sun disk, surrounded by wisdom fire.

    Repeat the song as before, but use her wrathful mantra:

    On Nama Tare Namah Hare Hum Hare Svaha

    (or: Oṃ Namastāre Tuttāre Namo Hara Huṃ Hara Svāhā from the online sadhana)



    Nothing specifically says this was Khasarpana with Bhrkuti.

    Historical Bhrikuti exported the art of thangka making into Tibet. Life and Contribution of Bhrkuti. To King Srongtsen, Avalokiteshvara "was" Khasarpana.

    As to how likely this trio was known without the full retinue, it has a stone image in Ellora Cave 12 with Avalokiteshvara in Khasarpana form with Tara and Bhrkuti.

    In this guise, Tara is Karuna--Compassion, and Bhrkuti is Prajna--Wisdom.

    For the moment we will have to guess her wrathful nature equals the intensity of the peace of her life-like effigies:












    I would guess that this sadhana may well have been known in Ellora times and therefor associated with Avalokiteshvara and Lotus Family. At the time, you could pretty much say Six Yogas was more secretive and Karma Family was not really known when that thing was built. According to Tara's story, she is valid both ways at the same time.

    If I do this sadhana, I am using the song to praise one or the other Taras, not twenty-one.


    Concerning Tara's Day--Night subject, Anupamaraksita is another significant commentator on the Six Yogas, in this case being translated. He says:

    This practice can be performed either in a open space or in a closed space. In the former case it is called day-yoga, in the latter case night-yoga. During the night-yoga, that is, during the yoga performed in darkness (see below pp. 276-77, 292), four signs appear from a cloudless sky: smoke (dhUma), mirage (marIcl), firefly (khadyota) and lamp (pradipa). During the day yoga (see below pp. 276-78, 292) six signs appear: flame (jvala), moon (candra), sun (arka), Rahu, lightning (vidyut) and bindu, which is similar to a blue lunar disc that illuminates all things. According to the SU (st. 26), when this last sign has arisen the yogin can see and then meditate on a last apparition in the middle of it, which is technically called the 'universal image' (visvabimba; Tib., sna tshogs gzugs). This text does not mention a 'Buddha's image' (buddhabimba; Tib., sangs rgyas gzugs) and 'void image' or 'image of the void' (sunyabimba; Tib., stong pa'j gzugs), which appear in the same context in other sources, such as the LKC and the LTT26 [Vajrapani's Laghutantratilaka].

    The book says the purpose of this yoga is to produce luminous appearances.

    It is not about something else. If you are going to learn how to do a Buddhist sadhana, that is how it goes.


    In Sadhanamala, Anupamaraksita is the author of Vistara Khasarpana 24 and Vistara Tara 98.

    His Sadanga Yoga e-book or clumsy scan is mostly a compilation quoted from other sources.


    Just because you quote something, does not mean you completely agree with it...he seems to have felt strongly that the Signs should not have Mirage first:

    Their position after the retention limb is wrong, since it contradicts the master's teaching...The change of position between the first sign and the second one shows that one should have faith in the master's teaching.


    This comes up by way of describing the Fifth Yoga, Smrti or Sadhana, as a sort of re-run of the Signs as experienced in Day--Night Yoga:


    Here, the ball is the vital breath of the right and left [channels] that is unified in the central channel, in the avadhut. The vital breath, once pushed out in the form of a ball, has to be 'conceived', that is, meditated on, 'on the tip of the nose'. The word 'nose' means the pericarps of the navel, heart, throat, forehead and crown. It will be conceived, that is, meditated on, from the middle of one pericarp to the middle of another one, and not from the right petals of the lotus to the left ones. Due to the suppression of the left and right courses, this vital breath that flows in the central channel is called 'the great jewel of five colours'. [This exercise] is called restraint of the breath (pranayama) and adamantine muttering (vajrajapa). The latter has to be performed in unity with the central channel. 'One's own mantra' is the vital breath that has to be meditated on 'in the heart', from the middle of one pericarp to another, and that 'should be propelled to the bindu'. In other words, it must be arrested in the bindu-place, the forehead [ ... J. Once this jewel, which is accompanied by sensorial faculties and their [[[objects]]), has been restrained, it has to be fixed. This is retention [149ab]. GBh: Retention [Dharana] is what causes the fixation once the jewel - the jewel of the mind -, which is the basis of the senses and their objects (that is, eyes, colours, and so on), has been restrained, i.e., dissolved through breath-control [ ... ].


    So that included nose tips or secret meaning of tip of your nose. But we see that before dealing with multiple chakras like in a physical yoga system, the Jewel of Mind is dissolved by Pranayama. Once dissolved, you are going to diffuse or expand--which is almost certainly the intention of "Vistara" in his sadhanas, and that is what becomes the Fifth Yoga, Recollection or Anusmrti:


    Once the mind has reached the Test (?)-vajra, the perception of the signs occurs. Bodhivajra said the signs are five. The first sign has the aspect of a mirage, the second is similar to smoke, the third has the aspect of a firefly, the fourth of a shining lamp, and the fifth of an everlasting light similar to a cloudless sky [149cd-15l].


    [The yogin) should expand [his] motionless [mind/great jewel) in the elements of the ether (khadhatu) through the adamantine way. Having meditated on this [[[mind]]), he should diffuse it according to the aspect reached through recollection [Smrti]. This [moment] is recollection. In it the apparition occurs [152-153].

    GBh: '[The yogin) should expand', [viz., meditate on] (GSPU), '[his] motionless', pure 'mind in the elements of the ether', that is, in the worldelements, 'through the adamantine way', i.e., through absorption into the radiance that inconceivably follows the five signs, according to the nature of the Dharmakaya. Thus, 'having meditated on', that is, having directly experienced his own radiance, [the yogin) 'should diffuse' [his mind) 'according to the aspect' previously reached 'through recollection'; in other words, through the appearance of the mirage, etc. he reached the limit of beings (bhutakoti)' He should diffuse [his mind) according to the same process. The fifth limb, that is, recollection, has been described. [The apparition or the consciousness occurs in this limb, anusmrti, not in another one] (GSPU).


    So the fifth yoga produces the Image, Apparition, or Bimba, and so we should understand one has witnessed many "empty signs" which perhaps are also called "hallucinations", and it may be a bit like you are enduring millions of these to dredge out this one very important buried jewel. In the initial Day--Night Yoga, you will probably experience hallucinatory states while you are trying with effort to see an image of Tara. While this is taking place, we are only using one nose, that is, the center of Nirmana Cakra or the Navel, while trying to make the routine of Muttering lead to actual Pranayama.

    Tson-kha-pa on Pranayama:

    Moreover, one destroys the five atmaka-skandha in Voidness
    (sunyata). and also destroys the forms of sense objects ( visaya),
    such as the external "hearth" (agnikunda), in Voidness. In the
    same way one individually destroys the issuances of six-doored
    perception (vijnana); and when they do not issue and are stopped,
    in the same way the “thought of enlightenment" (bodhicitta) which
    destroys and stops those is itself stopped by the non-issuing
    Insight (prajna}. and that abiding in the non-discursive (avikalpa)
    samadhi is the Inner Burnt Offering. Hence, one stops the “fire
    of wind" ( vayu-agni ) by the non-issuing Insight, and “One makes
    the burnt offering to fire with the mind ( manas ).” “Stops the fire
    of wind" means “restrains the prana and ayama" “One makes
    the burnt offering to fire with the mind" means "one burns thought
    immobile (aninjya or aninjya)” .


    And so you do--that--in order to acquire the Bimba, which in one sense may be called "icon circle", i. e. you actually Enter the Mandala by opening your vajra eyes and truly seeing it. In the deity sense, Bimba is Ekajati, or, moreover, Vajrabimba is the big Laughing Ekajati from the hypostatical thangka in the first post. One has done the Inner Burnt Offering or Inverted Stupa as used in her sadhana.

    Bimbādevī (बिम्बादेवी) is the name of the wife of the Buddha according to Jātaka sources mentioned in a footnote at the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XXVIII).



    Because one does not just burn the Tathagatas at a whim, this is why terms for "mindfulness", "one-pointedness", and "concentration" are also in levels or degrees. We are trying to reserve the term Samadhi for the Sixth Yoga. The similar thing that we as novices are doing is probably just the Second Yoga, Dhyana. And so the metamorphosis of intensity is what is coded in to the Sutra-to-tantra language:


    The Nine Nets or Samapattis are in the root of Yogacara:

    Before one gains Samatha one cannot get Samapatti, as the latter is only gained through the force of the former. It is written in the Sandhinirmocana Sutra: "If you do not get the attainment of ease and lightness, then you cannot get the mystic Samapatti."

    Characteristics of Calming--Samata were given in Kriya-Charya. This is what Guhyasamaja considers more or less the first Upaya, Sāmānya-sevā, which consists of four Vajras: first, the conception of Śūnyatā; second, its transformation into the germ-syllable; third, its evolution in the form of a deity, and the fourth, the external representation of the deity.


    The Samapattis are exactly the same categories as the Dhyanas or Janas:

    (Sanskrit; Pāli). Attainment or equipoise; a state where the body and mind abide in a state of tranquil composure. Often, samāpatti refers to the four trances (dhyānas), the four levels of the Formless Realm (ārūpya-dhātu), and the state of cessation (nirodha-samāpatti). It is also used as an equivalent to samādhi.

    But they are not the same as the Janas:

    The main difference between any samāpatti and jhānā is that jhānā citta do not run continuously. When one is in a jhānā, jhānā citta vithi are interrupted by pancadvāra citta vithi running in between. Pancadvāra citta vithi are those coming through the five physical senses. Therefore, when one is in jhānā, one can see, hear, etc.

    But when one is in any type of samāpatti, the corresponding manōdvāra citta vithi run continuously. Therefore, there is no opportunity for pancadvāra citta vithi to run, and thus one in a samāpatti is totally unaware of the external environment.








    “Garland" is a pearl gar¬
    land surrounding the circular necklace; this means the set of
    requirements for samadhi.

    On a Wheel:

    Right samadhi (i.e. the aggregate of samadhi) is the pacification
    of all prapanca (expansion of sense attachment) hence
    like the rim.


    When one begins to contemplate full mandala components, one can add the Samadhis and Sampatttis.

    Awareness at the center reflects in the Outer Mandala which has:


    The Northern Gate has one-pointed samadhi
    which implies the five faculties ( indriya ) and five powers (bala).

    The four arches are the four Dhyanas; and these are encircled by the
    four-part perimeter ( nemi ) of samadhis, the four called Surangama ,
    Gaganaganja, Vimala, and Simha-vikrhita.



    Slightly differently with Nine Nets like Lakshmi's back:


    Then there is a passage in Vajravarman’s commentary, the
    11 Sundaralamkara ”, on the tantra Sarvadurgati-parisodhana, PTT Vol.
    76, P- 133 . which is worthwhile presenting to show a somewhat
    unorthodox way of interpreting the same parts of the palace, and in
    particular to introduce the obscure Tibetan term pha-khu (=pha-gu):
    •The four boundless states of friendliness, etc., are the four gates.
    The four samadhis are the four arches. The eight liberations are the
    eight posts. The four noble Truths are the four sides (logs). The four
    Dhyanas are the jewelled pha-khu. Finally, the nine samapattis are
    the nets and half-nets".



    Samapatti Yoginis are the tantric Gauris:


    ...the Nirmanakaya is the gods born by transforma¬
    tion. The Dharmakaya is the set of planets, asterisms (naksatra),
    etc. The Sambhogakaya is the two-footed (divinities); and the
    Nirmanakaya is like the Sambhogakaya in this respect.

    The Nirmanakaya is the gods who range in the palace. The
    Sambhogakaya is those (yogins) with samapatti in the initial
    samadhi (prathamasamadhi). The Dharmakaya is those who
    have transcended the ecstasy.

    Besides, it is explained by the Dharmakaya: Whatever the gods
    dwelling in the wind and vijnana (i.e. vijnana riding on the winds),
    their non-apperception is the Dharmakaya. Moreover, those with
    samapatti (meditational equipoise) in the three samadhis are
    the Sambhogakaya. Those who mutually gaze by reason of
    habit-energy of adhering to the idea of “mine”, are the
    Nirmanakaya.


    And if you are familiar with the Seven Jewels, the standard symbols become translated into tantric Vajraraudris:

    mindfulness is comparable to the jewel of wheel
    joy to the jewel of gem. the cathartic to the jewel of woman, samadhi
    to the jewel of the minister (or treasure), analysis of the doctrine to
    the jewel of the elephant, striving to the jewel of the excellent horse,
    equanimity to the jewel of the general.


    Samadhi at first is mainly Smoky Candi in terms of Armor Deities, Six Yoginis, etc., which is Wrathful Karma Tara, and eventually becomes Vajraraudri herself.

    Vistara Tara handles, for instance, the entire Saptavidhanuttara of Mahattari Tara, and, she has the Seven Jewels of Enlightenment, referring to Upeksa a few times, which becomes tantric Vajradakini.


    This Tara herself is still basic in form, although she arises from Yellow Tam and is very dark:

    pītatāṃkārabījād bhagavatīm āryatārām uttamaśyāmavarṇāṃ


    She does however have a lot of gold jewelry.


    She has one of the more complex ways of saying crowned by Amoghasiddhi:

    bhagavadamoghasiddhitathāgataratnavirājitaśirodeśāṃ


    Similarly to Mahattari's process, she appears to use Vikata (blossiming) Utpala (blue lotus) Mudra to attract a Jnanasattva, or, i. e. Tara from Potalaka or Yulokod or Akanistha:

    anāmike karapaṭe sthāpya kaniṣṭhe prasārya
    śliṣṭīkṛtya daśayed iti vikacopalamudreyam / anayā mudrayā
    tām eva bhagavatīṃ jñānasattvarūpāṃ santoṣya atraiva samayasattvarūpāyā
    bhagavatyā mantraṃ bhāvayed ityanayor advaitam adhimuñcet /


    So if you went through this in the most striaghtforward manner, you would find Khasarpana Avalokiteshvara and probably mostly think in terms of Lotus Family. Hoewever, as the goddess aspect, the closely-corresponding Tara seems to migrate to Karma Family anyway. Yes, she was emanated by him with regards to our world, and, no, she really is not originally a part of him and is probably even his senior.

    Karma and Jewel Family Taras both have an origin from other world-systems which have nothing to do with Avalokiteshvara, but, they do with the corresponding Dhyani Buddhas.


    Day--Night Tara can manage a huge program on her own, and it is not difficult to see how she would be adjunct to Avalokiteshvara or other Taras. For a short, simple, understated little article, it has everything from Ellora to the Six Yogas by way of direct inference.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Bhrkuti, 108 Names of Tara and Lalita Mahatmya/Brahmanda Purana



    Bhrkuti has a sense of humor, not so much about confusion over which of her forms is supposed to be peaceful or wrathful, but about the wrathful aspect itself. It never means she is angry. That suggestion would seem funny to her.

    Wrathful deities are, mostly, reflexes in the brain. They are extensions of the peaceful deities that have this form while essentially clearing garbage out of our cerebral menagerie. The muck that is there ought to be replaced by Akasha. And so we have to meditate they are this way or else when they become apparent to us then we are going to think that they too are terrifying phantoms, and, we will get jammed in the barriers of our own contrivance.

    Bhrkuti is like a big hand in getting started and then she humbly passes the baton to others.

    She is a fairly common adjective describing any wrathful face, and in Tara's song, as an individual, she is given Verse Fourteen, at least by Suryagupta.


    The first line of Verse Fourteen is form-like, and says that she strikes (ghata) the ground or surface of the earth (bhutala) with her palm (tala). That is the same behavior as Wrathful Night Tara. In the second line, Bhrkuti and Hum syllable are sapta-pātāla-bhedini. The last word is used many times in the song, perhaps too violently, as the main thing is we want Tara to bedhana or "untie" our granthi or "knots", which is immediately recognizable to any Hindu yogi, such as Lakshmi is:

    Hridaya-granthi-bhedini --- The Goddess Who Breaks the Knot of Heart


    and so we are going for something pretty close to that, just conducted by Tara.

    Historical Bhrkuti was important to the art of weaving. This has its antecedents with for example Sarasvati as the art of cotton weaving in east India, and also the weaver caste seen as highly involved with the dissemination of tantric practice. Bhrkuti's personal loom is still enshrined in a Nepalese temple, and, she started the art in Tibet.

    So when I first started questioning Tara, it was quickly apparent that bhrkuti as a lower-case adjective usually does mean knitted brows. Almost as obviously, Goddess Bhrkuti however is not frowning, she is very peaceful and pleasant. That was the first thing that seemed to say, well, it probably just could be subtle vibration in the ajna center. I began to think that the pictures of wrathful Bhrkuti were simply wrong, but, in Nepal, there is one that would work for this verse. However it is not her Sutra form. It is mentioned with some other information in Iconography of Nepalese Buddhism:


    Bhrkuti appears in MMK Chapter Two with the Vidyarajnis, and Hevajra Tantra Chapter Two.

    When she appears in blue colour, she is depicted as three headed and a six armed form.


    We are not given additional details, other than this is completely different and could be in Vajra Family or else share their traits such as Hum syllable at least. Also, Bhrkuti must be among the first-known Nirmanakaya emanations of Tara. This means that her basic form is equivalent to preaching on the slopes of Mt. Potalaka--i. e. is among the more easily accessible by mantra--and incarnated as a human. In this case we can see that Akshobhya was significant:



    Taranatha in his history of Buddhism in India describes a
    visit of an upasaka Santivarman from Pundravardhana to the
    top of the Potala hill, the abode of Avalokiteshvara. It is said
    that Santivarman once prayed to Bhrikuti to cross a sea and
    there appeared a girl with a raft and who took him across.
    While climbing Potala hill, an upasaka saw an image of
    Bhrikuti on the way up the hill.

    Bhrikuti Devi was instrumental in diffusing
    Buddhism in Tibet. She brought the artistic images of Arya
    Tara, Avalokiteshvara and Akshobhya Buddha into Tibet.

    The bronze statue of Buddha Akshobhya Vajra (in Lhasa at
    Ramoche temple) is considered to be one of the most excellent
    images ever produced by the artists of Nepal, which was taken
    to Lhasa by Nepalese princess Bhrikuti Devi in the seventh
    century.


    The author then states:

    ...the exact meanings and implications as regard to the different images or
    deities relating to Vajrayana Buddhism has slowly gone out of
    focus during the passage of time. Even today there are many
    sculptors, artists and painters who can meticulously carve or
    paint such images or deities with excellent results, but the incumbent meanings however cannot be found with ease.


    Sakyaditha has a quite good page on Bhrkuti, also attributing her as a "new kind" of Buddhist ascetic woman who was not a nun. It says the Hevajra appearance is the same trinity, Avalokiteshvara with Tara and Bhrkuti. The page winds up inconclusive about what this "new kind" may have been. I am not sure that would be the real question we have for her. It might be more along the lines of how to feel what she is feeling.

    So far I do not see anything similar in Hevajra Tantra. The bhrkuti expression means Sambhoga Cakra or Enjoyment circle. The goddess is in II.iv.65 in a list after Nairatma and the Prajnas, Bhrkuti, Cunda, and Parnasabari, fell to the ground stunned senseless by the explanations of tantra about an inner mandala. Cf. Snellgrove 1959 p. 106 (122 in the format) or Farrow 1992 where it is actually verse 68, p. 227 (289 of the pdf).


    The Tara song's commentary describes a two-arm Bhrkuti, black like a dark night, whose item is a wooden pestle upon a blue lotus.

    She subdues the eight classes (presumably non-humans) and nine spirit brothers (presumably planets).

    By the power of her regal frowning, the resounding vibration of HŪṂ, and the glare from her radiant vajra light, which is like a fire-shower, she shatters the hearts and heads of all malignant spirits: samaya breakers, demons and others from the seven underworlds and above, and makes them faint into the state of dharmatā. The seven underworlds, which are like layers of seven roofs, are: the abodes of demons, the general base, the higher base, the baseless, the specific base, the base of essence, the perfect base, and the pure base. In reality, the two soles striking symbolize striking the crucial point of the path of the non-duality of pristine wisdom and the basic sphere, which uproots the seven latencies or seven cognitions with their objects.

    You can pretty easily get a Yogacara system of Seven Consciousnesses from that.

    Nothing says she used her feet, unless she was perhaps related to Day--Night Tara in verse Twelve. If so, this is quite close to saying Twelve is a "dual Tara", followed by Thirteen as the Peaceful and Fourteen as the Wrathful aspect.

    Suryagupta uses:

    14) Calad-bhṛkuṭī-Tārā ()Khro gnyer gyo ba’i Sgrol ma); Frown Shaking Tārā – On an orange lotus, sun and human corpse seat, from AT appears Blue Tārā with three faces, black, white and red. They frown and devour human intestines in their mouths. She has six arms. Her right hands hold sword, hook and club. The left ones hold skull, noose and Brahmā’s heads. She wears a crown and necklace of human heads and is adorned with tiger-skin and snakes. Outside, in the eight directions, shoots of jewel-trees grow. The lord of the type is Amoghasiddhi.

    The unusual syllable and Dhyani Buddha are part of the way he cycles mantra and Dhyanis throughout the song, so, those are "incidents" that have less to do with Bhrkuti personally, and more to that specific method of commenting the song. Instead, everything seems to be saying there is not really such a thing as Wrathful Bhrkuti, except in this song, which is nested in Verse Twelve in a minor way, and seems to be generally accepted as owning Verse Fourteen in a big way. Suryagupta uses this verse as Circle of Protection (presumably Raksa Mandala). The missing Maitreya quality this would like to open is:


    fearlessness in asserting their own perfect realization
    fearlessness in asserting their own perfect abandonment
    fearlessness for the sake of others in revealing the path to liberation
    fearlessness for the sake of others in revealing potential hindrances on the path


    That says Bhrkuti like lightning.

    She has no Hindu scriptural background. But she is part of the Yakshi cult as the mate of Vijaya:

    The main iconographic details to be gleaned from the Jaina books distinguish the image of Candraprabha from all other Indian images. His Lāñchana or technical emblem is the moon or the crescent. His special tree is Nāga (Nāgakeśara). The goblins are Vijaya and Bhṛkuṭi (Jvālāmālinī). The chowri-bearer, who does him honour is called Dānavīrya.

    The Śvetāmbara Yakṣiṇī Bhṛkuṭī rides a cat (or swan) and her hands are adorned with a sword, club, spear and axe. The Digambara Śāsanadevī Jvālāmālinī or Jvālinī has a buffalo as her riding animal and holds in her hands disc, arrow, noose, shield, trident, sword, bow etc. Bhṛkuṭī’s symbol of a swan (according to Hemacandra) may be explained as identically the same riding animal for the husband Vijaya (Vijayo haṃsavāhana, Vide ante). Her other symbols as held in the hands are such as become a Yakṣiṇī or “guardian goddess”. Jvālāmālinī or Jvālinī or Mahājvālā as known to the Śvetāmbaras also assume, in the same name, the function of a Vidyādevī. Her symbol of a buffalo shows her symbolic connexion with her husband Vijaya, who, in Brahmanism, is synonymous with Yama, the famous rider of a Buffalo.



    In Sadhanamala, Bhrkuti has personal sadhanas being yellow and arising from Bhrim, which is Jupiterian, similar to Cintamani Tara and Jewel Family, but, Bhrkuti is in Lotus Family. She also is standard as a retinue member. Tara and Bhrkuti are with Red Avalokiteshvara, and Padmanarttesvara. Red Avalokiteshvara is very simple, has Kurukulla's items and only these two as companions. He somehow has Vajrodaka involved, and the following line:

    saptāhāt striyaṃ puruṣaṃ vā vaśam ānayanti, trisaptāhān mahāpuruṣam /




    Bhrkuti usually has a Pitcher, and so she would generally be thought of as having initiatic power, related to a Rosary. She has Three Eyes.

    She has a personal mudra in the following manner:

    tato mudrāṃ bandhayet / pūrvavat hastadvayaprasāritenāṅguṣṭhena
    kaniṣṭhikānakhaṃ pidhāya pṛthak pṛthak śeṣā vajralakṣaṇāḥ,
    iyaṃ bhṛkuṭīmudrā /



    Tara's song seems to be based in Karma Family, such as Tara with Marici and Ekajati, but if we look in Verse Twelve it seems to also have a kernel that there is an important Lotus Family emanation, of Avalokiteshvara probably Khasarpana with Tara and Bhrkuti. And if we look into that, it is going to fetch Ekajati as well. That is to say, Avalokiteshvara has the presence of Bhrkuti on several of his forms, one of which is Khasarpana which seems to involve Day--Night Tara, which is probably just Tara and Bhrkuti instead of his complete retinue.

    Bhrkuti has a different relationship with Ekajati. For this, we have to turn to different sources. Amoghapasha is not in Sadhanamala. But it can very easily be shown to be having the same conversation, among the oldest surviving artifacts, an 800s Indian painting, where part of Bhrkuti's form is a gesture of song, and there are Offering Goddesses in the corners:





    At the bottom right is the goddess [6] Gandha offering scented water in a white conch shell. At the bottom left is the goddess [7] Pushpa offers flowers on a flat gold plate. At the top left the goddess [8] Dhupa offers incense in a gold brazier with a long handle. At the top right the goddess [9] Dipa offers light and holds a gold lamp with a small flame licking upward.

    Hayagriva and Ekajati are obviously already in their own kind of class. And so instead of a complete wrathful practice, there are elements of wrath harnessed by peace. The males are forms of Avalokiteshvara, and the females are a Raksasi and a Yakshi. Both of them are so good they are Yidams in their own right. And this Peaceful Bhrkuti becomes very familiar as this configuration remains intact over the ages.


    Kagyu:







    1400s Nepalese mandala with Buddha, Medicine Buddha, Green Tara, and Vasudhara outside:







    Gold-colored in 1500s Nepalese:







    IWS retinue section of Bhrkuti and Ekajati:









    Because any deity is allowed to take the center for Amoghapasha, it was plain that Peaceful Bhrkuti turns blue-green, a different shade from Krsna Ejakati. What is unapparent is that when the rite centers on Ekajati, Bhrkuti nevertheless becomes colored:






    She eventually winds up in the Heart Chakra of Dakarnava. But something from Ekajati must have rubbed off on her, and then it may be only with respect to Tara's song that we find her ensuing metamorphosis as in this 1400s Guge Bhrkuti:







    In Suryagupta's system, the Taras are highly dissimilar and so you can easily spot her at a distance in any assembly of them. She can easily be picked out such as this detail from Suryagupta Taras:






    His whole system might be shown with Eight Arm Tara Samayayogini. But here is one under Eight Fears Tara. That again is its own different practice and so here is the group of eight distinguished from the song. They are unidentified, but this one appears to be centered on Khadira Tara with Marici and Ekajati. There is only one possibility for Bhrkuti, towards the lower left in a Parnasabari-like kneeling posture:







    Her symbolic inadequacy is that she lacks a kartri or chopper. That is a strong non-indication about her identity with Ekajati. She must not be. The main symbol of Mahacinakrama Tara is that kartri is part of her spawn sequence. Most Varahis and Vajrayoginis subsequently employ it. Bhrkuti only has the skullcup, so, it must be containing prajna or nectars other than blood. Her primary role is Prajna, seeking Tara or someone else to embody Karuna or Upaya.

    Her Sword, Hook, and Noose are not unusual. Club is an unusual item, but very important to Cunda. Brahma's Head is only occasionally found. The closest usage is by Gauri in Dakini Jala. That is like a look at this Bhrkuti is an instant referral to Gauris.

    At historical Bhrkuti's time period, which was mostly pre-650, Dakini Jala is the main option in terms of discussing Encounter with Peaceful and Wrathful Six Families.

    In this, Amitabha is Padmanarttesvara, and Amoghasiddhi is Paramasva, who really has Seven Faces because he personally has the four faces of Brahma and others.

    Medieval India asrcibes "Tara hymns" to this time, and Sragdhara Stotra to the eighth century.

    In Sadhanamala, Padmanarttesvara is again accompanied by Bhrkuti in the North, or, i. e. Accomplishment or Prajna or Bell quadrant. He in turn is used by Vajra Tara 93, 94, and 110.

    Padmanarttesvara has Tara but not Ekajati. It has a lot of Lotus Goddesses, but also a Bhurini who is related to an outpouring of Pratisara or Vasudhara or Jewel Family. Its minor goddesses include one who is Akasha-colored and one who is Visvavarna or multi-colored. Here, Bhrkuti is white with a White Lotus, whereas in other instances it is Yellow.

    One might say that Amoghapasha and Khasarpana are tantric initial gatherings, and Padmajala or Lotus Family Tantra is mainly carried out by Padmanarttesvara. One of his relationships to Jewel Family is the highly erotic Vajravilasini, which is also one of the few places we can find a hypostatic interaction of Dharmadhatu Vajra or Sixth Element to the usually-secretive Five Prajnas.

    Nothing says Bhrkuti ever becomes his, or, anyone's consort. Dakarnava's Hridaya is really a system of Six Families of Prajnas. It also has six senses ending on Dharmadhatu Vajra. Then there are Ten Bodhisattvas, ending on Nairatma, Bhrkuti, Parnasabari, and then Ten Wrathful Ones. The whole assembly is Laghuheruka (Light Heruka).

    All of them are females who have a male copy. They are reddish yellow in color; they each have one face and four arms; they hold a skull bowl, a skull staff, a small drum, and a knife.

    If you follow the way it is listing directions, Bhrkuti is at the Zenith and Parnasabari in the Nadir.


    Bhrkuti does not seem to have any individual mantra in Dharani Samgraha. She does, however, have cameos, starting with what is an extremely rare if not unique action:

    bhṛkūṭī taraṁga prabhūkhaira vajapāṇi bhi naṁtaḥ||


    Taranga, an ornament made of a pattern of waves, cloth or clothes, horselike motion or waving.

    Interpreting the slurred writing, it was directed at Vajrapani. Hevajra says:

    Here taranga (which means waves) refers to the
    various modes of the mind. The destruction of the various modes of the
    mind is expressed by 'calm'.


    Elsewhere in Dharani Samgraha, Bhrkuti is in a:

    ratnadhātu karaṇukaṁnāma Avalokiteshvara Mahayana Sutra, wherein Amitabha conjures a two-page sentence from Void that ends:

    bhṛkuṭikṛtajñaḥ jayavanto nayavantāsmṛtivantaḥ mahāvikramantaḥ guṇavantaḥ maitrīyavantaḥ śīlavantaḥ
    dayāvantaḥ śāntavantaḥ||

    Vikrama has to do with heroism, strength, and power, followed by Qualities, Love, Virtue, Source of, Peace.



    Vajrapani deals with the Four Kings by:

    bhairavaṁmātṛkā durgā stathānye mārakāyikāḥ|| vidyādevyāmahāvīryyāmahābalaparākramāḥ| māmakī bhṛkūṭī tārā sūbīryyo mṛtakūṇḍarī| vajā parājitāca caṇḍī svarṇṇakeśīca pirgalā| ekajaṭā mahādaivī dhanyā viyūtsūmālinī|| śrīsarasvatī lakṣmī siddheśvarī sadānūgāḥ||



    and in other areas, we find:

    locanā bhṛkuṭīcaivatārā bhagavatī tathā| mārīcī parṇu sāmakī pāṇurā tatā||


    rājavartta varṇṇa nibharddha deharavirathabhayānaka locana yu modraṣṭhākalyola bhṛkuṭī kṛtalalajñāṭaḥ paṁcavarṇṇamegha madhyeta labhujābhyā candra sūryā kevalābhinayasthitaḥ ||


    She finally appears to become connected to Pandaravasini:

    aparājitā mahādhārā mahāvelā mahā-tejā mahācaṇḍā mahādīptā mahāśvetā mahāmārā mahādvālā pāṇu revāśiṇī || āryya tārābhṛkuṭīcai vajayāca vijayotathā ||


    In the 1930s, an Inscribed Avalokiteshvara with Kurukulla and Bhrikuti was excavated.

    That makes the most sense, because, Bhrkuti doesn't vanish out of existence, she just doesn't really have "further practices". Whereas Kurukulla has no preliminaries, but, becomes a very massive outburst of Lotus Family Tantra. It is almost like a boundary. Bhrkuti is Nirmanakaya. Kurukulla is Sambhogakaya from the view of not an initial glimmer, but, an actualized yogic state of being, which I guess is like a way of saying "moving on" from the First Joy. That is because a number of other yogas can also bring you a physiological correspondence of the Buddhist First Joy. But what they are actually doing with it is almost indiscernable. We have in mind this goddess, Kurukulla, riding the beads of nectar back down the throat and to the rest of the system. At the same time mentally, one has vivid manifestations of Eight Vowels and some very weird retinues. Kurukulla when eminent is supposed to be generated by a blend of Tara and Lakshmi. Outside of the condition of actually having her, we should probably say Tarodbhava Kurukulla. That is because Tara guides the change from mundane conditions to this. Until then, Kurukulla is pretty much in a secret cave.


    A brief mention of Twenty-one Taras in Hinduism and Buddhism only says there is a wrathful Bhrikuti, and then also:

    Parnasavari, represented as wearing a girdle of leaves and also called Gandhari, Pisaci
    and Sarva-Savaranam Bhagavati. She is apparently the goddess of an
    aboriginal tribe in India. Kurukulla, a goddess of riches, inhabiting
    caves. She is said to have given great wealth to the fifth Grand Lama, and
    though she might be suspected of being a native deity was known in Nepal
    and India.

    The Goddess Marici, often depicted with Tara, appears to be distinct
    and in one form is represented with a sow's head and known as
    Vajravarahi. As such she is incarnate in the abbesses of several
    monasteries, particularly Samding on lake Yamdok.


    Consequently, the actual Ekajati that is not an invocatory or Samaya aspect like Mahacinakrama Tara is the equivalent of sweat produced by saturation of this Kurukulla-nectar.



    Near the Krsna River, Buddhaguhya (late eighth century) is among others who attained results at Potalaka Mountain in Andhra. To that is connected an Ekajati cycle from the fifth century.

    While he was there, a seated Mahasri Tara was preaching doctrine to the Nagas. In her identifying manuscripts, she is called Potalake Bhagavati Tara, and in other places her "abbreviated form" is called Dharmacakra Tara due to her gesture. It is noted the similarity with Prajnaparamita. The latter is in Candamaharoshana Tantra, and so is Sridevi in a limited way.


    This is in Chapter Twelve where she asked about mandalas. The replies are based on the acquisition of Awakening or of any of the siddhis, such as Sword or Khadga Siddhi and so on. It is, of course, framed around Candamaharoshana as the principal, but then says:


    As another option, the blessed lady should be painted on the canvas alone in the center, between the five Acalas. Then, imagining oneself as having the form of her husband, one should make her the object of one’s practice as previously described. Or, imagining one’s own wife as having the form of the goddess, one should do the practice. Being accomplished, she can grant even the state of awakening, let alone other accomplishments.


    So in other words, one can practically perform the equivalent of the whole tantra based on the goddess. She could be a Jnanamudra, or, she could be a Karmamudra (i. e. one's wife). What would it have been like if she were the original principal?

    One should recite the mantra 100,000 times, completing in this way the preliminary practice. Then, starting on the first day of the dark fortnight, one should recite every day at the three junctions of the day until the full-moon day. Then at the end, one should recite the whole night, offering a great pūjā from sunset until sunrise. This mantra will then be mastered. From then on, one can accomplish all actions.


    It is a lot like Vajrasattva, it says 100,000 preliminaries until you do a major exercise. The process of doing so includes at the very least the Signs of Day and Night Yoga because:

    Then terrors will arise, but one should not fear. One should recite quickly, very quickly. Then the lord Caṇḍa­mahā­roṣaṇa will come himself. One should then make a welcome offering of water for his feet, prostrate oneself, and stand up.

    12.­11
    “Lord Caṇḍa­mahā­roṣaṇa will ask: ‘What boon shall I grant you?’ The sādhaka should reply: ‘Grant me the state of awakening.’ Then the lord will enter his body. As soon as he enters, the sādhaka obtains the bodily form of a sixteen-year-old and the six superknowledges. He becomes the master of the thirteenth bodhisattva level, living in a celestial mansion, with a retinue of hundreds of thousands apsaras gracing him. He obtains an alluring form, becomes omniscient and just like the lord Caṇḍa­mahā­roṣaṇa.


    At that point you are in contact with that league from among whom is a Jnanamudra suitable for Full Buddha Initiation:

    One should practice with the chief queen and the king made of banyan wood, [F.322.a] and with the group of apsarases‍—Tilottamā, Śaśidevī, Kañcanamālā, Kuṇḍalahāriṇī, Ārambhā, Urvaśī, Śrībhūṣaṇī, Ratī, Śacī, and so forth, made of deodar wood.


    Our little banyan wood pagan idol is no less than:

    vaṭakāṣṭhamayīṃ śrīdevīṃ rājānaṃ ca devadārumayaṃ tilottamā-śaśidevī-kāñcanamālā-kuṇḍalahāriṇī-ratnamālā-ārambhā-urvaśī-śrībhūṣaṇī-ratī-śacī-ādyapsarogaṇaṃ sādhayet |


    They are in the middle of many practices, which include Gauris, and Yakshis such as Hariti, Surasundari, Ratipriya (Dhumavati), Syama, Nati, Anuragini, Kamesvari, Revati, and Alokini.


    It seems to be saying Sridevi and "some king" are over the apsaras, who have no male entities. These are the general population around the celestial palace.

    If one had missed the first clue, it says:

    The preliminary practice is completed with ten thousand recitations of the garland mantras. These rites, as was the case with the rites belonging to the root mantra, call for deity-specific mantras. Just as the mantra rituals of the lord are to be performed, so also are they to be performed for the goddesses. In particular, through reciting, poetic and scholarly skills will quickly arise.


    So there is call to have a central goddess, and also her subordinate rites or activities, the grand concatenation of which would seem to be having Sridevi exude this realm of exhilirating beauties for a mandala that has entered Akanistha.


    If one is female and Tilottama does not quite meet your image of any kind of ideal partner, you should probably switch out all of this information so that Gandharvas are present instead. Either way implies a musical and dancing aspect and the "highest level" of other-worldly entities, i. e. the most difficult to attain. As for the Celestial Nymphs:



    These apsarā women were born at the churning of the ocean of Milk. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bālakāṇḍa, Chapter 45, Verse 32 and Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Part I, Chapter 9 and Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 3).

    Ariṣṭhā, a wife of Kaśyapa, delivered thirteen Apsaras. They were: Alambuṣā, Miśrakeśī, Vidyutparṇā, Tilottamā, Rakṣitā, Rambhā, Manoramā, Keśinī, Subāhu, Surajā, Suratā and Supriyā. Ariṣṭhā gave birth also to four Gandharvas, Hāhā, Hūhū, Atibāhu and Tumburu.

    Divine dancers born of Muni and Kaśyapa. Joined Gandharvas in milking the cow Earth; worship Barhiṣad pitṛs. Love sports with Gandharvas over the Himalayas. A group of celestial women who often go to Mount Kailāsa. Thirty-four wait on Indra. Joined the gods in offering prayers to Hari.

    Dance in front of the Sun god and move with him by turns. Live in Meru: Kāmadeva was their overlord; born on earth as 16000 gopis during Kṛṣṇa's avatāra; sprung from the churning of the ocean.

    Once when the Apsaras ladies, all daughters of Agni, were engaged in water sports in Mānasa, there came Nārada. Without saluting him they asked him how to attain the Lord as husband. He gave them a vrata but cursed that they would be separated from the Lord and become slaves of robbers; became the rekhas on the body of Vāmana.

    They are closely associated with the Gandharvas, who are the celestial musicians. Some of the Apsaras are paired with a Gandharva, such as Tumburu with Rambha, and Menaka with Vishvavasu. But the relationship is temporary and is not a marriage tie.

    There are two types of Apsaras; Laukika (worldly), of whom thirty-four are specified, and Daivika (divine), of which there are ten.

    According to a late tradition, sundry Apsarasas were born of Brahman’s fancy (‘faculty of imagination’); others, of Dakṣa’s daughters. The first make a group of ten plus one, beginning with Menakā, and are called Vaidikīs, sacrosanct, recognised by revelation, and as such distinguished from those born from Dakṣa’s daughters.

    There are names of up to a hundred and twenty Apsarases including a mystery class in Lightning.


    Bhrkuti is the "slope" under the transcendental Potalaka Mahasri.

    In Sadhanamala, Mahasri is, perhaps, slightly different, since Ekajati has a chopper, the mantra is modified to be related to Dhanada's, she has Samaya through Utpala Mudra, are probably symptoms of how she is in Karma Family crowned by Amoghasiddhi.

    She has Ekajati and Marici, as well as Janguli and Mayuri.

    Karma Tara represents her personal Pure Land, whereas Sukhavati and Potalaka are kind of its own tradition, more closely related to the osmosis of Avalokiteshvara into the national deity of Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia. So in this sense, yes, Lotus Family governs this world-period and is most popularly known as a saviour of this nature.

    It is mainly by going through the teachings of Six Yogas that the immanence of Karma Family can be realized, and, since, one you have this, ignorance about occult matters fades, you have then been molded into a condition immediately fit to have a clear vision of Karma Tara in her Forest of Turquoise Leaves. Although again it would seem to be, at such a level, there is still a peaceful Green Tara of either family.

    Ekajati has a peculiar connection to Lotus Family from a time when Tibet did not really have any yoga practices, while she was also prominent with Mahamayuri. So bringing Ekajati and Mayuri together with Tara would have been one of the most meaningful things from a very early period.

    In Sadhanamala, Bhrkuti is followed by Tarodbhava Kurukulla.

    In terms of Lotus Family goddesses, that is pretty much the way we want to be steered. Sitabani and Bhrkuti are almost the only outer ones, followed by Kurukulla.



    Even in the Nepalese online archive, there doesn't seem to be anything about Bhrkuti, nor does she seem to appear in any other Tara material.

    There is a fairly short Arya Tara Stuti by Candra Dasa, which I cannot get much from, although it has a Tarini Raksasi shortly followed by Tarini Kamarupina.

    There is a Sri Mahadevi Vyakarana, which looks like her Jewel or Ratnasambhava version. So it looks like the one known in China and as The Prophecy of Sri Mahadevi that has been translated.


    Strongly related to Mahasri, and, itself, an additional Tara practice in the overall Mahakarunika basket is
    Arya Tara 108 Names, which begins with:

    śrīmatpotalake ramye nānādhātuvirājite|

    It is fairly long, fifty-five verses.

    The beginning seems to involve both Vajrapani and Avalokiteshvara.

    She is functioning as a Vidya Rajni. It gets to a Tarodbhava 1,000 Arm form. She has traits like Syama--dark and Maharaudri Visvarupi, and is saluted as Susriye. In Skanda Purana, Susri is an Apsaras. Yoga of the Mahapadmatavi in Lalita Mahatmya is said to directly incorporate Buddhist Tara. This Tara is a mantric mistress of boat-women whose chief is Varuni. In this, Susri is one of the Kalas of Agni.

    The story is a dialogue between Agasthya and Hayagriva Vishnu. This Agni definition extends back to Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 35. 83. In two more chapters, you are in the Inner Mansion of Cintamani. This part is all about Rasayana. In the view of Buddhism, we are taking Varuni and Vairocani from this same Purana and intermingling them with Buddhist Tara, and then this later Mahatmya is sort of taking the whole package. Here again is Agasthya who was involved with "Ugra Tara", and, oh, there is a minor Vishnu incarnation which is how you get Buddhist Hayagriva. That is a Puranic deity having everything to do with Nectar and Horse Head Rite, but, never included among the "Ten Avatars". The Mahatmya page is also slightly veiled, since Mantrini = Matangi and Dandanatha = Varahi. It is an excellent parallel teaching of almost the same thing as Buddhist Suksma Yoga.

    Kurukulla is mistress of boats in Vimarsa Lake, nectar in the Sushumna. The Lalita Mahatmya was embedded with Brahmanda Purana. Its outcome goddess is Kamaksi. The yogic city is in the example of the most perfect version of a thousand names. According to Wiki:

    At the behest of name 57, the divine city of Sri Nagara is described in all its splendor. The origins of the city can be traced to two different texts. One is in Durvasa's Lalithastavaratna, saying that Sri Nagara was constructed by celestial architect Visvakarma. The other, in the Rudra Yamala (as told to Parvati by Shiva), says that Sri Nagara is in the midst of an ocean of milk as an island called Ratnadvipa (island formed out of precious gems). This description fits name 61, "sudha sagara madhyasta," which describes Devi as residing in the middle of the ocean of nectar.

    This Tara is a gatekeeper, similar to Vasudhara, who keeps the door to the inner sanctum. Here, the term Kala as in Agnikala or Trikagnikala is used with all classes, referring to parts, divisions, or kinds. Kala as time and its subdivisions are something like this:

    Kalā (कला) refers to the “energy (above the palate)”, according to the Ṣaṭsāhasrasaṃhitā...“The universe is said to be the body. The energy (kalā) above the palate, by virtue of the nectar (that drips from the palate), is the life (jīvita) that is the essence of the universe beginning and ending with the Rudras”.

    Note: This energy (kalā) above the palate is that of the New Moon hidden in the Full Moon, which, inwardly nourished by it, exudes nectar. This nectar is the life of the body and the whole universe represented here by the fifty Rudras who govern the energies of the letters projected onto the cosmic body. In this way the desire of the goddess who resides there, and of all who go there to receive the Command, is fulfilled.

    Corresponding ta the five kalādhavans of siva, divine agency, are five modes of śākti, divine instrumentality:

    parāśakti, transcendent;
    ādiśakti, originant;
    icchāśakti, intentional;
    jñānaśakti, knowing (discerning);
    kriyāśakti, active.

    Of these, the latter three are modes of causality in cosmic evolution.

    Kalā (कला):—The basic meaning of kalā is “a part”, especially “sixteenth part of the moon” (e.g. Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad 1.5.14). The moon waxes and wanes in periods of fifteen days; each day it gains or loses one kalā. The sixteenth kalā is the amṛtakalā which never dies, even at the dark of the moon.

    Kāla (काल).—One of the eleven rākṣasas facing the eleven rudras in the battle of the gods (devas) between the demons (asuras), according to the Varāhapurāṇa chapter 94. This battle was initiated by Mahiṣāsura in order to win over the hand of Vaiṣṇavī, the form of Trikalā having a red body representing the energy of Viṣṇu. Trikalā is the name of a Goddess born from the combined looks of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara (Śiva).

    And so the Lalita says Ten Kalas inside the base of the Arghya vessel in close embrace with Agni. The sun god assumes the form of a vessel and occupies that base. There are Twelve Kalas whose bodies are in contact with the vessel, such as Tapini, Dhumra, and Marici.

    "The Arghya intended for the worship of Lalitā is kept in that vessel. It is the cause of great bliss. It is the most excellent Amṛta. It contains the extract and essence of all medicinal herbs. It has an extremely agreeable fragrance. It is rendered sweet smelling continuously by never fading blue and white lotuses of very exquisite scent. It is heartily cool and free from impurities. Its desirable, gentle ripples, hundreds in number, add to its grandeur and splendour It has sparkling appearance with pleasing sounds arising from the moving ripples. It is said to be nectarine Arghya constituted by the Kalās of the Moon. There are many tiny boats made of jewels and gems. The splendid Kalās of the Moon, in their fresh youthful bloom occupy those boats and sport about."

    Then it is followed by Kalas of the Moon beginning with Amrita, and so on.

    Arghya is a broad term for water offering or bathing, or a kind of Honey. Marici is also an Apsaras in Mahabharata and the Puranas, and is at one point called the wife of Parjanya. The closest-matching Parjanya...works...like this:

    3a) Mārīcī (मारीची).—The wife of Parjanya.*

    * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 11. 19; Vāyu-purāṇa 28. 16.

    1g) A son of Agni and Samhūti;1 his wife Mānu and son Hiraṇyaroma.2

    1) Vāyu-purāṇa 28. 16.
    2) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 11. 19.

    Hiranyaroma is:

    1b) Also Parjanya, a Lokapāla; son of Parjanyaprajāpati and Mārīci; lord of the northern direction (guardian of the Eastern quarter, Viṣṇu-purāṇa).*

    Which pushes back to a definition of Parjanya that does not seem as close to Marici by the line numbers:

    1c) An Āditya and Lokapāla; the name of the sun in the month of Tapasya (Phālguna): father of Hiraṇyaroma.*

    * Bhāgavata-purāṇa XII. 11. 40; Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 21. 157; 23. 12; 30. 40; III. 3. 68; 8. 20; Vāyu-purāṇa 50. 206; 66. 66; Viṣṇu-purāṇa II. 10. 12.

    "Manu" is such a heavily-male name you might not think it could be feminized, but:

    3) Manu (मनु).—A celestial maiden born to Kaśyapa of Pradhā. (Chapter 59, Verse 44, Ādi Parva).

    Whereas Apsara Marici is in Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapter 122, Verse 62 we find that she attended a dance at the celebrations at the time of Arjuna’s birth.

    Brahmanda Purana II.11.19 actually uses the same male Sage Marici as is usually found. III.7 shows the dynasties of Gandharvas including Parjanya and Apsarases including Marici, these being in the highest order above other kinds. They are called progeny of Muni:

    1a) Muni (मुनि).—A daughter of Dakṣa and one of the 13 wives of Kaśyapa; a mother goddess; mother of groups of munis and sages, Apsaras and Gandharvas; given to Gandha śīlā.

    Muni is a daughter of Daksha given to Kasyapa in III.3, which is its intricate cosmology. It seems to relegate her daughter to:

    3b) An Apsarasa.*

    * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 7. 6; Vāyu-purāṇa 69. 5.

    The confusing Marici is from the prior section which is really about Full Moon or Purnamasa:

    Sadvatī gave birth to Parjanya the son of Agni (i.e. Bharatāgni). (Another) Parjanya (otherwise called) Hir-aṇyaroman was born of Marīci.

    Hiranyaroma--Parjanya appears to be born from a female Marici in Vishnu Purana. But it is just a Vishnu Purana footnote or rather the index which says this is taken from the Bhagavata Purana and in this case it is a female Parjanya and the same male Marici as before.

    I suppose we can say there is a Puranic Apsaras Marici in the rank of Tilottama who is in contact with the vessel of the sun, as a sort of pivot between Amrita and the Moon. Whether she is or isn't the wife of Parjanya is...maybe in the Vayu. That part is very twisted.



    Rudra Yamala is an evanescent, never-found-in-the-original missing source text, which nevertheless is quoted in fifty other books. The subject throughout it all is extremely close to our Buddhist Varuni practice. However, they do not reflect the antiquity of for example Dakini Jala. So it seems their tantric yoga details are probably derived from Buddhist sadhana. In this regard they probably have a close equivalent of Generation Stage. Both systems certainly deal with Vowels and the Digits of the Moon. Here, Kurukulla is also, so to speak, locked up in a private zone that has required preliminary expertise.




    Back to the Tara piece, her Susri mantra is followed by what appear to be the Names such as:

    sarasvatī viśālākṣī prajñā śrīrbuddhivardhinī|| 29||

    omkara kamarupini

    Prajnaparamita--Sankhini

    Candranana Mahagauri Mahamaya Mahasveta

    Maharaudri Mahacandi leading to a peaceful Santarupa

    Paralysis with Kali and Kalaratri

    śarvarī yoginī siddhā caṇḍārī(lī)amṛtā dhruvā|

    vāgīśvarī śivā sūkṣmā nityā

    rahasyabhūtaṃ guhyaṃ

    The end clarifies that this is for Arya Tara Bhattarika. Its classification is Buddhaparibhasitam, something like excellent Buddha Speech. It begins with the tantric cue Ramya, leading to something similar to Sabari Yogini Siddhi, using Candali and Amrita.

    So this is more like a dharani which involves the beginning of Pranayama. It is moving in the direction of a Tara that can unleash Kurukulla.

    "Devi" is almost always for a peaceful Tara or Bodhisattva-esque figure, but, Vajra Devi Stotram is Nagarjuna's Red Vajravarahi, which is Tathagata Family. That did not reveal Bhrkuti either.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Mitra's mandalas, Parnasabari, Marici, and a rare tantric synopsis


    Wonder of wonders. Our goats destroyed the phone line, which is the likely result of exposed cables dangling in midair versus rambunctious creatures with horns. I am surprised it did not happen sooner, but, it gave me a few days to organize a few offline resources. That means I would have to go back and look for the original links.


    One of them is an entire book, Mitra Yogin's 108 Mandalas is actually quite useful in stitching together a few things that seem missing in other places. It was an effort by a Japanese researcher based on a relevant question--what are the varying color schemes of mandalas? And again, this is similar to the difficulty I or anyone else may have, when we start looking into these subjects, we will see stuff like Locana "is" this and Locana "is" that, and we start feeling someone must be wrong or there is some kind of obvious problem here. I tend to wish all those articles had qualifiers and caveats so they would say "is, at this time, but not always". And so the color pattern research was a good idea that gives you a quick snapshot of all of the basic mandala patterns, adding some rare or unique ones from within its pages.


    It ends with Twenty-one Taras and Mahakala. That resembles most of the large batch deity transmissions, and the way Rinjung Gyatsa and Dharani Samgraha are written. As to is mandala of Suryagupta's Twenty-one Taras:

    A Red Lotus represents one-headed, eight armed Vira Tara, who has an inner ring of the next four Taras, then a ring of eight, then four at the corners and four more in the gates. The iconography of several has been modified.


    If we are not exactly doing a Suryagupta transmission, then, we can still attempt to visualize a further modification of it external to ourselves and praise it with the song. That is the basic idea. And if we look in the art world for this particular mandala, I am not sure it has shown up yet. Not a single one centers on Tara One from what I can recall.

    The idea behind the book was geometrical, organizing or classing mandalas by the variable floor pattern:
    Maya Jala tantras have dhyanis in standard places, but Vairocana is yellow, and the west or Amitabha is white. Hevajra tantras kick out Karma Family and use a doubling of Akshobhya, rotating the other dhyanis ninety degrees so it ends on Lotus Family. Aside from that, most tantras and mandalas are based on either a basic Vairocana or Akshobhya pattern. And that makes it pretty easy to detect if another family has gained control of the rite, then you see what would obviously be Amitabha trading places with Akshobhya, or whatever the particular casee may be. Those are pretty straightforward even trades. Comparatively, something like Hevajra Tantra is a drastic revolution. This is also similar to hat I have independently observed, which is that several sadhanas appear to require a "doubling" of a Family or even of a particular deity. Hevajra is like that, it is centered on Vajra Family, and still gives Vajra Family their regula Eastern direction.

    It is really made of two books. Mitra's personal stash is the second half. It does not give great detail about the populations, but, there is some.

    It begins with Vajravali or NSP. Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra 1 uses a regular Vajra Family pattern. Vairocana Manjuvajra 3 is from Maya Jala and has a retinue beginning with Sattvavajri and the second ring with Cunda, Ratnolka, Bhrkuti, Vajrasrnkhala. Usually this mandala has a Vairocana pattern, but here it has a blue center.

    Krsna Yamari 4 has a regular Akshobhya pattern. Garbha Hevajra 5 has the Gauris. Varahi is not found as a consort here, Srnkhala is in Citta and Vak, Nairatma is in Garbha and Kaya. It is followed by mandalas for Nairatma, Kurukulla, and Vajra Tara, and then a different Hevajra series adding Musicians. This is Samputa Hevajra, and, in NSP only, in Citta, Vak, and Kaya, the Gauris are replaced by Vajraraudris. Samvara Vajrasattva 18 also has them. With this pattern, it is hard to drive Vajra Tara away from being a Jewel Family correspondence to Nairatma and Kurukulla, i. e. relevant to Hevajra Tantra. Aside from this, if Nairatma is No Ego of the sixth principle, and Kurukulla is proficiency with Nectar, Vajra Tara is probably of a similar stature. She probably also is vastly more prominent in medieval stonework. This is probably also because she is a little easier to bring or draw in. She does have a simple White Heruka form in her sadhana by Nagarjuna; otherwise, all of her practices are on the large Four Face form I believe. This is considered to most strongly parallel the Mothers of Tara's retinue in her tantra containing the song. And so I think we could say she is running in the background while the approach to her is through some of the other various Taras such as Dhanada and so on. Afterwards you could probably say Vajra Tara is like a birthing station for the actual Nairatma just like Golden Drop Tara also does with Kurukulla.

    Krodhahumkara 25 is Vajrahumkara.

    Satchakravartin 26 is centered on Jnanadaka, who has the Four Dakinis in the intermediate directions. The twenty-four couples of the usual Kaya Vak Citta circles or Pithas are distributed in the other Dhyanis' mandalas. The whole composition has the four goddesses starting with Yamadadhi in the corners, and Tramen gatekeepers starting with Kakasya. It appears that each Dhyani has an inner ring of four of the Pitha couples and that is all. This matches system A, B, or C, I can't remember what someone called it, but, this is transitional, you put them in Six Families before you do the actual Kaya Vak Citta of putting them in your body.

    Vajramrita 27 with twenty-one deities is noted for using the Akshobhya format. None of it is explained by Mitra, and the supporting mandalas are not explained in NSP. Both of them refer you to the tantra. His retinue begins with Saumya. Vajrahumkara 28 has twenty-nine deities. His inner ring has the females Vajragarbha, Vajrasastra, Sparshavajra, and Kilikila. Vajraheruka 29 has twenty-one deities. His retinue is only given in Tibetan, including Tummo, Dragmo, and Jigs byed ma. Amritakundalin 30 has thirteen deities, also Tibetan, such as Dorje dud tsi ma and variations.

    That is a little bit "unpublished" for those days.

    Buddhakapala 31 includes Bhima, Tarini, and Vasudhara. His next mandala has an unusual color scheme because cast backwards.

    Mahamaya 33 has, evidently due to the power of Buddhadakini, taken the Vairocana pattern.

    Jnanadakini 35 also shows reversed casting.

    There is a considerable quantity of Sarvadurgati Parishodhana mandalas starting around Navosnisa 38. It is followed by DDV and Bhutadamara, Marici, and then Panca Raksa. This follows the NSP "basic" format, but, knowing this is aimed at completion stage, they both have some additional corner goddessess--Kali, Kalaratri, Kalakarni, and Sveta.

    Then there is Vasudhara, and Grahamatrika 44 is actually centered on the sun and the deity resides in the northwest. Usnisavijaya 45 is a thirty-three deity mandala with other usnisas beginning with Gaganasannibhodayosnisa. The author believes the inner ring corresponds to the Dhyanis and Prajnas of Guhyasamaja. The next sixteen usnisas correspond to the sixteen types of Sunya. Her final set of goddesses begins with Vajramalayurdatri. Her pattern matches Vairocana. This strand of three goddesses is the Nepalese Long Life trinity for burha-junko.

    At that point, it switches to Mitra's sadhanas, I am not sure if he authored any of them, it is just what he had collected for personal practice.

    Sarasvati 1 has thirteen deities starting with Sattvavajri. It is barely known in Tibet. She uses Vairocana's pattern. Although it is listed further along, this relates her to Prajnaparamita.

    Parnasabari 2 has a four-spoked wheel like Amoghapasha, she has three heads and six arms, uses the Akshobhya pattern, and just has the Four Kings as gatekeepers. This is one of the extremely few if not only situations where a female is encircled by only males. Parnasabari has recently been heavily promoted, so, there is a new translation of her dharani. These are good and very knowledgeable translations, but, they do not always convey what they could. They put it like her leaves represent her wild nature which represents her status as a pisaci. Well, the leaves really represent Ayurvedic herbs, and such medicine was significant in India generally and strongly assisted by Buddhism during her time. Pisaci is a different thing entirely because it refers to our interaction with our own Gauris. And so in the typical ignorant manner they just devour us.
    This is reflected in the Dharani by it being Lotus Family and she is Dharma Speech; yakshas and others have usually been said to have "taken the vow of Lotus Family", i. e. they are mantra bound and so on, already subjugated.

    This is entirely to the tune of Vak Siddhi which is in all yoga schools. That can be a worldly power, but, moreover, on the transcendent side, it means that you have been telling the truth for so long that everything you say comes true. Does that have something to do with a less ignorant, more beneficial approach to these Gauris, yes, that is what it is. Parnasabari is really saying physical diseases come from the mind, along with all other ailments and traumas. This is almost exactly the same thing as western demonology where they talk about magicians summoning demons and then you are in a test of willpower which means at any second you could be deceived or attacked. Yes, according to the normal perception of form, but what the tantra is saying is that this is also inside you because it is your Eyes, your Tongue, and so on. So in fact you not only better not be afraid of it, you better get a royal grip on it. The seriousness of how real this is at this very moment ought to come across like a shove from a freight train. Better respond to it.

    Not for the faint of heart.

    To millions of people for millenia, Parnasabari is like a type of broom that cleans an area before public gatherings so that diseases are not transmitted. Since I refuse to take most of these things literally, I would not recommend her as a substitute for soap and bleach. She definitely is a deity of healers, but, I would not rely on me to help anyone there just because I am aware of her. Because this continues to tell me she is the queen of Sabari and Gauri classes, that is the part that is inner, symbolic, and universal.

    This one is quite short and shows her in simple Heruka form:


    Homage to the noble Parṇaśavarī.

    Homage to the Three Jewels.

    Homage to the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha, the blessed Amitābha.

    Homage to the bodhisattva great being, the deeply compassionate and noble
    Avalokiteśvara.

    Homage to the bodhisattva great being Mahāsthāmaprāpta.

    Homage to you, blessed Parṇaśavarī, dwarfish piśācī who wields an axe and
    a noose. 17

    Whatever fears may arise, every plague, pestilence, and pandemic, all
    calamities and conflicts, and all personal anxieties 18 affect only the foolish,
    not the wise.

    May truth, words of truth, and true speech send them away and dispel
    them! 20 May these words of mantra empowered by the wise guard me and
    all beings. May they protect us, keep us secure, defend us, and bring us
    peace and good fortune. May they protect us from punishment and
    weapons. May they neutralize all poisons. May they protect from the
    dangers of fire and the dangers of water. May they cut down kākhordas.
    May they establish the protective boundary and bind the earth.

    The dhāraṇī is:

    amṛte amṛte amṛtodbhave [F.229.a] amṛta sambhave āśvaste āśvastāṅge mā mara mā
    mara mā sara mā sara. 21

    Grant peace! 22 Pacify every illness! Bring an end to all kinds of untimely
    death! Pacify all evil influences from the planets and stars! Pacify all
    venom! O Blessed Parṇaśavarī! 23

    tunna tunna vitunna vitunna tuṇa tuṇa tumule svāhā. oṃ gauri gāndhāri caṇḍāli
    mātaṅgi pukkasi svāhā. oṃ aṅkure māṅkure kurare parṇa śavari svāhā. namas sarvaśavarīṇāṃ mahā śavarīṇāṃ 24 bhagavati piśāci parṇa śavari piśāci svāhā. oṃ piśāci parṇaśavari hrīḥ jaḥ hūṃ phaṭ piśāci svāhā. 25

    “The Noble Dhāraṇī of Parṇaśavarī” is complete.

    17 In the Sanskrit text, this line of homage is rendered in verse and differs
    slightly from the Tibetan version: “Dwarfish one! I pay homage to you! You,
    dwarfish one, are a blessed one. / I pay homage to the piśācī Parṇaśavarī
    who holds a noose and an axe.”

    18 The translation “personal anxieties” is informed by the Sanskrit phrase
    ādhyātmikā bhayāḥ, which helps clarify the opaque Tibetan term khong du gnod
    pa.
    20 In place of “send them away and dispel them” (Tib. song shig dengs shig) the
    Sanskrit reads jjaḥ jjaḥ jjaḥ jjaḥ.

    21 “Deathless One! Deathless One! Arisen from the deathless, you are the fount
    of deathlessness. Giver of comfort! Giver of physical comfort! Do not kill! Do
    not kill! Do not spread [pestilence]! Do not spread!”
    22 Here the Sanskrit text includes the nearly synonymous term upaśama, which
    is included in the Phukdrak Kangyur translation as well.
    23 In the Tibetan text this passage has been translated into Tibetan, and so
    following that decision we have translated it into English here. It seems,
    however, that this passage is meant to be included in the dhāraṇī recitation,
    as was understood by the translators and editors of the Phukdrak Kangyur,
    who left it in Sanskrit. The Sanskrit for this section, as attested in Sādhanamālā
    no. 150, is: praśama upaśama sarva vyādhīn upaśama sarvā kālamṛtyūn upaśama sarva -nakṣatra graha doṣān upaśama sarva daṃṣṭrināṃ copaśama bhagavati parṇa śavari.

    24 The Sanskrit text reads sarva śavarāṇāṃ mahā śavarāṇāṃ.

    25 “Tunna tunna vitunna vitunna tuṇa tuṇa tumule svāhā. Oṃ hail to Gaurī,
    Gāndhārī, Caṇḍālī, Mātaṅgī, and Pukkasī! Oṃ hail to Aṅkurā, Maṅkurā,
    Kurukurā, and Parṇaśavarī! Homage to all śavarīs and great śavarīs! Hail to
    the blessed piśācī, Parṇaśavarī the piśācī! Oṃ Parṇaśavarī hṛīḥ jaḥ hūṃ phaṭ
    piśāci svāhā!”

    If we just re-assemble it from a weird looking decision to translate part of it, then it comes to:

    amṛte amṛte amṛtodbhave amṛta sambhave āśvaste āśvastāṅge mā mara mā
    mara mā sara mā sara

    upaśama praśama upaśama sarva vyādhīn upaśama sarvā kālamṛtyūn upaśama sarva -nakṣatra graha doṣān upaśama sarva daṃṣṭrināṃ copaśama bhagavati parṇa śavari

    tunna tunna vitunna vitunna tuṇa tuṇa tumule svāhā. oṃ gauri gāndhāri caṇḍāli
    mātaṅgi pukkasi svāhā. oṃ aṅkure māṅkure kurare parṇa śavari svāhā. namas sarvaśavarīṇāṃ mahā śavarīṇāṃ bhagavati piśāci parṇa śavari piśāci svāhā. oṃ piśāci parṇaśavari hrīḥ jaḥ hūṃ phaṭ piśāci svāhā


    That then is a pretty good example of a dharani, since it will not tempt you to say Tadyatha Om. You can start with one Om and then just recite the body of it.

    We also do not have to continue to surmise about the Pisaci mantra because it is clearly stuck to her here. For some reason it names five Gauris or Pisacis. That is why I would say they are close. Because this mantra is in Lotus Sutra and Mahamayuri Vidyarajni, what is here is considerably older than the manuscripts of Parnasabari; so is Parnasabari.

    In Tibet this principle is still well-known as Ekajati and the Mamos; both Ekajati and Parnasabari were famous for it in India at a very early date; and you can kind of scope that backwards, it was an important part of Buddha's travels, or, forwards into the tantras, as the Gauri goddesses.

    It sounds like we were a little bit rude here and did not pray for the well-being of the human race. In fact, we commanded all the problems of mental origin to affect the foolish.

    That is why we need the Karuna which this started with.



    Moving along through Mitra's sadhanas, Sitatapatra 3 has three heads and eight arms. It is a Vairocana pattern with twenty-nine deities. It has an eight petaled lotus and a sixteen spoked wheel. The first goddesses are Tibetan including Tummo in the South. The spokes have Parasol emanations as given in her dharani. She then has the same gatekeepers as the subsequent Usnisa Vijaya does: Acala, Takkiraja, Niladanda, Mahabala. Usnisa 4 also has Avalokiteshvara, Guhyakadhipati Vajrapani, and two celestial beings. This is explained by Sadhanamala 211.

    There is a long strand of Bodhisattvas, Vajrapani, and Sarvadurgati Parishodhana mandalas. It, too, has a culmination, Vajrapanichakravartin 26 is Virtue or Qualities, it actually ends on Jvalanalarka 27. Very mixed order.

    Trailokyavijaya 31 claims to represent STTS Chapter Two. Yes, that sounds quite close to the intent of a dharani goddess assembly or Guhyavajradhatu, Victory over the Three Worlds, Trailokyavijaya. In a sort of lateral fashion, this state wants to be associated with the mudra, Humkara, so that deity also becomes relevant.

    Paramadya Vajrasattva 34 uses sixty-one deities, different from what we find online. This has never exactly been published either.

    Prajnaparamita 38 has sixty-four deities starting with the Prajnas and then intermediate deities starting with Sattvavajri. Otherwise she has Buddhas of the Ten Directions, each with four Bodhisattvas. She has the Akshobhya pattern. So, we can see the relationship, Sarasvati has the Vajri or Object goddesses, while Prajnaparamita adds their mothers or Elements, the Prajnas. That makes a lot of sense; and neither one of these mandalas is represented and perhaps hardly even known in Tibet. But it seems almost self-explanatory.

    Raktayamari 42 is like Krsna Yamari, but the goddesses such as Carcika have entered union with attendants such as Mohayamari. That implies that Krsna Yamari is aimed more at Generation Stage.

    Chakrasamvara 48 is from Samvarodaya.

    Mahamaya 60 and 61 show him arising as Heruka and as Vajrasattva. So, it is all backwards. First, Vajrasattva enters a Mahamaya environment, then, he transforms into Heruka, then, Heruka becomes the main or standard Mahamaya given earlier.

    Most of the rest of Mitra's bag was Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi, including the Seven Syllable deity and Twelve Arm Varahi, and adding Padmanarttesvara to the sequence.







    From another article about a Marici sculpture, it is a particular one being examined for its unique attributes.

    As a quite popular goddess, over eighty stone Maricis have been recovered from the weeds across most of east and south India. However, only one has been found in west Bengal. It is in excellent, clean condition, and has a deeper concave niche and therefor higher relief than is usually seen on these artifacts. Along with this, it was unusual to find an inscription referring both to the deity and to a female donor. The image was identified as:

    caityagarbhasthita Marici

    what the author noticed was:

    sa[?]papu[. . .][bha]ddrakaritasrimaricibhattarikaya

    The inscription may be translated as ‘the [image of ]
    the illustrious goddess Marici made (i.e. donated) by
    . . . bhadra.’

    Gouriswar Bhattacharya rightly pointed
    out that while terms like bhatipi/bhattipi are used
    in image inscriptions to denote the lady donors,
    bhattarika is used in ‘Pala period’ inscriptions to
    invoke the goddess.

    I am not sure about that, it is not really within mantras, it is part of a title, of certain Taras. It might seem strange to us for a correct name to go on a statue, but, comparatively:

    The much discussed two-armed or four-armed seated
    images of a goddess from the Lakhisarai region of
    south Bihar are named Pundesvari/Punyesvari/
    Purnesvari and/or Mundesvari on many of
    her images...But this/
    these name/s has/ve never been corroborated
    by any text. In the second pattern, on the other
    hand, a particular form of the Devi is known
    from texts with a specific prescribed name, but
    she is invoked under an altogether different and
    apparently unconnected name on her images.
    The most recently published evidence of this
    second pattern is an image of the well-known
    deity Brahmanical Camunda, who is named
    Siddhesvari...

    Textbook-perfect stuff is usually student work, whereas almost everything commissioned usually has one or more personal touches. Unless something is coming straight from the books, chances are that person may have never seen the book. It would be a good chance they couldn't read. If the work was commissioned by a tantric master, then, yes, it will probably still conform quite well, but otherwise, it might not be unusual if someone were to mistake Marici for Marisa (Marisha), or, even in the books, masculine from feminine.

    Here, the phrase "Marici Bhattarika" may not match anything, but, would correspond to someone's belief in multiple forms of Marici, of which one is something like a supervisor. Usually, if it was a private donor, they are drawn into the piece, or, also common, there can be a group of multiple donors.

    While it may not be that unusual for this donor to be in Anjali on one knee with the other raised, it may perhaps be uncommon that she is drawn like an etching (although that seems like the same manner as making an inscription), I am not sure how you could miss or not find it noticeable that she has no clothes. Her hands are basically covering her boobs so, you could still say it is modest, but, I am pretty sure we have to call this a naked donor. Marici is clothed, but, in this series of reliefs, her silks have fallen away from her right breast.

    I would have guessed that Marici would be one of the last ones to have any kind of naked worship. Also, that donors in art images do not do it naked. Maybe there is a whole colony and I have missed it. It is not unusual for there to be female donors. After all, one of the oldest records of any kind is from ca. 300 of a woman offering gold to Parnasabari. So it is not a great leap of faith to say that women were involved with Sadhanamala Taras in a normative manner. Perhaps this one means she was a fan of nude sunbathing. Knowing that someone on purpose had a Marici made, does not tell me much. I would guess there were probably not many who would give lakhs of rupees to some artist and say "please go do something". You would probably find it redundant to have to name your statue Marici. The donor did not say it was Caityagarbhasita, that was research.




    From Hookham's Shentong RGV study, here is a very good explanation on Yogacara. And so for one thing, with the outer yoga, we are trying to increase Pranayama until we attain a technique that can be called the Three Lights. This is Gnosis. And then while we are experiencing Purity, our concepts float out into something like an asteroid belt called prakritis. It is like a sea of meteoric chips floating at the surface of our aura, and when we come out of the meditation, we are still going to have droves of these mostly subconscious subtle flaws. Compared to Thirty-seven Point Enlightenment:


    Dolpopa [rc 321.3] explains in more detail that the thirty-seven Parinispanna
    Bodhipaksikadharmas are pure of paratantra and parikalpita (the Bodhipaksikadharmas
    being the Jnanadevi(s)), while the thirty-seven
    Bodhipaksikadharmas of the path are samvrti, compounded, and adventitious
    (glo bur ba). They are removed and the spontaneous (Ihun grub) ones
    are revealed. They are the Clear Light Nature (rang bzhin ’od gsal) and
    spontaneous (Ihun grub). In a list of alternative names for the Paramarthasatya,
    Dolpopa [rc 380] includes spontaneous Nature (rang bzhin Ihun
    grub) and naturally present gotra (rang bzhin gnas rigs).

    Kongtrul [skk hum 43b] gives the following explanation:

    That Garbha itself is empty of all contingent faults or stains but
    not empty of all the supreme Quality Dharmas because it has them
    spontaneously.

    Parinispanna therefor is like a "complete" state of experiencing Paramartha, because it has used the Path to overwhelm the Parikalpita and the Paratantra. This Path is the Seven Jewels of Enlightenment. Evidently, this is a tantric process that dissipates adventitious stains.

    Although those are really just standard Yogacara terms, Parikalpita and Paratantra are also two of the tantric Voids, the White Moon and Red Sun. And so what seems to be lacking in learning them as "terms" is the sheer power and majesty of it. That is a bit like what Hookham found in the different philosophies:

    Generally speaking, because the Rangtongpas do not accept the true
    Existence of inseparable Qualities, their explanations of the rgv Tathagatagarbha
    doctrine are more complex than the Shentong. Shentongpas center
    all aspects of the Buddha’s doctrine on one crucial point— the changeless,
    primordially existent Nitartha Absolute Reality with all the inseparable
    Qualities. The Rangtongpas, on the other hand, are ever careful to maintain
    many distinctions between the samvrti and paramartha factors in the base,
    path, and fruit of Enlightenment. Thus, from the Shentong point of view,
    the essential message of the RGV is the need for reliance on the power of
    the Enlightened Mind complete with all its inseparable Qualities in order
    that it emerge. Whereas from the Rangtong point of view, it is the need to
    develop the Enlightened mind so that through the right conditions, such as
    meditation on emptiness and the accumulation of merit, the qualities associated
    with Enlightenment might arise.

    The Rangtong approach is logically analytical; the Shentong is poetic and intuitive.
    The language of art and poetry suggests something to the reader
    through linking in with his/her personal experience and intuition. In the
    same way, the language of the Tathagatagarbha Sutras makes sense to the
    meditator who has some experience or intuition of that to which it refers.

    That is very similar to teaching through Myth rather than history. I don't know how true the generalization is, but, when we talk about something like the Dharmakaya and its capabilities, it ought to hit like a ton of bricks. Neither its alien-ness to mundane consciousness nor its sublimity should be taken lightly. If they has just said "reliance on the power of Bodhicitta" and then stopped, it would be enough, but then yes itself is replete with certain qualities. And it says power, which is precisely what most are lacking in.

    So, there is this song which is approximately a third about Vira Tara or Swift Energy which in her tantra flows through the Four Activities. It suggests we check out Maitreya's points about Dharmakaya Qualities, and get used to the feeling of goddesses repairing our Nadis.





    Something minor turned out to be extremely poignant in the "Mind" category of thirty-two Rali Tantras.

    Śrī guhya sarvacchinda tantra rāja



    It is actually extremely short. In fact it is considered a "gray" text. For the most part, it is just about the Four Initiations. It is a kind of compression, in other words presuming "go study this more somewhere else", and, because I have, half of this makes sense, but, because it also has intricate things about the subtle body and literally says "get a master's oral explanation", that part is essentially meaningless. If we extract the more neighborly parts, it is quite good, beginning in a usual manner:

    I pay homage to Glorious Vajrasattva!

    Thus have I heard at one time. The Blessed One dwelt in equanimity in the
    womb of the Vajra Lady, which is the enlightened body, speech, and mind of
    all tathāgatas.

    Then, the entourage, including bodhisattva Vajragarbha and others...

    It is quickly set up and the first point is:

    First is the practice of the development stage
    Related to the vase initiation.
    I taught meditation on the support and the supported
    So that practitioners might relinquish
    Dualistic concepts of a universe and its inhabitants.
    Its individual features all have an intended meaning.
    Firstly, in other tantras,
    I taught about emptiness and so forth.
    Among the particulars of the support and supported,
    The first concerns the intention behind the support...



    Allright, this is how it starts, and soon reminds us about the potency of the sought-for state:

    The dharma body is immaculate,
    And therefore [F.187.b] naturally all-pervading.
    This is the significance of vast.



    He (Buddha speaking) will go through the entire Inverted Stupa:

    Then yam, just as before,
    Projects a shape, like a half-moon.
    It provides control over the abandonment of conceptuality
    And the dawn of non-conceptuality.
    This is the meaning of domination.
    Concerning the significance of the four flags,
    I have taught that it signifies all things
    Present throughout the three times.

    The triangular fire mandala from ram
    Signifies wrathful ritual.
    The three-pronged vajra signifies the three buddha bodies.

    The round water disk from bam
    Is said to be the cessation of mental activity.
    The vase is the four aspects of the dharma body.

    The square golden earth from lam
    Has the nature of prosperity.
    The five-pronged vajra is the five gnoses.

    The eight peaks of Mount Meru above that
    Signify the eight liberations.

    Symbolizing the absence of conceptuality about an ordinary universe and
    inhabitants,
    The eight charnel grounds
    Should be arranged to left and right in order.

    The concepts related to each feature, moreover,
    Should be learned from a master’s oral instructions.

    Symbolizing the power of the antidote fully developed,
    Trees are continuously arranged in sequence.

    The directional protectors are arranged as symbols
    For the overcoming of concepts oriented toward the ten non-virtues.

    The eight nāgas are stationed
    To destroy the wicked ones
    Of attachment, hatred and ignorance.

    Rain clouds are arrayed
    So that body and speech may act for the welfare of beings,
    With divine pride in the two form buddha bodies
    Endowed with great compassion.



    So he has told us about the Cemeteries, and since a "round water disk" is Citta Cakra, we see what is involved there, including Four Qualities of Dharma Kaya which intend to Prosper in the Golden Earth Square. Again it makes sense that the Crescent and Triangle are really stages in Time, something other than an ability to visualize the symbol.

    Then we see Vairocana is the first class of mandala occupants, which becomes a Dhyani Buddha ceremony using Rasa theory:

    Vairocana is completed with the palace.
    Later, the Heruka is generated.
    Conferring initiation is the Blessed One Akshobhya.
    Praise is Ratnasambhava.
    Offering is Amoghasiddhi.
    Tasting ambrosia is Amitābha. [F.188.b]
    The accomplishments that emerge
    From these six aspects are extraordinary.



    Relative to one's pranic control is the Sevenfold Path, or transformational basis for the Seven Mysteries of Dharmakaya:

    Located in the body are channels; circulating within them are winds;
    Mounted on these is the mind—the inferior practice involves shape;
    The more profound involve mantra and seminal drops;
    And the ultimate involves dharma and the seven parts.
    Teaching this way is exceedingly profound.



    You are trying to make a Pentagram, a Hexagram, and a seventh element which is even more subtle and refined:

    Inwardly, concerning the characteristics of the mandala,
    The aggregates, elements, and sense media
    Are each transformed into a deity, either five, six, or thirty-seven;
    Left, right, above, below, the gates, and so forth—
    These should be understood from a master’s oral instructions.



    As this might have also been mentioned similarly by Dolpopa:


    The Blessed One said:
    The thirty-seven, the pristine cause,
    Give rise to non-dual gnosis, the effect.
    Therefore, the cause, which precedes the effect,
    Is to become the principal deity.
    Even in just becoming the Heruka
    All causes are complete...

    So "the Heruka" means a transformed state from having been able to reach that of Vairocana. Once you have this, you have it all, so to speak. This is what is meant by Heruka Yoga. Not becoming it, but the "has become" and how it goes on from there.

    Three of these initiations are particularly divisive like major frontiers:

    When practicing the development stage,
    One is permitted to observe the conduct of wearing the six adornments.

    In connection with the secret initiation,
    One is allowed to observe the conduct of adornments and ambrosia.
    I have said that those of the vajra family, the ratna family,
    The padma family and the karma family are permitted to observe the
    conduct.

    Those connected with the wisdom-gnosis initiation
    Have in common what was taught above, and
    In particular, are permitted to observe the conduct of the seal.


    The tantra does not want you to:

    Likewise, view devoid of conduct is also to be abandoned;
    Tormenting the body through austerities [F.189.b]
    And despising the aggregates that are Vairocana and so forth
    Is simply the work of a dry intellectual.

    Instead:

    The Blessed One said:
    Ambrosia is taught as three-fold.
    Firstly, one enjoys the outer ambrosia.
    Arrange the five hooks
    In the five ambrosias and the five meats.
    This should begin on the eighth and fourteenth days of the month.
    One should then gather silha wood, Akshobhya, and dry manure.
    This should begin on the twelfth and sixteenth days of the month.
    One should then take Heruka, Vairocana, and essence of dry manure.
    The eighth, fourteenth, and fifteenth days
    Of the waxing and waning lunar periods
    Are taught as auspicious times for everything.


    In the sadhana, we have in mind using a heating or cooking deity. She is the Dharmodaya. What this means is at first we are looking for a White Dharmodaya as found in Vairocana Abhisambodhi Tantra (Locana or Prajnaparamita), and then held generically by Dharmadhatu Vajra. As we get some Tapas it becomes Red. And then we are going to get Ghasmari with a Flaming Agni Kunda and go to our Nectar where, according to the tantra, there could be varying results trying to boil it:

    Superior, mediocre, and inferior signs—
    Blazing, wafting, and bubbling—
    Are explained as pertaining to the external signs.
    Furthermore, the point of signs having arisen is that old age is eradicated.
    If sounds have not been heard there will be no accomplishment.
    When sounds have issued forth one will become pure.

    And so while we can only get it to bubble, we are not able to proceed in the sadhana. While we are in this and wafting, we are going to offer a sample to a Taste goddess. We want to be able to impress her before getting to the Actual Taste where one is Amitabha.

    The idea that Nectar makes and does something has a lot to do with what the tantra considers attaching the Sixth Element:


    Inner ambrosia is self-arisen.
    Having interrupted the flow of ambrosia dripping
    From the nine orifices of the one with the bell,
    It fills the body like sesame seeds.
    Then, as the breath enters the avadhūtī
    The circulation of the upper sixth is elicited.
    When silha and camphor abide in the center, [F.190.a]
    The lower sixth circulates.
    This is the secret ambrosia,
    Which vanquishes grey hair, wrinkles, and death.

    This becomes a major emphasis:
    It is taught that one will seize the sixth
    Which is situated at the center,
    Four finger-widths above the upper tip of the relative,
    Through gaining familiarity with the fifth.
    Settling the breath at the location of the navel,
    The upper sixth is seized.
    Its potencies are also manifold.
    One will be devoid of craving and feel buoyant.
    Just like an eagle,
    One will soar in the sky without plummeting.

    It has suggested something similar to Khecari, free to move in space. At first you have to be very familiar with space, and then you become proficient at Pranayama.

    Then it will refer us back to what I am starting to think of as Tara One:

    The stage of subjugating Rudra
    In the great charnel ground of Śītavana
    Is that conceptuality is destroyed with ambrosia.
    The four enlightened activities are in common.
    Through the seal, desire is purified.


    That reflects Raudrakrama, which is certainly being done by the Pancha Raksa.

    By the "real Fifth Element", it means the Fifth Sign or when we get to Space or Akash as the tantric Dissolution such as in Dakini Jala Rahasya:

    From the four of right, left, above and below,
    Emerges space, the fifth.
    The fifth’s absence of nature
    Is taught to be the sixth.
    Preceded by joy, supreme joy,
    Innate joy, and the freedom from joy,
    Great bliss, the fifth, emerges.
    Great bliss being pure, devoid of nature,
    Is the sixth, pertaining to the lower door.
    Therefore, even those who aspire for the sixth [F.190.b]
    Meditate on the complete fifth,
    Preceded by the fourth.


    So, ok. There is something we transcend by using it, and not just by believing in a Sixth Family or disregarding the Fourfold Form Elements and Space itself. To meditate on the complete fifth would be to accomplish the Dakini Jala Rahasya pattern of dissolutions.


    Likewise, the Buddha does not teach
    That the sixth appears from anything but the fifth.
    Throughout a year, month, fortnight,
    A day, night, and hour,
    The sixth emerges for only a moment.
    It is not the purview of beginners.


    Through "that" dissolution appears the Sixth, or, White Moon or First Void.

    It's not asking for opinions or feedback, it is giving a quest. And what is does say is that when we can do the Five Signs and all the Rasas or Moods, then we have accomplished everything that a Karmamudra could directly help us with:

    Likewise, based on the elaborate fifth,
    The simple sixth emerges.
    I have taught this in other tantras.
    A person who has traversed the five signs, the eight flavors,
    Or the eight levels, and has thus become clairvoyant,
    Has fully relinquished the action seal.
    One who engages in the great seal,
    Adhering to a gnosis seal,
    Is a superior person.
    It is explained that he has seized the sixth.

    That is, so to speak, the teaching of Vajrasattva of the First Initiation. It is Jnanakaya, or, a mantricly-produced gnosis body. The tantra does not care if most people could agree to a meaning of "sixth sense" and believe they had experienced it to some extent. It means the kind that has not only been meditatively invoked, but, actually experienced by one who has dissolved themself into Akash.

    Because I personally have done this in such a way that caused clairvoyance, I am in a position to say that this is what it says it is.

    I would have to say that it makes sense that when expanded and stabilized, this becomes the ability to do Jnanamudra practice, but I have not done it. So if I say I know the former like the back of my hand, and this, tentatively and theoretically how it should have worked if I had understood better what Vajrasattva was supposed to be doing, that leaves me in a state of strong agreement about the Fifth or Akash about being a profound, powerful, exalted situation, yet in turn only another type of clearing house for what the teaching actually is. This places me in favor of a Buddhist explanation of Generation Stage.


    For the Second Initiation, the tantra is going to talk about the Second Void which counters Paratantra and Dependent Origination:

    Next is the second secret.
    It is the profound meaning of dependent origination
    In connection with the secret initiation.

    There is less we can draw from; but we can see it starts talking in terms of secrets within secrets like sheaths:

    At the throat, in the chakra of enjoyment,
    One enjoys the six flavors.
    Thus, Rasanā is concealed in the chakra of enjoyment.
    The Hayagrīva chakra is concealed at the throat.


    The next is what was concealed in Nirmana Cakra:

    At the chakra of the Secret Guardian of Bliss,
    In the center of the four neuter letters and two a syllables
    Are the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment.


    Something is not just red or white:

    The camphor located in those channels
    Is the ambrosia emergent from union.



    He is then going through Inverted Stupa to the Sixth Principle or i. e., melted White Bodhicitta of the First Initiation, and then it is going to dissolve the Second Void or Red Sun:

    Imagine that yam becomes a mandala of wind,
    And ram becomes a mandala of fire.
    On top of this is the syllable a, which becomes a skull cup.
    Then pam becomes an eight-petal lotus.
    Imagine a moon disk inside of that.
    Arrange the fleshes and so forth on it.
    Conceived as four finger-widths, or a full thumb-length above the central
    deity,
    One should visualize the syllables in reverse order,
    Blue, red, and white.
    Imagine a hūṁ becoming a vajra.
    Above, visualize the syllable mam,
    Resting on a sun disk.
    This is the union of ambrosia.
    The five fleshes transform into the five seats.
    The hooks transform into the five ambrosias.
    The karmic winds fan the flames,
    Which melts the moon, the central deity, and so forth—
    This is ordinary ambrosia.
    The three letters and the sun melt—
    This is called “divine ambrosia.”
    That which is summoned by light rays
    I have taught to be wisdom ambrosia.


    It is going to do something more vehement with the Four Dakinis than leave them on a flat plane lotus:

    One part, Akshobhya and Vairocana,
    Is the flesh eating dākinī, equanimity.
    One part is concerted activity,
    Which the worms, the action dākinīs, offer.
    One part, wind and bile,
    And through bile, phlegm and so forth,
    Should be learned from a master’s oral instructions.
    The channels, the gnosis dākinī,
    Offers discriminating gnosis.
    One part, the lack of nature,
    With mirror-like gnosis,
    The vajra dākinī offers.
    Winds are the vajra dākinī, and
    Channels are the gnosis dākinī.
    Camphor is the flesh-eating dākinī, and
    Worms are the action dākinī.

    Enlightened body is the action dākinī.
    Enlightened speech is the flesh-eating dākinī.
    Enlightened mind is the gnosis dākinī.
    Great bliss is the vajra dākinī.

    Joy is the action dākinī, and
    Supreme joy is the flesh-eating dākinī.
    Natural joy is the gnosis dākinī.
    Great bliss is the vajra dākinī.
    The dāka is the moon disk,
    And the dākinī is the sun.
    The candalī, twenty-four,
    Are ascertained as the four chakras that conceal them.


    At this point you are definitely going to do Citta Cakra and Bindu:

    The great bliss chakra is absorbed within the enjoyment chakra.
    The enjoyment chakra is absorbed within the dharma chakra.
    As for the sequence of absorption above,
    Everything fuses into a seminal drop.


    In this tantra, Mahamudra is "mixed in":

    Desire rooted in the five seals of enlightened body—
    The pair of the great seal and the gnosis seal,
    Along with the samaya seal, the dharma seal and the action seal—
    Becomes exceedingly profound.


    It gives the Signs:

    First comes a cloudy form;
    The second resembles smoke.
    Third is the form of lightning;
    The fourth resembles a butter lamp.
    The sequence of all these, moreover,
    Occurs according to the order of the emanation chakra and the rest.
    The emergence of the form of cloud
    Is the sign for birth, the syllable a.
    That which resembles a butter lamp
    Is taught to be the sign of ham, for death.
    The fifth, which resembles space,
    Should be understood as the empty sign
    For the intermediate state, non-duality.
    Moreover, [F.194.a] vibrating and so forth
    Should be learned from a master’s oral instructions.



    the Three Lights sequence:

    Joy is called “luminance;”
    Supreme joy is radiance.
    Extreme joy is imminence.
    Innate joy is clear light.
    The nature of the four gnoses
    Are the antidotes that destroy the four demons.
    The coarse level is secretly destroyed by four.
    The four subtle demons are naturally
    Destroyed in the four chakras.


    As to Form:

    Color and shape are the demon of the aggregates.
    The Hayagrīva chakra destroys the aggregates.


    Once you have this rhythm down, there is not a whole lot more for you to be trained in:

    As for death, along with birth,
    The secret of their non-origination destroys the lord of death.
    The destruction of the subtle demons is similar.
    Concerning the four moments and the four sections;
    The four auspiciousnesses and the four truths;
    The four elements and the four mothers;
    The four pure stations, and so forth—
    Apart from the four gnoses themselves
    There is nothing higher to be found.


    It says next to nothing about the Fourth Initiation, mostly just describing it as Mahamudra continuity. So most of the emphasis is with the first three:

    The vase is taught to be the causal tantra;
    The secret is the means tantra;
    The wisdom-gnosis is the fruitional tantra.
    Birth is taught to be the causal tantra.
    Death is taught to be the means tantra.
    The intermediate state is the fruitional tantra.


    There is not really much about the last one. But otherwise it is all like Four Activities to infinity. When you have pursued this to the point where the four gnoses operate, then you are at the point of the removal of death. You would be at the feet of the actual Prasanna Tara and Amaravajra Devi.

    There probably is nothing more to be found, but, there probably is a getting better at it.

    I cannot visualize basic things, but, the technique definitely caused a clairvoyant state based in ordinary vision. That is what I have experienced. The outcome and therefor the progressive stages leading to it are very real. But I have done this without any respect to the Families and so forth, without the protection and benefits this yoga provides. That is why I basically bow down to it.

    Because of this I would say there is a Hiranyagarbha which lies beyond the Gauris, which is what the dharani system itself says. I do not see it mentioned in tantras.


    When looking at what gets called "Suryagupta tradition", it is not always the same thing. It frequently Features Khadira or one similar to her. And so if we are partially aware of what he was using, then, Six Arm Bhrkuti is easy to find near the lower left, in a ferocious form on a Mongolian thangka. Also near the middle of the bottom he uses Tara holding a Red Dharmodaya:








    If it has the bigger Tara Samayayogini, this did not arrive in Tibet until Taranatha. She still has Bhrkuti to the lower left, and, under Samayayogini is Mahakala, similar to most of the mass empowerment transmissions:









    Guge is apparently considered the artistic capital of western Tibet, and has a partial collection of Suryagupta's Taras from the 1400s. Here is the one with the Dharmodaya:







    This is their Usnisa Vijaya:







    Destroyer of Attachment is like a basic form of Raga or Pandara:







    This is called Gauri Tara, Radiant White Moon, which most likely means they have pre-empted Sarasvati from Tara Two and used an aspect of Cunda:







    Paripachaka, Fully Ripening, is usually the last one, which, in other systems, is Marici. [My mistake. This is Tara Thirteen for whom we have no direct correspondence. Marici is Fully Perfecting.]








    This is not from the series but is an unidentified Guge White Tara. Interestingly she has no additional eyes. Also, she is accompanied by Parnasabari towards the lower right:









    We saw that in 108 Names of Tara, she appears to be known as Susri, one of the Kalas of Agni. Agni is a being also said to have Seven Tongues, but even here there is more than one classification, viz. Karali:

    1) Karālī (कराली):—[from karāla] f. one of the seven tongues and nine Samidhs of Agni, [Muṇḍaka-upaniṣad; Gṛhyāsaṃgraha]


    The Brahmanda Purana on its own would appear to be a Pashupati Shiva book, and so it is interesting this Lalita Mahatmya is added there which is almost the same as Buddhist Tara, who, on her own, seems to be echoing back with one of her names. This Lalita is mainly the story of Sri Nagara or Mani Pura and consequently it bears resemblance to the Triangle of Inverted Stupa.

    Kala Agni has a more general meaning of fire at the end of time.

    If the Kalas of the Sun and Moon are thought of similarly, then, this makes the Three Channels or Three Voids.

    It would probably be correct to say we are working under the aegis of something similar to the combination of this masculine Purana with the feminine Mahatmya. Vajravali or Abhayakaragupta or Samputa Tantra is compatible with a system of Tara, Vajrayogini, and Agni, and it is not quite the simple fact that there are different names in the litanies, but, we are doing certain modes of practice differently than is in the Puranic systems.
    Last edited by shaberon; 7th September 2021 at 03:28.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Sitabani or Sitavati



    This is an idea for Tara One that is not the most grand, but perhaps the most educational.

    There is only one charnel ground where Buddha dwelt that later became known as the source of Upa-Yoga (Vairocana Abhisambodhi and Vajrapani Abhiseka), was where Gambhiravajra propitiated Vajra Surya by means of Dakini Jala to obtain the Vajramrita Tantra, and was where Padmasambhava was banished after intentionally killing someone for the purpose. It is considered the first Peaceful Cemetery, and therefor not generally known in "The Cemeteries" of most tantra. This is Sitabani.

    Tara One is usually a very distinctive Red Eight Arm Vira Tara. By perusing dharanis, this turns out to be a quite rare title abundantly endowed on Sitabani. This is the Tara of Verse One, so, if we just went by scripture, that is who we would get to match it.


    Because she is mostly shown with the Pancha Raksa in her green form, so far we found the IWS Sitabani image was plain enough but bearing a sword, which was not called for.

    In the translated NSP, the Pancha Raksha would appear to be in their basic form, with an extra ring of deities. This, however, is not the case. They have arisen in larger forms, but, not rotated or changed families. This enlargement leads to an Eight Arm Sitabani, who therefor becomes close to Suryagupta's Tara One, Pravira Tara.

    What Bhattacharya published of NSP is skin-like, consisting of mandala populations' names and their Families. His Iconography is "mostly" Sadhanamala, except he has also used NSP and other sources with it. So in a few cases, you get appearance descriptions that came from NSP which were not included in itself.

    Her form is described in the Niṣpannayogāvalī thus:

    “In the West on the orb of the sun on a double lotus there is Mahāśītavatī sitting in the Ardhaparyaṅka attitude with the halo of of the sun. She is red in colour, and her faces show the red, the white and the blue colour in the first, the right and the left faces respectively. She is eight-armed. In the four right hands she displays 1. the lotus with the Abhaya-mudrā, 2. the arrow, 3. the Vajra and 4. the sword. In the four left hands she shows 1. the noose with the Tarjanī, 2. the bow, 3. the jewel banner and 4. the manuscript against the chest”.


    Of course, if such things are difficult, then we try from the view of her smaller form. Her four-arm form would have Rosary and Varada Mudra with her right hands, Hook and then a text held close to her heart by the left, in ardhaparyanka seated on a sun disk. She is visibly crowned by Amitabha.

    Compared to Dhanada's items:

    akṣasūtravaradotpalapustakadharāṃ

    Rosary, Varada, Lotus, and Book, almost the same. Four Arm Bhrkuti uses a Rosary. So does Four Arm Mahacinakrama Tara, as well as Sadaksari Mahavidya. Four Arm Golden Prajnaparamita often does, such as in Indian stonework:






    Or in color:







    That group of peers is probably showing approximately the same power level in different ways. A Rosary suggests a lot of Pranayama sessions. Moreover, Sitabani cannot be too much different from Bhrkuti. The latter is a Lotus Family Bodhisattva, with a personal name elicited from the Yaksa cult, whereas the former is almost the same thing, except is in a mantra transmitted by Buddha which arguably had bound the local devi of that area in Bihar. In this case however she is not a Lokapala, at least any longer. The Pancha Raksha are Yidams. It seems like the resident Durga simply became a part of Bhrkuti, much as if she incarnated as Nepalese Princess Bhrkuti, that was just a part of her because she still is on Mt. Potalaka and responding to practitioners everywhere. She is capable of being everywhere in space, limited only by the minds around her.

    Japamala has to do with the origin of Time, the arising of Kanyakumari, and defeat of the Asura Bana.

    If we go back to the Newari thangka posted with the Tara song, it is not hard to find Dhanada and Mahacinakrama Tara as a type of basis for Vajra Tara, who, on the other side, is probably a close parallel to Samayayogini or even the Mothers of Tara Tantra.



    The NSP Pancha Raksa is unique, centered on Yellow Twelve Arm Jewel Pratisara wearing a Caitya; in the East is Ten Arm White Sahasrapramardani bearing a Wheel; in the South is Blue Twelve Arm Mantranusarini doing Dharmacakra and Samadhi mudras; West is Red Eight Arm Sitavati with Lotus; and in the North is Green Eight Arm Mayuri with a Jewel.


    The distinctive feature of Suryagupta's Pravira Tara is a set of hands raised straight up. She will likely be on a Dharmodaya, similar to Pithesvari Tara. Suryagupta has multiple Red Taras. Those are all similar to variants of Sitabani, but use the Pravira gesture or a Sword.

    This does not have the greatest detail, but looks to match the basic Pancha Raksa of Sadhanamala. Red Sitabani has four arms, and, it may be an axe, but at least that is pretty close to a hook:







    Concerning the NSP version, it is more abundant. This is from the Vajravali relationship thangka with Vasudhara and Usnisavijaya; in this mandala, we can make out an Eight Arm Red Sitabani:







    Even that seems to be a variation; it should have corner goddesses starting with Kali.

    This is a stand-alone version of the same mandala, and, it comes with a bonus, the typical mistake of PR 206. In the upper left is another Pancha Raksa, where Sitabani turns Green and the Red deity with Twelve Arms is Mantramanusarini. However, the sadhana says she is white:







    That one at least appears to have goddesses, Kali and so forth.

    If it was unclear, most of these images are larger when opened in a new tab. You can then browser magnify them. If we were actually doing the practice, we would see Sitabani like that directly behind us. What? That sounds hard.

    The corner goddesses are Kali, Kalaratri, Kalakarni, and Sveta, in this version which is in NSP as well as in Mitra Yogin's sadhanas. Kalakarni is inside Thirty-six Yakshis. Also:

    Name of Lakṣmī, [Nṛsiṃha-tāpanīya-upaniṣad]

    generally translated as "misfortune".


    In Lalita Mahatmya:


    44. Lord of inebriation is incomparable. Manmatha is accompanied by Malaya (the Southern breeze). He is the cause of intoxication. He is accompanied by Hlādinī (the deity of delighting power). He is (sexually) desirous. He has faces all round.

    45. He is the leader with black bees ahead. He is a musician accompanied by Nandinī. He should be known as Gaṇaka (one who counts) when accompanied by Anāmā (Nameless one). He is regarded as a dancer in the company of Kālī.

    46. When accompanied by Kālakarṇī (deity of misfortune) he indulges in playing and joking. When he is intoxicated he is regarded as Kandarpa. As the husband of Śyāmalā he is a dancer. He is sportive and engaged in amorous diversion when accompanied by his vehicle fish).

    47. Coming into close contact with Unmattā (overpassionate woman) he rejoices increasing love and lust.

    Thereafter, he shall perform the Nyāsa rite of Śrīkaṇṭha etc. along with meditation.

    48-50. The disciple shall remember Ardhanārīśvara (lord Śiva half of whose body is a woman), whose halves are similar (in colour) to saffron and gold, half of whose form is the daughter of the mountain. Hara is the king in whose hands there are two nooses, rosary and (Mudrā) of granting whatever is desired. After meditating thus he should perform the Nyāsa rite of the desired object in the spots of Lipis (characters of the alphabet).


    Generally, Karna is the ear/s and hearing.

    In the "other edition" of NSP, the last two goddesses are called Kalakanthi and Mahayasa.

    The Gatekeepers are the normal ones.


    Initiation card with Eight Arm Sitabani:









    According to NSP, any of them may take the center. Many Nepalese like to have Mayuri. With her, in a very brief space from pp. 20-21, there is Ekajati singled out as a spectacular Raksasi of the coast, shortly followed by a dharani including Gauri, Gandhari, Janguli, Candali, and Matangi, followed in just a few lines by Pratisara and Sitabani.

    Those three of the Pancha Raksa, Pratisara, Sitabani, and Mayuri, appear to have local and tribal origins, whereas the other two are Buddhist Mantra and Samadhi.

    Sitabani does not appear to be fully translated yet. There is "The Dharani of Tara", which is just the mantra of Vajra Tara. There is Tara's Own Promise which matches Amitabhha Garbha Tantra Tara of Sadhanamala.



    There is a GRETIL Sanskrit Mahasitavati Sutra which is incredibly brief. The brief prose of it is as described on Sakya Statues:

    The characteristic feature of this deity is that she protects the beings from the evil effects of the planets, wild animals and poisonous insects.

    According to the Mahasitavati Sutra, at one time Lord Buddha was dwelling at the cemetery of Sitavan in Rajagriha. At that time Venerable Rahula was troubled by many evil beings. Then Rahula went to see Lord Buddha and reported this incident with tears in his eyes. The Buddha then suggested to him to recite the Dharani of Arya Sitavati for protection from all sorts of harmful influences from the evil deities, planets, Yakshas, snakes, non-human beings, and others. It is said that the recitation of this Dharani relieves all disasters and is protected by all powerful four great divine kings.


    Moreover, it was a Mahasmasana, the charnel ground where Rudra's Heart fell. And so in Sitabani's dharani you quickly see Vira Tara and then the group of Gauris. You go through some nadis, Pandara, and Karali, and wind up with Hiranyagarbha. Then there is a prose ending that involves Vajrapani.

    Compared to the hundreds of deities on one page in Dharani Samgraha, she is still the only Hiranyagarbha. The linked version was preserved in Japan, this is the Nepalese version lacking the Sutra narrative:


    ḍeṁnamo bhagavatyai āryya mahāśītavatyai || tadyathā || ajgāvajgāka sijgā bhargāvarajgā saṁsāraṁtajgā bhageṣusurā ekataraṁgā asura | virāta ravīrā- tara 2 vīrākara vīrākara 2 vīrāindrā indra kisarā haṁsā haṁsakisarāpicimālā | mahākivvā | viheṭhikā | kālucchikā | agodarājayā likā | velā elācintāli | cili 2 hili 2 | sumuti va sumati | ralunadre | culū 2 nate 2 nadre | culunadi | kināḍi | hārīṭavirka 2 kāriṭarki kirīṭarkvita 2 gorīgandhāri | caṇḍālivetā limāta varccāsi | dharaṇidhāraṇi | taraṇi tāraṇi | draṣdramālike | kacakācike | cala nātike | kākalike | lalamati | lakṣamati | varāhaphule | matpale | kabīre | kara 2 vīre | taravāre | tara 2 vīre | kuruvīre | kurū 2 vīre | curūrva | re | cara 2 vīre | mahāvīre | iremati | valamati | rakṣamati | sarvvārthasādhani | paramārthasādhani | apratihate | indrorājā yamorājā | varuṇorājā | kuberorājā | manasvīrājā | vā śukīrājā | daṇurka | rājā | daṇḍāgnirājā | dhṛtarāṣṭro rājā | viruṭako rājā | viropokṣorājā | vramṣtāsaha strādhipatirājā | buddho bhagavāna dharmmasvāmi rājā | anuttaralo kānukampamama sarvva satvā nātrdharakṣaṁ | karotuguptiṁ paritrāṇa parigrahaṁ paripālanaṁ śānti svastya yanaṁdaṇu paliṁdāraṁviṣadūṣaṇaṁviṣanā śanaṁśīmāvandhandharaṇībandhañcakurvvantu jīvatuvarṣaśataṁ paśyatu saradāśataṁ ||

    nadyathā || īlāmilā utpalā | īramati viramati | haramati | kṣanamati | rakṣamati | kurumati | hurumati | huru phūrū 2 cara 2 khara 2 mati || bhūmicaṇḍe | kākalike | abhisaṁlābhite | sāmalate | hūle sthule | sthūlaśidhare | jayasthule | jayavate | calanadre | calanāḍikunāḍi | cūrūnāḍi | vāgabandhani | virohani | sārāhite | aṇḍaretra paṇḍale | karāḍe | kinnare | keyūre | ketumati | bhūtaṅme | bhūtayati | dhanyemaṁgalye | hiraṇyagarbbhe | mahābale | abalokitamūle | acalacaṇḍa | dhurandhare | jayālike | jayāgore | hini | curū 2 phurū 2 rundha 2 phara 2 kharu 2 mati | bandhumati | dhurandhare 2 dhare 2 vidhare | vimati viṣkambhati | nāśati vināśati | bandhani | mokṣani vimokṣani | mocani vimocani | mohani vimohani | bhāvani vibhāvani | sādhani | vidhani viśodhani | saṁśodhani | saṁkhiraṇi | saṁkiraṇi | saṁcchidani | sādhūtaramāne | taramāne | hanū 2 bandhūmati | hiri 2 khiri 2 khanali | hurū 2 khurū 2 namostu buddhānāṁ bhagavatāṁ svahā ||

    asyā khalu punarāhūlamahāśītavatī vidyāyāṁ | daśottara yadaśatāyām sutregranchiṁ baddhāhastena dhāryya māryā mānāyāṁ kaṇḍena dhāryyamānāyāṁ samantādyo | janaśatasya rakṣākṛto bhavati || īyaṁ khalu yunaḥ mahāśītayatī vidyāyāṁ eka navatyā śaṅ | nadī bālikā samairbbuddhai bhagavat bhirbhāṣitābhāṣiṣyante || āryya mahāśītavatīnāma mahāvidyārājñī parisamāptā



    They are about the same, except the Japanese one is written properly. Buddha is given the odd title Dharma Svami which is not even Buddhist. This is in the process of a Paramartha Sadhana. She also mentioned Varaha Kula or Boar Family which is not particularly common.

    I personally get a lively feel for that dharani, something that would go pretty fast, especially versus the fact that most mantras I do quite slowly. That one seems like it has vira in a verbal spitfire.

    Hiranyagarbha is followed by Mahabala, the Root of Avalokiteshvara, and Acala--Candamaharoshana.

    If I was a detective, I would quit looking.


    It is the lair of self-existent Brahma, the Golden Egg. Or:

    the soul invested by the subtile body or सूक्ष्मशरीर (sūkṣmaśarīra)

    All the souls put together is the Brahman. In the same way, all the subtle bodies put together, is known as hiraṇyagarbha or the cosmic egg. Hiraṇyagarbha is endowed with intellect and this intellect, also known as mahat, is the cause for the physical body. Hiraṇyagarbha can be considered as the feminine energy, if soul is considered as the masculine energy. Unless, the soul impregnates hiraṇyagarbha, creation is not possible.


    If we replace the "soul" with "white male seed of Bodhicitta", that would be tantra.


    In Sadhanamala, Saraha's Lokeshvara 36 is:

    vidyā-dharahariharahiraṇyagarbhanānāyoginīgaṇā

    i. e. having a circle or gana of yoginis based on it.

    Candamaharoshana 88 also interacts with it.

    That is virtually all.


    Sitabani does not even have a personal mantra at this basic level. One can always use "Om Sitabaniyai Namah" which is more like a greeting. She has the seed syllable Jim, which is unusual, since it means Vairocana as Jinajik in an article about the rotation of yoginis in Guhyasamaja. It may also be Vajrapani in the Bardo Thodol or Guhyagarbha tradition. However in Sadhanamala Vajra Tara 110, the Five Buddhas get the following syllables:

    vuṃ-āṃ-jīṃ-khaṃ-huṃ


    The very end of Durgottarini 111 is going to move Kham onto the vertical axis with Tam:

    saṃmadhye khaṃ tāṃ vāmāvartena vuṃ āṃ jīṃ huṃ / vāmāvartena loṃ māṃ pāṃ tāṃ /


    so if you line those up, you get Lom--Locana and Vum--Vairocana, Am has been absconded from Arolik or Lotus Family and used with Mam--Mamaki and Am--Ratnasambhava, then there would be Pam--Pandara and Jim--Amitabha, and finally Tam--Tara and Hum--Akshobhya. This has "doubled" Tara without granting anything new to Vajra Family. Its focus is of course doing something with Kham and Karma Family.

    The less-than-loyal positioning of Mamaki has appeared to throw something as simple as seed syllables into a confused tumult. They may be like this somewhere in Hevajra Tantra.

    In perhaps another vein, Jah is Janma or Birth syllable, related to Janguli and Camel Rider and is the Hook syllable.

    The pattern is carried forward in page two of a Japanese Balimala that may be including Vajradhatvishvari. In note 494, Elizabeth English found it with Padmabhajana and used directly or with alterations in three sadhanas in the Guhyasamaja Sadhanamala. She refers to Hevajra Tantra 1.2.2 but then says that Chakrasamvara is more detailed and relied on Robert Beer and Kelsang Gyatso. GSS 5 has a minor change, GSS 16 is the five syllables, and GSS 11 is complete with the Prajna syllables. Because it is intended for Chakrasamvara Completion Stage, it then uses the Prajnas as meats and the Buddhas as Nectars, to which we should probably think the Generation Stage view is inverse with males as meats like in Vajrabhairava.

    These assignments are also different because she says Am--Amoghasiddhi and Kham--Ratnasambhava, and also adds an "r" for Jrim = Amitabha. Then she also gives the "standard Tibetan" usage which is different again. They typically lose Vum--Vairocana and revert him to Om.

    We could almost take the position that to say a seed syllable "is" something is wrong.

    Kham syllable typically stands for Akasha and is Kha Dhatu and Karma Family. This usually refers to it being placed at the root center. In certain instances where Kham is granted to Ratnasambhava, this probably corresponds to Jewel Family having the root center. Am is usually more of a Navel syllable which is assigned to Amoghasiddhi in that case.

    "J" usually means Jina which reflects the commonly-known Guhyasamaja, but, "when" it has to do with Lotus Family, we land on this limited slice of Sitabani, Vajra Tara, Durgottarini, GSS 11 and 16. The Japanese article refers to Sadhanamala (somewhere near the end after p. 500), Adikarmapradipa, and Samvarodaya Tantra.

    The counter point to "when" a syllable "is" something is that no matter how you are doing it, you should be consistent. If I am following something that tells me Yellow Lom = Locana, I can be aware that this may not be cast in stone and perhaps some day there is a reason for it to be white, but this does not mean it should become blue one day and pink the next, turn into Lam and green, or anything like that. It has to be stable.

    The GSS study comes in a scan with errors, or a pdf, which also has some.

    GSS 11 is the Umapatideva Vajravarahi which became her main subject and translated, which she says is similar to the doctrine of Sakya Raksita, who was "a student of the Vajravali". She says GSS 3, 11, and 16 are related by being in the line influence by Maitri and Saraha; GSS 16 is the thirteen-fold Vajradakini Vajravarahi. GSS 11 is a dreadnought based on:

    Thirty-seven bodhipaksikadharmas


    so it is about like the entire Chakrasamvara system centered on Vajravarhi herself. It is a furthering of the same basics, such as it goes through Vairocani, has the Four Dakinis in Jewel Family, and is way too big to be remotely useful to anyone who has not spent years contemplating its components.

    GSS 16 is a Six Arm form addressed with a Vairocani mantra. This form is an Axe goddess who also has a Vajra rather than a chopper. Its source is Abhidhanottara Tantra. It may not have mentioned the Ten Syllable version before this one with a thirteen syllable mantra. The thirteen give rise to Pranava Vajradakini (Varnani) and others. Here, J or Jam becomes Jramrita Vajradakini. R is Roshani. It winds up having two Hums that beome Humkari and Humnadi, Phat becomes Phatani, Sva is Svakari. It then refers to Mount Manobhanga from Laksabhidhana Tantra, and potentially to Cittavisrama as a pavillion there, which was the teaching origin of this practice.

    These sadhanas usually incorporate Nectar Tasting before a full Bali Offering. GSS 16 is not as big as 11, it has Armoring, Cemeteries, Nectar Taste and Bali. It contains repeated armoring, more than usual, which Elizabeth thinks is due to this having emerged from Armor Deities. She noticed that only this and two others have much detail about the cemeteries, that they are more typically desribed as just "being there", and that there is not much study on the background or subject of them. This is the only one that places the generation and the palace in the cemeteries.

    GSS 11, or, Umapatideva also leads to the massive Twelve Arm Varahi whose mandala makes little sense compared to what we have found of the mandala systems; it is like Kalachakra in this way. GSS 16 is much more direct, it is really telling us a lot about what Vairocani is going to do. And this means her sister Varnani is incredibly close to cemetery meditation, or is practically the whole branch of it. The main thing here is Armor and so that is why we need a hefty set of Six Yoginis before getting to it.

    Sadhanamala contains related and precursor Varahis, and, something that pertains to perhaps the most important cemetery, Sitabani. GSS is similar to NSP in that both handle Completion Stage versions of what is built through Sadhanamala, Tara, and yoga.

    Until one takes GSS 16 about as seriously as the way pisacis and Parnasabari are described, best not to get near it.

    Once we see that as a "secret" or "Yaksha realm" aspect that is still the same as Sutra Buddhism, then Sutra deities such as Mayuri or Parnasabari are capable of handling it for us for quite some time, which can be quite long until we have the actual Vairocani. She has little to do with Dhyani Buddha Vairocana, who is not the Asura or Daitya Virochana. Vairocani instead is the sister of this Asura. Her background is difficult, but, it actually contains more substance of the Chakrasamvara system than the tantra itself would lead you to believe, such as Mahabala. So we will review her soon.

    If you do something halfway right with Varuni, it is like gas, and then Vairocani is a match, and if you are not doing this in a well-adjusted lantern, there will be consequences and you are going to regret it.

    If you follow the teaching and you get her going and she starts working so well that she drives you into the Akash in the way the tantra means the "full fifth" and you personally dissolve into its void, you may throw yourself at the feet of Guhyajnana Dakini. She is spontaneous revelation which is not derived from the direct transmission of a lineage. Something like a wild card we would not play until the height of our Generation Stage. But there will always be a few rare people who are able to progress in this at an almost alarming rate. And so she is a type of safety valve.

    Varuni is going to function in these sadhanas as Khandaroha, the Third Dakini who occupies the West where Sitabani is now. In turn, this gives us the ability to develop the platform of the Four Dakinis, and if nothing else happens, this on its own will evoke Guhyajnana Dakini.

    The Four Dakinis is the major, significant core through all our tantras, and Vairocani has to do with a lot of the other mantras that Chakrasamvara relies on. If possible, we are trying to slowly open this like an umbrella, instead of nosediving into it.


    Sitabani dharani's first line says:

    aṅgā vaṅgā / kaliṅga / varaṅgā saṃsārataraṅgā sāsadaṅgā / bhagā asurā / ekataraṅgā asuravīrā /

    Anga--Limbs such as Vanga (Bengal) and Kalinga (south of the Vindhyas)--Varanga, the best part of which--is Samsara Taranga, a sacred hill situated in the Mahesana-District, became a holy place of the Jainas. Its ancient name was Tārāpura. It became famous as Nirvāṇa-kṣetra. Otherwise, taranga is a waving motion, such as clothes or the gallop of a horse. In this way, we found according to Hevajra, taranga (which means waves) refers to the various modes of the mind. The destruction of the various modes of the mind is expressed by 'calm' [similar to Manobhanga and Cittavisrama].

    Together with the limb of Bhaga Asura, One Taranga, an Asura Heroine. This is Vira Tara.

    Bhaga Asura has the masculine meaning of Mitra Varuna. The one in the dharani is female, she is a female Indra and Swan. Kisara is probably BHS for kasira, kiccha, or krcchra. Perhaps milk with rice and sesamum, however, the Pali roots mean misery and suffering.

    Kicca, function, obligation, or ceremony, comes up in the next two words,which perhaps emphasizes this connotation of kisara.






    If Suryagupta was trained in Tara and then devised his practice based from a direct encounter with her, we can see he was among the early, but not the first, to have received her root system:


    Tara Mulakalpa Tantra Lineage: Shakyamuni Buddha, Vajrapani, Hayapala, Hayaghosha, Rahulabhadra (Saraha), Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Rahulabhadra the Younger, Jvalashespa, Dharma Bhadra Pala, Nagamitra, Suryagupta, [etc.].




    A bit mentioning Hayapala legendarily attributes Tara Tantra to Indrabhuti at the time of Buddha; but that Hayapala was a Bengali monk who disseminated it after being initiated by Guhyasila, who had received it from celestial Vajrapani.

    Most lists of the Mahasiddhas do not typically place Saraha and Nagarjuna together at the beginning, but, this Tara lineage is therefor close to the ways that do. This is the view of Sankrityayan, to whom we can also credit the salvaging of many manuscripts around the 1930s. Saraha especially is considered the origin of Mahamudra, being initiated by Four Dakinis who showed him his master Ratnamati (a Vajradhara emanated Bodhisattva) with Hayagriva.

    Nagarjuna subsequently had realization through Hayagriva, which he transmitted to Padmasambhava.


    In terms of what can be shown about siddha culture, yes, Saraha probably has the first Doha or tantric songs, which continue in the same tradition through Maitri and Marpa into the Tibetan Kagyu lineages and still revered as Mahamudra. He is recognizable for the Arrow and the Radish, similar to Radish Ganapati. Indrabhuti and Laksminkara were probably approximately contemporaneous and more responsible for tantra or Vajrayana as a whole, whereas Saraha seems pretty specific to Mahamudra. It is not really different, but perhaps more advanced and direct, since Vajrayana overall has to address the issues of what would be necessary to convert people from outer symbolism to the inner states.

    Mahamudra has three branches, one through Nagarjuna, Sukhasiddhi, and Tilo, one through Saraha, Nagarjuna, Sabari and Maitri, and one through Niguma.


    Hayagriva, being also a hidden power of the throat chakra, is also similar to Vairocani, of non-Buddhist origin.
    Last edited by shaberon; 7th September 2021 at 07:21.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Gandhari and Mahabharata characters, Kurukulla, Pancha Raksa 206


    In Tara's song, at least two of the Pancha Raksa are ordinarily included, Mayuri and Pramardani.

    That does not mean they all have to be in there, but they could be, and no matter which way you look at it, they are an important, if not original, source of dharani itself. One of them is what Buddha gave to his own son at the time of experiencing adult mental distress. And so we looked at her and she is a Vira Tara of the Maha Smasana or great charnel ground of Bihar near Rajgriha.

    Lotus Family tantra mostly stems from Mahakarunika, which generally owes to a form of Green Tara. When we looked around for someone who really looked like an emissary, i. e., is red, there is barely anything that represents a simple Two Arm Red Tara with the basic feel or Bhavana of Lotus Family. Almost the simplest one turned out to be Four Arm Sitabani. Allright, she at least has something which we can use anywhere from just a recital, to her being an individual personal sadhana, or the mandala leader, and there is not a very good reason why she could not also be Tara One. She appears at par with a league of Rosary or Mala goddesses, who are all a bit difficult, therefor time-consuming. And so when indicated together, like in the Newari Tara thangka or with Seven Syllable deity, they are also similar to Prajnaparamita, and trying to get us to live Six or Seven Paramitas at once.


    Sitabani has a characteristic Lotus Family appearance, and the generic gatekeeper Sphoti. We have found that as soon as we ask Lotus Family about her item, the Chain, they recede into the akash and leave us searching. That is close to the story of the Pancha Raksa. They vanish. The main red devi that represents Lotus changes to something else, and nothing replaces her.

    Aside from a few typos, our text is damaged in a way that almost looks like it is not.

    Sadhanamala 201 should be a standard Pancha Raksa mandala, which starts on Pratisara and her five right arms, as she must have ten total. A few pages are missing, and it resumes with Gandhari's six left arms. So it might appear that Pratisara and Gandhari are the same, or one name mistakenly stuck with the other, until it becomes obvious that the change is lost in that peculiar way. A couple other short pieces are missing, and then part of the beginning from Gandhari. The gap consists of Mahapratyangira (202), Dhvajagrakeyura (203), Aparajita (204), Vajragandhari (205).

    Interestingly, in figure 50.6, Gerd Mavissen found "a thangka" whose lower register is seven goddesses from the special series leading into Pancha Raska 206. It is centered on Pratyangira, and the deities appear in mandala sequence, not linear. It does not include Mantranusarini; Mavissen believes that since accurate detail was paid to the group, the display stopped in order to avoid the issue that the normal Mantranusarinis are incorrect.

    It does at least show there is some kind of coherence to that unusual series as if centered on Mahapratyangira. Description was on the previous pages in the link, based on the subject that Red Manusarini is an "intentional error":








    Well, that copy of Gandhari's sadhana 205 was published in 1165, after the Gauri grouping of her had been written in multiple texts since around 465. She has one source, the Mahabharata, and, no indication how she got from that Virgoan incarnation considered one of the most virtuous role models in all India, to the sheer terror that is her presentation in Buddhism.

    Quite a bit like it was unbelievable there was such a thing as Wrathful Bhrkuti until I was confronted with it in the source texts.

    Gandhari is, perhaps, the main connection of the Gauris to the Four Kings, since her husband is Dhrtarashtra, the first one of them. It is not usually said that Janguli or Candali, etc., has such a specific mate. On the one hand, these Kings are essentially violators of the Golden Light Sutra. They are like Purgatory, or, they have gotten stuck on the lowest plane of Kama Loka and never finished the death process and are still connected to the physical world. They "visit" by possessing oracles a few times a year, which is mostly in secret, because they are so wrathful that they can throw a sword burying it in the wall, or tie one in a knot. They are oath bound, but, they are not enlightened, and not only are they not peaceful, they are dangerous. And so for instance King Dhrtarashtra plays a guitar and wears a helmet, because if he hears any sound you make, dire consequences will immediately bounce back to you. The others are similar, if he sees something you did, etc. They are simply oath bound now, because, in life, they transgressed their public oaths, which caused suffering to the people of their kingdoms, and all we can be sure of is that they are prevented from doing this any more.

    Their mandala is different, if we look at Vajrapani and the Four Kings, it is just something like "has achieved stability/calmness", and nothing like the interaction that takes place in other mandalas. Nagas and other creatures have representatives who are converted to and enlightened by Dharma; the Kings are humans who are only the former, converted, and I am not sure if there is ever any release from duty and chance to reincarnate. About all we are looking for in their sub-plane is a way to pass through it. They do not really have anything to offer, and any deity described as binding them should be sufficient.

    The wife, Gandhari, looks like she shared a lot of their fate, except she must have managed to enter the Bodhisattva path and to have become a certain kind of Yidam. She also became the consort of Candavajrapani Yaksa Senapati (General) in her dharani.

    Gandhari resembles a missing form of Ekajati, being approximately half of the colossal Laughing Ekajati, and like a dark parallel of what is to come in the Pancha Raksa sadhana after her.

    Gandhari has an upper blue (or black) face, and then five colors faces. Therefor, she is in the rare class of Sanmukhi or Six Faces, which is only done by Marici, Mars, and a few others such as Krsna Yamari. She must be considered an expert who has "seized the Sixth" and become known as:

    anekarūpavividhaveśadhāriṇīyai


    Aneka--many rupa--forms vividha--many kinds Avesa--Possession dharini (holder of).

    Six Face Gandhari, Marici, and Krsna Yamari are on one page of forms from Bari's sadhanas. We can see he kept part of the sequence, and dropped PR 206. He does not have weird Kurukullas either.

    Because the sadhana is partially ripped, her entire set of items according to Bhattacharya is:

    She carries in her six right hands 1. the Vajra, 2. the bell marked with a Vajra, 3. the sword, 4. the trident, 5. the arrow, and 6. the discus, and in the six left hands 1. the Khatvafiga, 2. the goad, 3. the bow, 4. the Parasu, 5. the noose and 6. the Tarjani against the chest.

    Gandhari may be the same as the ancient Bhima Devi; which, from Devi Mahatmya, we may be better off thinking of Buddhist Pithas as "where Devi manifested" rather than "where Sati's parts fell", here in one view of those places, which more accurately begins with what we call Kolhapur Mahalakshmi:

    There is a great place of pilgrimage named Kolhāpura in the southern country. Here the Devī Lakṣmi always dwells. The second place is Mātripura in the Sahyādrī mountain; here the Devī Reṇukā dwells. The third place is Tulajāpur; next is the place Saptaśriṅga, the great places of Hingulā and Jvālā Mukhī. Then the great places of Sākambharī, Bhrāmāri, Śrīraktadantikā and Dūrgā. The best of all places is that of Vindhyācala Vāsinī, the great places of Annapurnā and the excellent Kāñcipur (Conjiverum). Next come the places of Bhīmā Devī, Vimalā Devī, Śrī Caṇdralā Devī of Karṇāṭ, and the place of Kauśikī. Then the great place of Nīlāmbā on the top of the Nīlāparvata, the place of Jāmbūnadeśvarī, and the beautiful Śrīnagara.


    Bhima is metaphorically "not that far" from Vimala.

    We cannot be positive that Gandhari has no intermediary forms, but, her practice is quite rare. On p. 166, Taranatha attributes Asanga's use of Gandhari mantra to enter Tusita and to "move through space".

    Sadhana Sagara shows there are two Gandhari sadhanas. The Tenth Ngorchen kept her in his practices mostly derived from Bari. Those are both quite similar to Sadhanamala.

    In the Jain view, she is the Yakshi, Camunda; that article also mentions Aparajita 204.

    In Buddhist Deities and Mantras in the Hindu Tantras, Gudrun Buhnemann found another Gandhari dharani:

    The vajragāndhārī-mantra for protection from Piśācas, evil demons (graha) and fever (MP 43.72+)

    oṃ raṣṭidehiṃ coktajikādha oṃkārīṃ (?) kātyāyanīṃ (?) nairṛtyāṃ kālīṃ mahākālīṃ vajrakālīṃ yaśasvinīṃ sukālīm āgneyāṃ vāyavyāṃ kālikāṃ paṅktiśaktiṃ śāntākṣīm indrāṇīṃ yakṣakauberīṃ māheśvarīṃ vaiṣṇavīṃ cāmuṇḍīṃ raudrīṃ vārāhīṃ kauberīṃ yāś cānyā mama samaye tiṣṭhanti tannāmāvartayiṣyāmi / śīghraṃ gṛhṇa / oṃ lala culu pūraya dhara ānaya subhage / āviśa bhagavati / mahāvajragāndhāri siddhacandravajrapāṇir ājñāpayati hrīṃ haḥ hāṃ hāṃ hāṃ huṃ phaṭ svāhā /


    The paper involves Kinnaris, Vajrasrnkhala and others. I am not sure why you would question Omkari Katyayani. Gandhari's form is hideous, perhaps, due to having been roasted alive, but during her career she was much like Katyayani and Virgo.

    After that are "unquestioned" things that probably "sound like" her anticipated form.

    It may look similar to Nritya or Nartta for "Dance", but, Nairrta or Nirtta is the southwest, the calamity direction. It is similar to the name Nairatma, except it is Nair Rta or lack of Rta or natural order. So there are four epithets related to a quarrelsome and Kali nature, including Mahakali which we suspect is of Adbhuta Ramayana, and then Vajrakali could perhaps be the mother of Sakyamuni, since there are no other related entries.

    These Kalis are followed by what retroactively seem to be called Five (Pankt-) Saktis of Peace (Santa-). It is an unusual assortment, including:

    Lalita Sahasranam 469-474

    Yaśasvinī; यशस्विनी (nr. 474):—The most renowned. She is famous because of Her multitude of capabilities. Śiva, after creating Her, does not get involved with any of the activities of the universe. She administers the entire universe independently. Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad (I.10) beautifully explains this situation. It says “No person ever grasped by his understanding the upward limit of this Paramātma, nor his limit across, nor his middle portion. His name is ‘great glory’.” Such is the type of Her greatness.

    Yaśasvinī (यशस्विनी).—A Durgā and Viśvarūpinī who got śūla from Śiva, cakra from Viṣṇu, śankha from Varuṇa, śakti from Agni, bow and arrow from Marut, Vajra from Indra, caṣaka from Kubera, daṇḍa and pāśa from Yama, kuṇṭika from Brahmā, khaḍga and keṭa from Mṛtyu, jewels from Viśvakarman.*

    * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 29. 80-8; 44. 90.

    Is that the same as Mahayasa found after Kali in a Pancha Raksa retinue, and again in the retinue of Buddhakapala? Perhaps. If not Buddhist, she still sounds like Akash holding Five Elements, not "a" shakti, but one with attributes of eleven male gods.

    Sukali is the surviving daughter of Himavat and Menaka. She is followed by what looks like feminized Fire and Wind and then a name that is slightly distinguished from Kali, as it is in Mayuri Sutra:

    2a) Kālikā (कालिका).—A śakti.*

    * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 44. 86.

    3) Kalikā (कलिका).—A daughter of Vaiśvānara; after her came the Kālakeya asuras.*

    * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 6. 23-5; Vāyu-purāṇa 68. 23.

    According to the Kubjikāmata-tantra, the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—Bhairava meets Himavat who praises him with great reverence. Bhairava responds by offering him five boons. Finally Himavat asks Bhairava to marry his daughter, the virgin (kumārikā) Kālikā and Bhairava agrees.

    Then there appears to be Samaya with the Eight Mothers.

    Gandhari arguably is the Sixth, Katyayani, who has a nucleus of Five, as the tantra requires. In her mantra, she is anaya (misfortune):

    Subhagā (सुभगा) is the name of the Goddes in her first of seven births, according to the second recension of the Yogakhaṇḍa of the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—Accordingly, as the Lord said to Bhadrakālī: “[...] (Coming from) Himavat’s house you were married (to me) for seven rebirths. In the first (birth your) name (was) Subhagā and Kāladūtī in the second birth. You (were) Revatī in the third and Mokṣalakṣmī in the fourth. You (were) Durga in the fifth birth and Jayeśvarī in the sixth. In the previous birth—the seventh—you (were) Umā, my favourite.

    Primordial Bhadrakali?



    She is Subhaga in one place, and Bhisma Bhagini in another.

    A similar type of Bhagini may be found in Samputa Tantra Chapter Four, Part Three is about hand gestures, demonstrated with the, lower-case, lamas, meaning a class similar to vilasinis. The origin of their Families is portrayed with a few male deities of Tathagata, Vajra, and Lotus Families, and then female leaders who are unusual, such as Vinayaka and Khandaroha. Khandaroha women get an honorable mention:

    For she is the great queen of yogins, the exalted one,

    khaṇḍarohākulodbhūtā mahāyogīśvarī varā |


    That is the only thing resembling Mahayoga in the book, and is a pretty powerful title, Maha Yoga Ishvari, also applied to Durgottarini and Janguli in Sadhanamala.

    Samputa does have Hiranyagarbha near the beginning.

    They are strange Family mistresses, but there is one kind with no background, that of Virabhagini. In the tantra's context, it would have the meaning of "sister of a Vira". Generally, it and synonymous terms could also mean "daughter of". Gray's Chakrasamvara would support the meaning "Heroic Sister", which is a little different.

    Bhagini as an individual is in MMK and in Dakarnava's Agni Cakra.


    The only Bhagini in Sadhanamala is Vajragandhari: Bhisma Bhagini.

    It is strange since the spelling "bhima" is common in Sadhanamala (over seventy instances), even in Gandhari's description Ugra Bhima, but this is the only appearance of Bhisma and Bhagini, which strongly suggests it means Bhisma's sister. Bhisma has no natural siblings.


    Bhisma is the cursed Vasu Prabhasa, forced to incarnate for being the ringleader of the Vasus stealing Kamadenhu. Bhisma was actually trained by Parasurama and fought him to a stalemate.

    The name Bhishma means one who has taken a terrible oath (and fulfills it). He was born as Devaratha, the son of King Shantanu of the Kurus and the Goddess Ganga. He learned the scriptures from Brihaspati, the preceptor of the Devas, and the art of war from Parashurama.

    Balarama was the brother of Krishna. He was a matchless warrior with the mace and was the teacher of both Bheema and Duryodhana. Balarama is permanently the brother of Vishnu, such as Lakshman in the Ramayana, and he is really Sesha--Ananta. We will return to this, but we see he is in the background of Bhima or Bhisma.

    When war was declared between his grand-nephews, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, Bhishma had to support the Kauravas despite his personal preference for the Pandavas, for his duty was to the throne, and to King Dhritharashtra, his nephew who ruled over Hastinapura.



    But Gandhari does not quite appear to be Bhisma's sister:

    Gāndhārī became a devotee of Śiva even from her childhood. Śiva became pleased with her and blessed her saying that she would bear a hundred sons. Bhīṣma came to know of this and he planned to get her married to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. One day he sent a messenger to Subala making a proposal. Subala knew that Dhṛtarāṣṭra was born blind but considering his lineage and the powerful alliance it would make, consented to the proposal of Bhīṣma. Śakuni, brother of Gāndhārī, then by the order of his father took Gāndhārī to Hastināpura and Dhṛtarāṣṭra accepted her as his wife. Gāndhārī obeying her father’s instructions without a demur accepted her blind husband with such devotion that she made herself blind by tightly covering her eyes with a silk shawl. (Chapter 110, Ādi Parva).








    She cursed Krishna which caused him to lose everything. such as his family and Dwarka, and get killed.

    In that sense, you could blame her for what we call Kali Yuga.

    Bhisma was in a vow of celibacy, which was "terrible" because his lack of an heir caused a power vacuum, which enabled Sakuni to plot machinations that resulted in conflict on the scale of Armageddon.

    Gandhari is the avatar of Mati--Intelligence. She is also a Queen of Gandharvas or Primordial Sound. This Mati is in the retinue of Buddhist Sarasvati; is a daughter of Daksa who marries Dharma, in Mahabharata. A standard cycle of incarnations says Kunti and Madri: The two goddesses Siddhi and Dhriti became Kunti and Madri. Gandhari: Mati became Gandhari.

    In Lotus Sutra XXI "Dharanis", Kunti is the leader of Raksasis.

    And so there is also a very old scripture which says:

    Kuntī (कुन्ती).—According to the Mūlasarvāstivādin Vinaya, after having crossed the Indus towards the west, the Buddha took eight stages to cross Uḍḍiyāna, the Lampāka, and arrived in the neighborhood of Peshawar.

    8th and 9th stages.—On leaving Nandivardhana, the Buddha went to the city of Kuntī, where he tamed the yakṣī of the same name...

    Despite supporting her children, Kunti stayed in the Kaurava camp along with her sister-in-law Gandhari. After the death of Karna, Kunti disclosed the secret of Karna's birth to Pandavas and others. All were shocked to learn the fact they committed fratricide. The Pandavas were furious with Kunti, especially Yudhisthira, who cursed Kunti and women of the world that they shall be unable to keep any secret anymore. If Kunti hadn't kept it a secret, there were chances that the war would've been averted and millions of lives would've been spared.


    Draupadi however is Vira Shakti, and it is her relationship with Bhima that is behind the Kurukshetra war.

    In a Caitanya Vaisnava commentary of Moods where the Kaurava women are Adbhuta, Bhisma is Vira.


    At that point we do not need to prestidigitate whether Bhisma and Vira might be synonyms. They are.

    Bhisma Bhagini and Virabhagini seem to be similar titles, the latter of which almost stands in place of the name "Vajrayogini" which is not in Samputa.

    Gandhari and Dhrtarashtra perished together with Kunti, their sacrificial fire had immolated the forest and they refused assistance and ended their lives.

    The final goddesses in Sarvadurgati Parishodhana mandala are Bhima, Sri, Sarasvati, Simha Durga. The female Bhima devi is local in Himachal Pradesh and possibly corresponds to Gandhari.

    She is shooing us away from her personal sadhana because we have not seized the Sixth, but, we might perhaps get the "full fifth", which is what the subsequent weird PR 206 is.

    Interestingly, she is not done, Bhattacharya believes she is in Karma Family. I am not sure about that. In fact, she looks like she follows the principle that Kurukulla is a nectar goddess arising from Tara, and Ekajati is a subsequent state of Kurukulla, Gandhari is subsequent to that. This is evident in the retinue of Eight Arm Vajra Feet Kurukulla who does Trailokya Vijaya mudra, which contains Lotus Family Ekajati like in Amoghapasha's retinue. Her inner ring consists of red goddesses who all have a Five Buddha crown and they are seated with Vajra Feet, but otherwise have something closer to a common Four Arm Kurukulla Archer form:

    In the cardinal directions, Prasanna Tara, Nispanna Tara, Jaya Tara, and Karna Tara, followed in the corners by Cunda, Aparajita, Pradipa Tara, and Gauri Tara.

    Cunda has slipped into the same corner as she did with Manjuvajra.

    Her Gatekeepers are more individualized and stand in Alidha:

    Fat Red Akshobhya Vetali with Tarjani, Hook, Bell, and Noose; Yellow Aparajita with Staff, Hook, Bell, and Noose; Fat Blue Ekajati biting her lip with Vajra, Hook, Bell, and Noose; and Fat Gold Gandhari with Sword, Hook, Bell, and Noose. Those are all crowned with the normal Dhyani Buddha of their area.

    That came from Indrabhuti's Kurukulla 174, which is short, just describing the retinue and then giving a paragraph using Trailokyavijaya Mudra. Six Arm Kurukulla 173 also has it, Mayajala Kurukulla 181 and Six Arm Kurukulla 182 as well. We might say this is a subject of hers, as it isn't anywhere else.

    The retinue resembles, but is not, NSP fifteen deity Kurukulla which is a copy of Nairatma, nor Mitra's thirteen deity version with Prajnas, Dancers, and normal gatekeepers. Those are most likely centered on regular Kurukulla.

    Sadhanamala Kurukulla is not regular. She starts as a Nyasa on Arya Tara Bhattarika 115, there is Tarodbhava Kurukulla 171 and 172, then six and eight arm forms, only then mentioning her common one, before moving on to white and more of the unusual ones, including the description "kalikamukham", which helps us find that "kalika" frequently has to to with the opening of flowers, "utpala kalika", etc. Because practically all Kurukulla images are the Archer version, if these others even exist, they are sunk in the mire of "unidentified".

    There are over a hundred "humkaras", none of which is a gesture, whereas Kurukulla has the only Trailokyavijaya Mudra.




    Ok. Considering Indrabhuti's Kurukulla retinue rings, perhaps once there is an established Kurukulla and Ekajati, you can derive Gandhari in a Karma Family Sword Dakini guise, in the wrong color. On the other hand, her solo form is the right color for Vajra Family, has Vajra as her main item and relies on Hum syllable, with no Karma Family attributes appearing more prominently than this. Solo Ekajati is in Vajra Family, but, in multiple sadhanas, we see her in Lotus Family according to being in the West. Here, Kurukulla evokes multiple deities, only one of which has much of an outer samaya evolving role, Cunda. And then she doubles Aparajita.

    This is even still similar to Sri Yantra and its Sword, which started from the "outside", pointed further and further in, the Buddhist sadhanas went through Mahacinakrama Tara and Kurukulla and has entered the hands of Gandhari. She is in a level with someone else who is incredibly powerful having no basic forms, Prasanna. Those two are the Alpha and Omega of this retinue. And so it is not necessary to presume that Blue Gandhari is "in" Karma Family, just because she assumes their role in their own territory as an assistant to Kurukulla.

    Trailokyavijaya Mudra is a bit of an eye-opener when we find it on this atypical Kurukulla who on the face of it would resemble the large Sitabani and Pravira Tara. Bhutadamara Mudra is similar to Humkara mudra, except the hands are turned out. Trailokyavijaya is described as Humkara. Tibetan Symbols says it is Humkara, and separates Bhutadamara. There is evidently a Twenty Arm Trailokyavijaya goddess. It probably is safest to say that it "is" Humkara, as a near goal, which potentially has Bhutadamara inside it. This last or "demon subduing" gesture is also his own mandala that subjugates many Hindu entities, with the second ring being Apsasarases such as Sri, Tilottama, Surasundari, etc.

    Humkara--Sound is basic Mantranusarini (among others), and Tara Five is in a competition between Kurukulla and Humsvara Nadini. Kurukulla also happens to have Humkara--gesture, so, this is still a bit simultaneous. Taras Eleven and Eighteen also have Humkaras, so, it is a careful question of how to represent these.





    When examining how a section of Sadhanamala was written, we had a minor or basic Pancha Raksa given, as a brief solo roster, and then its retinue got erased along with Aparajita and one more, and then Gandhari sticks her nose in, but, probably is representing a state we haven't reached yet. It is about to be harnessed in greater detail by another Pancha Raksha, who are doing something unusual, which is more evident to me from the symbolism than in anything of the way they are usually described.


    Pancha Raksa was at one time literal--protecting Rahula in the womb--and then as an adult, he needed Sitabani; and she perhaps can be compared to the Hiranyagarbha, within which we are attempting to impregnate a Pushkara or Blue Lotus, which is the subtle or mental Path Bodhisattva "in the womb" of Generation Stage, or the onset of Tathagata Garbha or Buddha Nature. And so it is a guidance in terms of that. It is mainly dealing with tantric Varuni or Amrita, in perhaps a symbolic pregnancy motif which some day will unleash the sixth principle as perhaps represented by the large Gandhari.

    This second mandala goes back to an Eight Arm Pratisara who is the problematic Gaura color, which is neither white nor yellow, perhaps orange. She is adorned with a Caitya and has a Cakra--Wheel as her main item, but retains her Jewel Family mantra (Manidhari Vajrini). These devis have many arms, but none has more than four faces.

    As an exercise, it sanitizes Lotus and Karma Families, their presence is negated. As to whether that should change the floor pattern, that might not be necessary. Although it does not have all the Families, it still seems to have five elements by way of the Skandhas, as mentioned after the forms. Once the members are described, it has a fairly long teaching which clearly indicates that it is tantric.

    It begins using Guhyasamaja terminology such as when Mamaki acts as Dvesa Vajri and so forth. It has these five Prajnas which then correspond to Five Skandhas:

    pūjāstutyamṛtāsvādapūrvvakaṃ bhāvayet vicakṣaṇaḥ - cakṣuṣormohavajrī
    mahāpratisarā, śrotrayor dveṣavajrī mahāsāhasrapramarddanī, ghrāṇe
    mātsaryyavajrī mahāmāyūrī, vaktre rāgavajrī mahāmantrānu-
    sāriṇī, spharśe īrṣyāvajrī mahāsitvatī / evaṃ rūpavedanā-
    saṃjñāsaṃskāraviññānaskandhadhātvāyatanasvabhāvā evaṃ devatā-
    viśuddhito jñātavyā viśeṣataḥ /


    And so it may have self-confessed it is not talking about the full Lotus or Ragavajri and Karma or Irsyavajri deities and you have to adapt to these elsewhere. They are present, but not in the normal form of their own family. This is some kind of rite that focuses Amrita and Pranayama in a certain way, similar to how Pratisara replaced Red with Gold as her Throat Light.


    The retinue begins somewhat normally, with the blue Vajra Family goddess, who is Vajrapamo Samadhi or the highest class of vajra samadhi. She is the one with a tantric wrathful appearance, such as upright hair and so forth. She has a lotus bearing sixteen jewels:

    padmopari ṣoḍaśaratnam


    If we were unsure about what kind of samadhi was being done here, she has:

    mahābala%kramā raudraveśā

    which binds and handles classes of beings such as those of:

    saptamātrā

    revaty

    vāsuky

    Andhaka

    However her mantra is not very destructive, but is about Amrita and Vishuddhi.

    Next, Yellow Mayuri arises from Mam in the normal Jewel Family area, and proceeds as a watchful vigilant of Amrita. Does this mean that Mamaki might not be Dvesa Vajri, but is Mam-arisen in Jewel Family as Matsarya Vajri? It might.


    Nothing is all that unusual, yet, although the first three have a Jewel or Nectar tinge to them, they are still apparently distinct families in normal places.


    The last one also almost is, but, has a sudden revocation:

    Sitavati arises from Tram syllable in the North, she is Harita Green doing Abhaya Mudra with her primary hand, but she is Tathagata Mukutinim (crowned).


    The technique she is doing can be compared to reading the "onion skins" of tantra and finding certain things used two to four times, as they are said to purify and strengthen by degrees, which is in her identity:

    sambhara indriyabalaviśodhani

    Sambhāra (सम्भार) refers to “two kinds of requisites” as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 117).

    puṇya-sambhāra (the requisite of merit),
    jñāna-sambhāra (the requisite of knowledge).

    She is still aimed at yakshas, pretas, pisacis, etc.

    It seems similar to a form of Locana--Dharmadhatu Suvishuddhi, she is something quite similar expressed as the increase in Indriya Balas, which eventually boil down to where they are Bodhyangas or Jewels of Enlightenment and Sampatti.

    Again, that is a bit similar to the Sword pointing from the periphery to the center, and, as one of the best examples, we could say Upeksa. It is among the most basic Four Brahma Vihara or the Four Immeasurables, and it remains at the strongest level, the Seven Jewels of Enlightenment.

    If she is in Tathagata Family, this is a lot like Locana putting on a Karma Family disguise. And so this is the Green Sitabani that is easy to find. The most basic exemplary Lotus Family goddess has...moved into a position where she isn't quite telling us anything new, it is more like telling us to fill with the requisites.


    The most bewildering form in this Pancha Raksa is apparently possible to find. In fairly modern surveys, there are, I believe, reports of it being done according to the sadhana text in two or three specimens, but I do not think there are any photos of this material to be found.

    Nobody balked about the previous deity forms, since unless you knew the fourth was supposed to be a Vairocana emanation, it does not look that way.

    Instead, everybody ignored the text that says the western deity is not red and is not in Lotus Family. She is white, Sukla, which on a gambit you might suggest is available to Pandara and so forth, but she is not in Lotus Family. Whatever she is doing is starting from the soft pronunciation of Mam syllable and is being conducted in Jewel Family. They have just enjoyed being portrayed normally by a charged-up Mayuri, followed by this one who rid Vaisali of plague and has a name meaning Mantra:

    Anusaraṇa (अनुसरण).—

    1) following, pursuing, going after, seeking after


    which is a bit like Anu, seed-atom, Sharanam, Refuge, as I use ordinarily in Refuge Vow.

    Originally in the basic form, she was an innocuous Vajra Family member who if anything was a Humkari. At this point she must be carrying some substantial blast from Mayuri that may have washed Sukhavati out of visual range in the west. It may still be red and fire, but, this is perhaps a bit like saying that Lotus Family "governs" mantra--which does not necessarily make them the sole proprietor.

    Mantranusarini is Sukla colored and Ratna crowned, with three faces also red and blue, and while she has many (twelve) arms, several of them are doing mudras, and her final item is Kalasa--Flask:

    prathamabhujābhyāṃ dharmmacakramudrā dvitīya-
    bhujābhyāṃ samādhimrdrā tṛtīye varadaḥ caturthe abhayaḥ pañcame
    vajraṃ ṣaṣṭhe śaraḥ tṛtīye tarjjanīpāśaḥ caturthe dhanuḥ pañcame
    ratnacchaṭā ṣaṣṭhe padmāṅkitakalaśaḥ


    She handles the Four Kings and Six Lokapalas and others. Or, if we need to implement a use of Mohini so that Buddha is not a Vishnu avatar, with Sasta:

    The synonymous name of Śāsta is Ayyappa. Ayyappa is derived from the word Ārya. The āgamas refer to his name as Ārya only. The cult of Ayyappa is late in its origin. Hence, sculptures also belong to later period. The iconographic features are that he is two-handed, he sits in utkuṭitāsana and his mount is elephant. His weapons depicted are either the vajrāyudha or the bow made of sugarcane. According to mythology, he is Hariharaputra i.e. son born from the union of Śiva and Viṣṇu (in the form of Mohini).

    Mantranusarini is carrying a Kalasa, a pitcher, like she had got it from Bhrkuti who once was here and it still rests on a Lotus, and although she has other implications, in her mantric identity, she is still laden with Amrita:

    vimale vipule jayavare amṛte viraje


    Because I had accidentally followed this when I recognized it, I am not sure what Jayavara might be in terms of a name or title, etc., but the other parts are a substantial hypostasis of the dharani system itself in perhaps a type of hierarchy:

    1. Viraj is an extremely rare epithet only used by Parasol and maybe a couple of other examples. It also refers to the most ancient Shakti of Jaipur.

    2. Vipula is both a type of siddhi developed with the practice, and, the domain of Buddhist Pratisara as the resident devi of Vipula or Garuda Mountain in Bihar.

    3. Vimala or Stainless is a more visible title equivalent to the third class of Samadhi. It is powerful but it is not that hard to find as the power of Katyayani and Kanyakumari, and forwards into a panel of Buddhist deities.


    This deity has no explanation of herself as going from a basic and even a generic figure, to one who is actually supposed to be Turning the Wheel of Dharma resulting in Initiation just by her appearance. And so in a similar fashion that it takes the Puranas to explain Vairocani and therefor a considerable portion of what Chakrasamvara is made of, it would take the corresponding reams of dharanis to explain Mantranusarini.

    That is something of a corresponding measure to the unpublished Jewel Family Paramadya and Vajramrita Tantras.

    It will not give us the satisfaction of saying which is Mamaki, Locana, etc., and Vajradhatvishvari could be described as the center, or, as Jewel Family, instead, it will give us a Buddhist linguistic hitch.

    Usually Matsarya is called "Envy", but:

    Mātsarya (मात्सर्य, “avarice”) refers to one of ten types of manifestly active defilements (paryavasthāna) according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter 13.

    It is selfishness and greed, the sin of Jewel Family, which in most Hindu texts is called Lobha.

    Irsya is Jealousy in most usages, and remains so here, Karma Family, being indirectly represented by Sitabani.


    This must be working on its own pattern, since Green Matsarya matches the standard male:


    Mātsaryavajra (मात्सर्यवज्र) is an alternative name of Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin: a deity to be contemplated upon by a practicioner purifying his correspondences (viśuddhi), according to the 12th-century Abhisamayamañjarī. Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin is alternatively known by the name Mātsaryavajra because he destroys miserliness (mātsarya). The contemplation is prescribed as a preliminary ritual for a yogin wishing to establish, or reestablish the union with a deity.

    Mātsaryavajra is associated with the whole body and the color dark(-green). He is to be visualised as holding an attribute in his right hand and a bell in his left. The deities of the sense organs and fields are the esoteric equivalents of the deities associated with the skandhas.

    Source: academia.edu: A Critical Study of the Vajraḍākamahātantrarāja (I)

    Mātsaryavajra (मात्सर्यवज्र)or Mahāmāyā is the name of a deity associated with the Āyatana (sense) named Sparśa, according to the 9th century Vajraḍākatantra chapter 1.16-22.—Accordingly, this chapter proclaims the purity of the five components (skandha), five elements (bhūta) and five senses (āyatana) as divine beings [viz., Mātsaryavajra].


    And Irsya is Yellow:

    Source: Wisdom Libary: Vajrayogini

    Īrṣyāvajra (ईर्ष्यावज्र) is an alternative name of Khagarbha: a deity to be contemplated upon by a practicioner purifying his correspondences (viśuddhi), according to the 12th-century Abhisamayamañjarī. Khagarbha is alternatively known by the name Īrṣyāvajra because he destroys envy (īrṣyā). The contemplation is prescribed as a preliminary ritual for a yogin wishing to establish, or reestablish the union with a deity.

    Īrṣyāvajra is associated with the nostrils and the color yellow. He is to be visualised as holding an attribute in his right hand and a bell in his left. The deities of the sense organs and fields are the esoteric equivalents of the deities associated with the skandhas.

    Source: academia.edu: A Critical Study of the Vajraḍākamahātantrarāja (I)

    Īrṣyāvajra (ईर्ष्यावज्र)or Mahāmāyā is the name of a deity associated with the Āyatana (sense) named Ghrāṇa, according to the 9th century Vajraḍākatantra chapter 1.16-22.—Accordingly, this chapter proclaims the purity of the five components (skandha), five elements (bhūta) and five senses (āyatana) as divine beings [viz., Īrṣyāvajra].




    Instead, we have Green Jealousy Irsya Sitabani, and Yellow Greed Matsarya Mayuri. Mamaki by her default definition is also Greed, "mine maker". When reversed, this is the principle of identity with all selves, Equality Wisdom of Jewel Family.

    The sadhana seems to be telling us we need "that" before we are qualified to use Jewel Family as Guna or All Six Families Equally, because the sadhana presumes we are only entering the "full fifth" now. So although it is a female retinue, it still appears to have a fulminating cauldron of Generation Stage as its praxis.

    I would tend to guess that Mamaki is in Jewel Family and is probably "doubled" as Mayuri and Mantranusarini, and that Locana is also doubled as Caitya Pratisara and Green Sitabani.

    If so, it is hard to say whether Mamaki is even tripled by being in Vajra Family at the same time. This Dvesa Vajri Pramardani has the Ears and Vedana Skandha. Moha is Pratisara, Eyes, and Rupa Skandha; Matsarya Mayuri is Nose and Samjna Skandha; Throat Mantranusarini is Samsara; and Surface/Limbs Touch Sitabani is Vijnana.

    That is rather strange, we would say...ok, the normal Amoghasiddhi section does not have the normal Amoghasiddhi skandha, Samsara. The sensory powers match a normal set, but the Skandhas do not. Pratisara is perhaps a definitive female Vairocana center, but everything else is twisted. Vajra Family and Sound are usually associated, and if not in the center, it almost suggests they would be in the Element Water, which would match Vedana Skandha. In that case, the floor pattern would change showing Water in the East. It does not mention the normally-female elements, instead, they have taken over the normally-male Skandhas, and can only represent Prajnas or Elements by way of inference.

    PR 201 is a feminized basic Quintessence, and what they actually do when running under their own power is quite complex in PR 206. If it is teaching the most powerful class of Samadhi, then, under its wing, Vimala is mentioned by name in a way that is being governed by Jewel Family. The Samadhi or Pramardani is internal within an Ekajati dharani, and is associated with the Phat syllable as Tara Seven, and is being taught as this in the commentary, and seems to agree with this fully in PR 206.

    She is pretty straightforward, whereas Mantranusarini is going to cast us out into several strands of subsidiary practices. Sitabani is sort of saying "repeat, get stronger". Mayuri has an extensive, well-known background in doing so, but the specifically-Buddhist goddess has simply handed over several major subjects encased in her own mantra. That, in turn, works like Tara's song. You go focus individual aspects, then you come back and amplify the whole group, and so on.

    If Pramardani is Tara Seven, most of her operative details are carried forward by Mayuri and Mantranusarini. Sitabani is probably doing something first, in the basic Pancha Raksha mode, but here, she is sort of just making a loop, like Prajnaparamita does.

    Pramardani and Mantranusarini Sutras are translated.

    Destroyer of the Great Tri-chiliocosm is the name of Pramardani's Sutra, which is aimed at the beings under the Four Kings. This is where they go to Vaisali. And it is going to conjure Vairocani in a covert manner:

    “Vemacitrin, Rāhula,
    And Prahlāda have also assembled;
    The trillions of asuras
    And billions of asuras,
    Along with their many daughters with supernatural powers,
    All join their palms.



    Vaisravana is in "Adakavati" and:

    It is adorned with the yakṣiṇī Vidhvaṃsaṇī


    The Sutra explains:

    Whatever wars, fights, and strife
    There are in the world,
    All that is scorched, destroyed, slain, or split
    Is an expression of bhūtas.


    There are around two hundred verses on yakshas, and then it describes tantra:

    Concerning this he continued, “Bodily mindfulness, tranquility and insight, the three absorptions, the four bases of supernatural power, the four thorough relinquishments, the four foundations of mindfulness, the four concentrations, the four truths of the noble ones, the five faculties, the five powers, the six kinds of mindfulness, the seven aspects of awakening, the eightfold path of the noble ones, the nine successive stages of meditative equipoise, the ten powers of a thus-gone one, the eleven liberated sense fields, the twelve links of dependent origination, the twelvefold wheel of Dharma, the sixteen recollections of inhaling and exhaling the breath, the eighteen unique attributes of a buddha, and the forty-two letters‍—all this, Brahmā, is in the queen of incantations called Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm.

    It is followed by references to Vajrayana and Ambrosia, and then continues for abbout another two hundred verses of Pramardani dharanis doing various things. Towards the end, it is self-referential to all five Pancha Raksa dharanis.



    Upholder of Secret Mantra is only around fifty verses, mostly another summary of raksasa populations.

    Its initial concept is:

    And such is also the case at present, as I now teach it to aid in the awakening of buddhahood. With this queen of incantations, Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra, I will protect and form a boundary around the person named such-and-such. I will form a boundary one league to the east. I will form a boundary one league in all the cardinal and intermediate directions.

    It goes similarly to Mayuri Sutra with raksasa rings, but, instead of Ekajati:

    Ānanda, there is a rākṣasī called Mahākālī with one thousand sons who lives at the seashore and travels 80,000 miles in a single night.


    And when you use the dharani on something:

    It will intoxicate them, cause paralysis and stupefaction, and seize their hands, feet, minds, and tongues. Through this queen of incantations, Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra, the person will escape on each and every occasion.

    This has not really destroyed anything.

    Sort of like we figured it was fair for Bhutas to "only affect the foolish", the dharani is also fair:

    “Ānanda, nowhere in the worlds of gods, demons, Brahmā, mendicants, priests, humans, kinnaras, and mahoragas have I seen anyone‍—whether human, non-human, yakṣa, rākṣasa, asura, gandharva, nāga, garuḍa, guhyaka, preta, piśāca, vetāla, kākhorda, kṛtya, pūtana, kaṭapūtana, unmāda, or apasmāra‍—[F.154.a] who, seeking an opportunity to hurt and looking for conflict, was ever able to harm a person guarded, shielded, protected, looked after, brought peace and well-being, and granted pardon by this queen of incantations, Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra‍—unless, that is, the ripening of their karma precludes it.


    It has an esoteric subject:

    Since in the world it is the bliss-gone arhats
    To whom the moon goes for refuge,
    Buddhas, with compassion for the world,
    Free the moon from Rāhu!


    ...If one recites these verses,
    Rāhu will release the moon.


    And, similar to Vak Siddhi:


    ...true words at the irreversible level are called the ‘words that are supreme in the world.’ Those who, of all renunciants, are ‘the most joyful renunciants,’ the perfectly and completely awakened, thus-gone arhats, who have neither fear nor terror, who, neither cowering nor fleeing, lack fear, and who, having abandoned fear and its impetus, are called ‘free of anything that causes one to cry out in hair-raising panic’‍—these are what is meant by ‘those who speak by speaking truly, those who speak by speaking truly at the appropriate time.’ By their truth and those true words, may the person named such-and-such have well-being!


    The Pancha Raksha, aside from these Sutras, also have dharanis much larger than that of Sitabani, and between the five of them, they cover about fifteen per cent of Dharani Samgraha. This is going to tie in with Balarama and the Pramardani quote above. Generation Stage is related to the Mahabharata? Yes, something like that.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Varuni and Armor, Vairocani and the Daityas



    When going through the Gauris or Pisacis as we found them in ancient dharani literature, they included Gandhari, who turns out to be something like a Virabhagini called a Bhisma Bhagini. Bhisma is either equal to the Mood, Vira, or, the individual who first envisioned Gandhari's marriage.

    In seeing who Bhisma is, we ran into Balarama as part of his environment. Here again we get a little shy because it is like rubbing elbows with vast institutions who give their versions of male deities. Nevertheless, we will agree in principle that the incarnations of Visnu are a significant theme in tantra. And so Balarama is the easiest name for "brother of Vishnu", although he of course has other names in different incarnations---this one being the brother of Krshna. Then, rather than most orthodox religion which would suggest praising Krshna, we are going to drink his brother's wife. In so doing, we will still avail ourselves of some of their legendry:


    Lord Balarama however, who is considered the avatari (source of all avatars) (in the Gaudiya view of course) has two consorts. According to us, when He appears as Lord Nityananda, then Revati and Varuni become Jahnava and Vasudha respectively. According to Gaudiyas...they consider that Ananta Sesha is form of Balarama. Varuni devi is considered an expansion of Revati devi. Sometimes in avatars, personalities may merge into one, (which is what happened with the consort of Lakshmana, Urmila devi, who is combined avatar of Revati and Varuni).

    Bala-rama is addicted to wine (Varuni). He trained Bhima, who was crushed by Angry Ganesh.

    Vāruṇī is the mūlarūpa patnī of śeṣa, revatī is an avatāra of vāruṇī with āveśa of śrī since balarāma had an amśa of nārāyaṇa. [Garuda Purana]


    In other words, Varuni is the Root Shakti of Sesha--Ananta, whose incarnation Balarama went for her, and when blended with Revati, she obtains an amsa or "expansive portion" of Sri Laksmi. Revati is the third incarnation of Devi in Kubjika lore. Varuni and Revati are originally Shakti Tattvas. Revati is also in the weird position of being her own grandmother.

    Ananta is Sesha whose embodied radiance is Varuni. She is the light in the Talas or Underworlds, which increase by orders of darkness and density, as if they are anti or negative light. He claimed her when she was churned from the Ocean of Milk. Balarama is what we know as Hercules, i. e. Hari Kula or Vishnu's Family. This is the location of the Central Spiritual Sun according to Koothoomi. When it is revealed, Sesha will spew dark venom all over the planet and we will be no more.

    Gaudiya view of Balarama with two wives:







    There isn't anything that says Varuni assumed a second body and that he had an actual marriage to anyone other than Revati. As to whether he perceived it this way, perhaps she was present like a Jnanamudra, maybe so.

    One of Balarama's most esoteric exploits is in re-directing the river(s) of death:

    On one occasion Balarāma under the influence of wine, of which he was very fond, called upon the Yamunā river to come to him that he might bathe; and on his command being unheeded, he plunged his plough-share into the river and dragged the waters after him, until the river assumed a human form and asked his forgiveness.


    During creation, garuḍa emanates as the abhimāni (presiding deity) of citta, śeṣa of cetana, and rudra of ahaṅkāra. Similarly, umā emanates as the abhimāninī of buddhi, and vāruṇī and sauparṇī [garuda consort] as that of manas-tattva.

    If it says Uma is Buddhi, and Uma is Parvati, and Parvati is Janguli, and Matangi is Buddhi and Matangi is Janguli, the worst we can do is wonder why tropical jungle goddesses have appeared in the mountains. If it says Varuni is Manas Tattva, she is the Akashic plane, meaning her "Kha--Sky Element" that is invoked into the Soma is not a physical one period, it is the Noumenal one with energy of the Voids.

    Cetana from the Pali is what we call Samsara, wherein this system of Cetasikas tells of seven permanent ones which are equivalent to the Skandhas of tantra, and forty or more momentary or unnecessary mental factors which are more like minor distractions and obvious issues. The Cetasikas or Factors are joined to every Citta, which is an instantaneous moment that arises and perishes, to be replaced by another one. This kind of uninterruptedness is the manifestation of citta. There are immediate causes for arising of citta. They are cittas themselves, nama dhamma and rupa dhamma [i. e. Skandhas]. There are eight types of Lokottara Cittas that arise in the Dhyanas.

    In that sense, every instant, Garuda slays Ananta, who is endlessly reborn.



    One site lists Bharati avatars such as Draupadi, and says:

    SAUPARNI ,VARUNI , PARVATI avatara

    Sauparni is wife of Garuda no avatara . [Garuda does not have avatars, being a creature]
    Varuni is wife of SESHA
    REVATI is varuni avatara with SRIDEVI avesha
    Peya is also varuni with shanti avesha
    Parvati avatara is Sati Shailaja Girija .



    Urmila is Revati and Varuni combined. Urmila is Sita's sister, and she marries Vishnu's brother Lakshman. Because she is Deep Sleep Lakshmi, she is like a messenger of the Third Void, Yoga Nidra and/or Yoga Maya.

    Urmila = Naga Lakshmi = Varuni and Revati combined

    Revati = Naga Lakshmi next incarnation with Balarama, which marriage was "concealed" by Yogamaya


    Revati is Zeta Piscium, which is the First Point of Aries, marking the sidereal new year. Revati is the Ram's Horn or First Point of Aries, so, marks the beginning of that type of time cycle, whereas Varuni, or at least her husband, has to do with the end of one.

    "Because she was from an earlier yuga, Revati was far taller and larger than her husband-to-be, but Balarama, tapped his plough (his characteristic weapon) on her head or shoulder and she shrunk to the normal height of people in Balarama's age."

    That Plough is really his "Hercules symbol" and winds up in the hands of one of the Gauris in Dakini Jala. Their sons were killed, but, their daughter marries Arjuna's son, and Arjuna's wife was a Naga Kanya.

    Revati was classed as a Lama by the eighth century. They are said to have spoken a mono-syllabic language and belonged to "the Tibetan group of mystics". Given the time period, that sounds close to "Mahacina", which we do not think is very Tibetan.

    Revati marks any new year, while Varuni ends the whole world.


    Varuni is an Ouroborous or inifinity lobe if, for example, we take the Eight Nagas from Sarvadurgati Parishodhana:


    anantaṃ
    takṣakaṃ caiva karkoṭaṃ kulikaṃ tathā||

    vāsukiṃ śaṃkhapālaṃ
    ca padmaṃ vai vāruṇaṃ tathā||


    When you use that list, you get Varuna whose shakti is obviously Varuni, except that one is Mother Varuni, and the one we use is Varuni, Daughter of Varuni, who loops back to the beginning as Ananta Shakti. Hold on, what do you mean, the first Naga has the daughter of the last one?

    That converts me to Shentong just by even seeing it.


    Varuna--Worldly Direction Protector gets no special mention, it is this Varuna of the Nagas, who is sometimes called Mahapadma, which is kind of the closest tantric approach to Varuna of his own or Formless plane. The Naga does not reside on earth. So it is a bit like saying it has a Bodhisattva role related to Varuna. In the practical sense, we are trying to train ourselves not to be submerged in the Water Poison it will gladly impart when we provoke its nasty temper as usual, but, if we reverse these tendencies, it will bring beneficial Rain, which is Bodhicitta. The first hint is perhaps in Mayuri Sutra where we give love to the Nagas. We love them while at the same time, the literature says broadly, let Naga poison hit anyone who is asking for it.

    Varuna in most literature hardly has anything to do with the manifested world, except by ultimately being a type of Judge.

    And so this is very indirect, suddenly we have a male archetype without steps or directions about how to attain and become him and so forth, and instead we have an entire pantheon based on taking his Shakti.

    Like Samjna, she is "doubled", because it it not said she completely descended or incarnated out of her lair:

    Varuni, the elder of two wives of Varuṇa, who is the presiding deity of the invisible world and represents the inner reality of things. She is also known as Gauri (Udyoga Parva, Chapter 117, Verse 9).

    It is then a "second eternity" of our planetary system where there is an Ananta who gets the Jewel or Daughter Varuni from the Ocean of Milk, who proceeds to enter the world as the consort of Lakshman and Balarama for example.

    We are supposed to invoke her as a magical enhancement to liquid, yet she is also equivalent to the core of the underworld. It must be pretty dense in there and so I cannot imagine how light appears. But this is the syllable Hum. Om and solar akash are self-generated and beaming down onto us, and it is like one part passes through our Heart and continues to the center of the earth, from where it reflects back. If we are agitating Mamos, it will double up on us, and attempt to spread. This is how Hum is the individualized or personally incarnated aspect of Om. When Vajra Family tells us that Peace is the answer, it is like saying what is the relationship of my heart to hell. If it is otherwise, then we are likely to have little control over our destiny.




    So the primordial or Mother Varuni at most, is kind of a static implication from the Vedas, and it is really Puranic Varuni, which is an offspring nature defined as Manas Tattva that is our magic potion. The Buddhist one is not any different, although she is understood as an aspect of Mamaki, who is the displayer of Vastness and regent of the Flask(s). She is then used in an unorthodox fashion, which replaces the standard holy water of Varuna in most other rites.


    The tantra has established a dividing line that says we are unaware of what it calls the sixth principle until we have baptized ourselves through and through with this Sky or Space or Manas. In Yoga, you might say there is a "click" moment when you "get" that Voidness is an actual presence rather than an idea of words, but the whole corporeal and mental emptiness of the "full Fifth" is an entirely different state of being.


    Of course, there is a training and conceptual mode where the sixth is implied by Vajrasattva and so on, and we are trying to build a system of Six Yogas, which is embodied by the Six Yoginis who are also the Armor Deities.

    That may be one of the most important sub-routines of tantra. We are trying to ascertain what these Families are, and, this is a type of Nyasa or placement which still is not about "activating" anything. If done thoroughly, it is a double-layer suit: the deities only manifest as syllables, and you do it one time male-first where they are on the body surfaces, and the second time is female-first, where they reside in the chakras. The syllables are on "moon cushions" such that if the Armor needs to resist something, its disturbing energy damps out in a psychic marshmallow.


    There are slightly different methods of armoring, but they are all quite similar. It is odd, however, that since this is a part of Vajravarahi, the armor usually also includes another Vajravarahi. And so what we are going to do is make use of a couple of exceptions. The first is that Varuni herself can just be the central Armor Goddess. When the others are arranged around her, if we go with Samvarodaya Tantra, then, Vajravarahi is not present in the set. Instead, this tantra is about getting Vajrasattva to encounter Vairocani, through Varuni.


    As they are found with Vajravarahi, Chakrasamvara, etc., the Armor Deities are wrathful Prajnas in Protector mode, whereas Seven Syllable deity has them in Path mode as the Jewels of Enlightenment. They use different names, Seven Syllable practice incorporates Vajraraudris, which to my surprise are pleasant or peaceful. Because they are prajna, they cannot be restricted by external means such as a temple gate, but are more or less concealed by Yakshas or internal factors. And so to head towards the Path, it is a mental and physiological experience of opening layers, which are something like:


    Gauris = Wrathful Bodhisattvas negotiated by Offering Goddesses

    Pancha Raksa = Bodhisattvas effective for Five Wrathful Prajnas such as Mohavajri, etc.

    Armor = Six Wrathful Prajnas

    Jewels of Enlightenment = Peaceful Prajnas or Vajraraudris





    Although Armor deities' personal forms actually enter one's body in IWS 228, the text says at first they are cast normally in a retinue as Varahi at the center of a five-petalled lotus, mostly on suns, and Mohani is the only one on a moon disk. However, Varuni specifically shows all six of these around herself. That is how Varuni is like a prelude and placeholder for Seven Syllable deity; they each are distinct from the group of six, the center of it. And here, there is no alternative but to consider Varuni as being whatever Vajradhara's Family is. Because Vajradhara's Family cannot be described as much other than "remains to be seen", and whatever is to be seen must be produced by Varuni, this is sound.


    The Varuni thangka and Circle of Bliss are correct for the usual Akshobya-based Varahi Armor Deities, but in Samvarodaya, the central couple is Six Arm Heruka and Two Arm Three Eyed Bandhuka Orange Vairocani. It first has Dakini Jala's names for the Dhyanis such as Paramasva. The strange thing here is not that it does not require Vajravarahi, but that Vairocana is in the heart with Yamini. Most other tantras are actually going to use Vajrasattva in the forehead, but, this is probably more appropriate for the time of Prachanda as will be described further along.

    To do the practice, you are first going to have an interaction with Varuni that invites her into the Flask, which is her permanent gig, and then when you work it up, you can add her doing Armor, until further notice.

    Before doing this Armor, you would want some kind of meaningful substance to the Families and Six Yogas.

    She is like an hourglass waist with a lot going into it and nothing coming through yet.

    Samvarodaya that has Eighteen Arm Varuni does not mention color and assigns the Armor as:

    Vajrasattva--Vairocani--Navel
    Vairocana--Yamini--Heart
    Lotus (Padmanarttesvara)--Mohani--Face or Mouth
    Vajra (Heruka)--Sanchalani--Head
    Jewel (Vajrasurya)--Samtrasani--Crown
    Karma (Paramasva)--Chandika--Limbs.


    Here is Vajradhara emanating Varuni on a Fish in a Skullcup over Serpents with Six Yoginis:





    At the places of my body on moon mandala cushions are:

    at navel, red OM VAM, Bandhuka Orange Vajravairocani; at heart, blue HAM YOM, Yamini; at throat, white HRIM MOM, Mohani; at forehead, yellow HREM HRIM, Sachalani; at crown, green HUM HUM, Samtrasani; and at all my limbs, grey PHAT PHAT, Chandika.

    The spoken Armor mantra uses two syllables, but the visualized Armor is just the deity's seed syllable (the second) on a moon cushion. They are cast counter-clockwise starting with the red one on the lower right. Therefor the artist has done something strange compared to any version by not using a smoky color.

    The lowest being is Mahakala or i. e., one's Dharma Protector.

    Buhnemann's Varuni article is very recent and much better than the Mahacina one, and has the pieces that connect Varuni into Samvarodaya Tantra. She "is" the Inverted Stupa of anyone--or Sky element mixed into the sacred water/milk/soma--but for instance Varahi 225-226 very succinctly point to Inverted Stupa plus Armor Deities. There is not much way around it as being "the" method that begins all higher tantras.


    By following the symbolism, we found the outer threads that reach up to Buddhist Mantras in the form of Mandala Deities which translates four chapters from Abhidanottara Tantra, the ones that detail the Four Chakrasamvara Mandalas. One is Armor Deities/Six Yoginis, then Seven Syllable mantra with Vajradaka, then the long Heruka mantra referring to Dakini Jala, and then Vairocani mantra.

    And so it is going to be something like a slow development of Varuni is Generation Stage. Once we get accustomed to Muttering, then we can go into this.

    Bandhuka or Goji-ka:










    Vairocani is Kanya or a daughter from within the body of Varuni, much as if offering an orange liquid to Ziro Bhusana and she approves. Both the heat of the liquid and Vairocani are attributed with melting the male principle. It is at that moment when, according to Jnana Dakini, Vajradakini crown syllable and so forth apply. This first melting is the only goal for someone who has never done it.

    Varuni flows in the middle of all which have become rivers ’.
    clarified butter and honey, she runs into what is called the ocean
    of milk.

    Varuni is Soma drinking, in her body Kanya Vairocani resides, in the middle of whom, you, Heruka, melt.


    We said she was whispered by Pramardani:

    Vemacitrin, Rāhula,
    And Prahlāda have also assembled;
    The trillions of asuras
    And billions of asuras,
    Along with their many daughters with supernatural powers,
    All join their palms.


    At first, we were happy to say that Vairocani is in some of the earliest literature from ca. 300 B. C. that means she is the Tapas aspect of Durga, which is still played, rather well, in a song.

    In the Thousand Names of Lalita, Prachanda Candi 226-227 associates Indra shakti, Cinnamasta, and Prachanda Candi Vajratman to Vairocani; 241-242 associates Kundalini shakti to Vairocani Durga Jvalanti Tapasa.

    Prachanda is a fairly ordinary name for Cinnamasta also described in her thangka as using a scimitar.

    Although Manjushri used one to split open the lake in Kathmandu Valley, it also appears that Chandrahasa or "scimitar" is "abbreviated" to the Buddhist kartri or chopper, which is shown with a curved blade.

    In both currents of tantra, Vairocani is the herald of Cinnamasta.

    The "source" of Cinnamasta is really Renuka, which is like an earthly Tilottama: fine grain of sand vs. fine sesame seed. Renuka (Kamali in Vayu Purana) is mother of Parasurama. Matangi is Renuka, or Renuka's daughter, or someone with whom she has switched heads, or a woman possessed by her, or a type of prostitution. Renuka is in Bhagavata and Brahmanda Puranas; roughly, Parasurama cuts off her head and brings her back to life, before Arjuna Haihaiya kills her husband Jamdagni, which results in Parasurama killing almost the entire warrior caste. In multiple Puranas which do not always agree, he means produced by eating (jama) the Vaiṣṇavāgni (Vaisvanara). In the Buddhist Vinaya Pitaka section of the Mahavagga (I.245) the Buddha pays respect to Jamadagni by declaring that the Vedas in their true form were revealed to the original Vedic rishis, including Jamadagni.

    Renuka wanted to accompany Sage Jamadagni on the funeral pyre. Sage Bhrigu (grandfather of Jamadagni) stopped her and brought her back to life along with the Sage Jamadagni.


    In further modern developments, David Frawley is a follower of Ganapati Muni--who was a follower of Ramana Maharishi, although Frawley considers him something of a prophet of Cinnamasta and holds to her Indra Shakti or lightning description as Vairocani, particularly the lightning of a flash of illumination.


    I don't want to say they are totally wrong, or, jump to their same conclusion.


    Strangely, from a Nepalese Hindu archive where we find a chakra set with Vairocani used at the root, they skip the head and replace it with a Cinnamasta scripture:

    (1) adhAmnAya gaNeCa vairocanI svatantra bhairava AdhAra cakra vidhi (2) svAdhiSThAna brahmA pUrNeCvarI svachanda bhairava pUrvAmnAya svAdhiSThAna cakra vidhi , (3) nArAyaNa CrIdakSiNakAlI aghora mahAkAla bhairava dakSiNAmnAya maNipUra cakra vidhi , (4) CrI mahArudra CrIkubjikA mahAkAla bhairava paCcimAmnAya anAhata cakra vidhi , (5) CrIuttarAmnAya jIvAtmane CrI guhyeCvarI CrIcaNDakApAli bhairava viCuddha cakra vidhi , (6) CrI chinnamastA paTala

    At each chakra there is a god and goddess pair, and a type of Bhairava:

    1. Original family Ganesha Vairocani, Svatantra Bhairava, root chakra
    2. East family Brahma Purnesvari, Svachanda Bhairava, sacral chakra
    3. Southern family Narayana Daksinakali, Aghora Mahakala Bhairava, solar plexus
    4. Western family Rudra Kubjika, Mahakala Bhairava, heart
    5. Northern family Jivatman Guhyeshvari, Canda Kapali Bhairava, throat
    6. Cinnamasta


    Concerning the "unwritten" deity statue someone was concerned with, it did not seem unusual to me, since Purnesvari is the shakti at Prunagiri Pitha. It is also Punyagiri; one temple is on the Indian Annapurna; also site of Kalika, in Orissa, pitha of breasts, Tara and Tarini; what the meaning "full" has to do with this, we can only guess.

    In the Nath lineages, Purnagiri Pitha is above the head, the cusp of the voids, so to speak, and so in practice, it is like Sambhogakaya or Akanistha.


    Our Cinnamasta is really Tri-kaya Vajrayogini. If we look at our full Pitha system, she is generally going to be called Prachanda and is actually towards the forehead area. These Pithas appear to be taking a handoff from "minor Kurukulla" or a binding of energy in the Khecari center whish is still going "up" to the brain. You just have a lot of wreck removal to do before this Prachanda can occupy and function there. Then she forces the energy to the crown center in one or two moves, and then it seeps down through the head and body. Since a human being has no operative Prachanda, we do not pay much attention to the ajna center, it is kind of a pass/fail gate, to which the preliminary exercises adjust things in our favor.



    sarvavirasamayogadakinijalasatsukham || 10 ||

    ekibhutani sarvani amrtam raudrarupini |

    harta karta ca bhokta ca tasya garbhamrtam tatha 11 11 [ |

    kundarh dharmodayakhyatam golako ’mrta giyate |

    yah sura vajrayoginyo yo madah sa ca herukah 11 12 [ |


    This is the supreme pleasure (satsukha) of a multitude
    of dakinis through the union with all the heroes (10). (Here,)
    everything has become one; (it is) the amrta and is the goddess of
    dreadful appearance; it is the destroyer, the maker and the enjoyer;
    and so is the amrta of her womb (11).

    Kunda (the hearth-pit or a bowl to brew sura with) is said to
    be “the origin of dharma” {dharmodaya) ; the globular water-jar
    (golaka) is asserted to be the amrta. Suras (spirituous liquors) are
    vajrayoginis ; and intoxication is Heruka (12). The colour (of suras)
    is Padmesvara himself; the scent is Ratnasambhava. The taste is
    indeed Amoghasiddhi ; and the vehemence is the wind itself (13).
    How can there be sacred knowledge ( jnana) for a man who is
    without intoxication; or how can there be worldly knowledge
    (vijnana ) (for him) ? (The amrta which is) fully equipped with
    sacred and worldly knowledge makes the world confused through
    intoxication.


    Indian Mother Goddesses refers to Ambika, sister or spouse of Rudra, invoked as Vairocani, Durga, Katyayani, and Kanyakumari. The name is also used for the wife of Tvastr, in which case she is Daughter-of-Brightness, mother of Viswakarman.

    Here is what happens. In various Puranas, it becomes unclear whether Tvastr is Viswakarman, if they are father and son, or if it is the type of son where it is just the father re-embodying himself on a lower plane. With "him", we can easily get the point that he is the father of the well-known Samjna, which is the Buddhist Perception Skandha:


    In Vishnu Purana, Samjna complained to her father Viśvakarman, that life with Sūrya was impossible on account of his excessive heat, and so Viśvakarman ground Sūrya on his drilling machine and reduced his heat. But, only (1/8) of the heat (effulgence) could be so reduced, and it was with that fraction of effulgence that Viṣṇu’s disc (cakra), Śiva’s triśūla (trident), Kubera’s puṣpakavimāna and Subrahmaṇya’s weapon called Śakti were made.


    It is one of those which I would say is the white Bodhicitta as a Ham or Hum syllable in the head, in fact it is easier to use an inverted trident, and it may drop weapon-like right into its target. It is some kind of bound male energy that is or was solar that is handled in much more of a lunar nature.


    Saranyu or Swift Cloud Samjna produses a twin sister called Chhaya or Shadow Samjna, her substitute who manages to have her own children with Surya, such as Shani--Saturn and the future manu. The next Manu is in a cycle where Amitabhas are a principal deity class of the universe. This is emanated from the current Buddha cycle where Amitabha is the overall main guru or teaching Buddha of the time; and so once he is mastered or absorbed, he is then a basic building block in the future.

    Those two are spiritual versus terrestrial perception.

    Surya finds out her trick due to the curse on Yama; he pursues her in horse form into Uttarakuru, and from this, the Aswins, or immortality, are born. This is the most famous Best Mare in Hinduism, having to do with horses becoming vehicles of further deities.


    Surya with Saranyu and Chhaya:









    Samjna is effectively Shakti of the Sun; as to her father, he has various descriptions in different places.


    In Vishnu Purana:

    Viśvakarmā is the son of Prabhāsa, the eighth of the Eight Vasus. Varastrī, the sister of Bṛhaspati, a celibate woman who had attained Yogasiddhi (union with the Universal Soul) and travelled all over the world was the wife of Prabhāsa. Prajāpati Viśvakarmā was born to Prabhāsa by Varastrī.




    Viswakarman:

    1b) A son of Tvaṣṭā and Yaśodharā; father of Maya, and his daughter was Sureṇu; originator of arts and crafts.*

    * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa I. 2. 19; 5. 27. III. 1. 87. 7. 195; 32. 7: 59. 17-21: Vāyu-purāṇa 65. 85.


    So it is...rocky ground to say who or which Tvastr--Viswakarman is which, but, it is always certain that Vairocani's father is Prahrada, Sound of Happiness, an Asura chief also called Kayadhava in Taittirīya-brāhmaṇa. And so when it is said, daughters of Prahlada who have supernatural powers, this otherwise mystifying statement of Pramardani is very suggestive.

    Vairocani in Brahmanda Purana is the sister of male Vairocana (brother of Sumbha and Nisumbha, father of Bali).


    This now has to do with Chakrasamvara's Sumbha Nisumbha mantra, as well as Bali Offering, the main inner practice. That is all of a brother-like nature to Vairocani.


    The important Puranic definition is that Aditis are Formless, whereas the Ditis or Daityas are in "bounded space" or are form.



    Hiranyakapisu, the first Daitya, had four "Sound" children, of whom Prahrada is considered important. The incarnations of Visnu are in part about defeating the generations of Hiranyakapisu; Visnu is his half-brother born from Aditi. They have the same father, Kasyapa, who had children with Diti and Aditi, Daksa's daughters and others and also sired the Danavas.

    In Theosophy, Daitya means descendants of Diti. The glossary for Daitya is the basic argument that orthodox devils, Pisacas and all the rest, are not so in yoga. Strangely, this courtesy is not forwarded to Dakini. The word dakini does not really appear in the Puranas along with the others; it may be strictly tantric, along with Candali and so forth, and so it did not require the same defense or explanation as Daitya, etc. The Puranic equivalent is describing devas, humans, rakshasha and all others as knowing about and performing tapas.



    The first chief Diti or Daitya, Hiranya Kasipu, is Gold Cushion, Clothing, or Food. He is reborn as Ravana in Ramayana.

    Hiranyakasipu and one of his brothers are Jaya and Vijaya due to the Kumaras' curse. Hiranyakasipu tried to kill his own son with Kayadhu--Prahrada or Kayadhava--who was defended by Visnu in Narasimha form. Prahrada inherits the Daitya--Asura kingdom; but due to the nature of the curse, Jaya and Vijaya are wanting to be killed many times as quickly as possible.


    So what is happening is that there is this demon spawn, but, it is not "automatically" evil, since one of the very first underworld beings is willing to endure harassment in order to perform Tapas. Prahlada has a very intricate story never mentioning a wife.

    The alternate spelling Prahlada calls him a Mahatma, a disciple of Dattatreya and of the line of Sukra--Venus. There is no note of his wife except possibly Drarbi or perhaps Dhriti on his genealogy page.

    Hindus have almost no trace of an answer of this tv trivia question.

    They are having an extremely hard time figuring out his wife, the mother of Vairocani, since Dhriti appears to be misplaced from a previous generation. It is very suggestive since the wives of the less-famous brothers are all named. Usually Dharma, son of Brahma, marries thirteen daughters of Daksha, including Dhrti. But she is also called a wife of Rudra. Dhriti is restraint of the organs of taste and reproduction.

    Mahabharata does not really say Prahlada's wife is Dhriti or his daughter is Vairocani since they are omitted altogether.



    A Bhagavata Purana Study shows that the Full Moon, Purniman or Purnamasa, is the Monad. In relation to the Daityas:

    Individuality developed under Hiranyakasipu, and all sorts of blissful
    experiences were acquired. The sons of Hiranyakasipu were all called
    Bliss (Hrada), but the perfection of Bliss (Pra-Hrada) was in Prahlada,
    He found out that the worldly joys were unreal, and that the real joy
    could be had only from Him above, who was joy itself.

    He was limited by not being able to see all selves as one. Vairocani is a Daitya, Daughter of Perfection of Bliss. That she is Tvastr's wife is relatively easy to find, but, otherwise, nothing about her except in two of the Puranas simply saying she exists. The study says:

    Rachana is the wife of _Tvastri_. She is the daughter of a Daitya. Prajapati Tvastri had by her one son Visvarupa.


    Prahlada is also said to have Hladini Shakti. That implies that his wife was the embodiment of this power.


    HlādinīŚakti (ह्लादिनीशक्ति) refers to “bliss potency or the internal, spiritual potency, which is dominated by bliss, personified as Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī. Hlādinī is the śakti that arouses ānanda (bliss) in the heart of Śrī Śyāma. Although Kṛṣṇa Himself is the reservoir of all pleasure, through His hlādini potency, He relishes transcendental bliss”.

    Hlādinīśakti (ह्लादिनीशक्ति) refers to:—This refers to the svarūpa-śakti which is predominated by hlādinī, bliss potency.

    Hlādini (ಹ್ಲಾದಿನಿ):—

    1) [noun] thunderbolt, as the weapon of Indra, the Lord of gods.

    2) [noun] the tree Boswellia serrata of Burseraceae family.

    3) [noun] a woman who delights.

    4) [noun] (Vaiṣṇava phil.) the divine love as one of the principles.

    5) [v.s. ...] a mystical Name of the sound d, [Upaniṣad]


    Hlādinī (ह्लादिनी).—A tributary of the Gaṅgā.

    Hlādinī (ह्लादिनी).—A R.; wife of Havyavāhana.*

    * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 12. 16.

    Hrādinī (ह्रादिनी).—A wife of Havyavāhana.*

    * Vāyu-purāṇa 29. 14.

    She is one of the Sixteen Rivers Samsya loves in Brahmanda Purana.


    Havya is that Agni that carries oblations to the gods--Devas, contrasted to Kavya which carries them to the Pitris.


    Since Radha is a product of the sixteenth century, then the question who this means was easy:

    Shri, Bhu and Nila are all Mahalakshmi, and all are the Hladini Shakti of Vishnu. Either Shri. Bhu and Nila, or simply Sri Mahalakshmi Herself.


    In the early part of his life, Prahlada was devoted to Narasimha Vishnu, and later he trained under Dattatreya:

    On seeing the aged Prahlada, who after long wanderings had reached the banks of Kaveri and Sahyadri regions in the south, ‘Bala Prahlada Varada’ (Bestower of boons to the boy Prahlada), who was in the form of Dattatreya in the caves of the Sahyadri, smiled with affection.

    This alone is Paramahamsa Yoga.

    Panini has "Virocana's mother" as Manthara in the course of her being killed by Indra. In Ramayana, she is his daughter.



    So at the closest, it seems we are left with the parents of Vairocani as Prahlada and Hladini, which is not quite an identity, but could be Mahalakshmi.


    Male Virocana has the parents Prahlada and Devi.

    That is not specific either, and just sounds like Devi before having any of her named forms.

    This spelling can also be feminized:

    4) Virocanā (विरोचना).—Daughter of Prahlāda the asura king. Tvaṣṭā married her. A son named Viraja was born to this couple. (Bhāgavata, Skandha 5). In Vāyu Purāṇa, it is stated that the hermit Triśiras also was born to Tvaṣṭā by Virocanā.

    2) Virocanā (विरोचना).—The queen of Tvaṣṭri, and mother of Viraja.*

    * Bhāgavata-purāṇa V. 15. 15; Vāyu-purāṇa 84. 19.


    Virochana had five brothers named Kumbha, Nikumbha, Ayusman, Sibi and Baskali and a sister named Virochanaa. (Vayu Purana. 84, 19).


    Virocana as the suggestion for "wife of Viswakarman".


    Vairocani (वैरोचनि).—A wife of Tvaṣṭa.*

    * Vāyu-purāṇa 65. 85.





    Prabhasu or Dyaus was the chief Vasu in stealing the Wealth Cow; and so the Vasus were cursed to incarnate, him the longest. He marries Jupiter's sister, Yogasiddha or Varastri, which normally means "woman of the many". In metaphysical terms, there is a type of "handoff", since Jupiter is really the Deva Guru and man is not a Deva; it does mean something like blind, vain rites being rotely performed are not that useful to spiritual growth; at the same time, Jupiter is associated with yellow and is "almost solar". In technical terms, Jupiter simply has to do with Rtu, which is the natural and cosmic order; whereas social and personal mental order is Dharma.


    Dharma + Prabhata (Dawn, or to make or become light) = Vasu Prabhasa


    Primordial Light plus the sister of Jupiter:

    Prabhasa + Yogasiddha Varastri = Vishwakarman

    Prahlada + (Drarbi, Dhriti, or ?) = Vairocani

    Vishwakarman + Vairocani = Samjna (Brahmanda Purana, III.59)

    In Brahmanda Purana, Viswakarman and Tvastr are the same.

    It mentions one Varuna wife as Stuta (elsewhere, Sura or Carsani), mother of Surasundari.

    Viśvakarmā once cut the face of a horse and attached it to the headless body of Mahāviṣṇu. That figure was given the name Hayagrīva. It was this Hayagrīva figure of Mahāviṣṇu, which killed the asura Hayagrīva.




    Vayu Purana 2.22 and Brahmanda Purana state Vairocani is daughter of Prahlada, wife of Tvastr. The statement is from p. 651 in Vayu Purana Part II. Actually there looks to be a pretty clean text from a 2005 reprint and:


    Chapter Four mentions a Tvastr, son of Sukra, and then the awkward:

    85. The three-headed Visvarupa was the great son of
    Tvastr. Visvakarman is remembered as the younger twin-
    brother of Visvarupa.

    In Chapter Five, Tvastr is an Aditya, son of Kasyapa.



    Chapter Twenty-two is The Race of Varuna : Birth of the Aswins. Varuna's wife was the daughter of the ocean (Samudra), called Sunodevi, Nevijyeshta, Charsani, Parnasa, Rddhi, Gauri. Varuna's wife was Sunadevi (daughter of Samudra), who had a daughter, Surasundari, p. 650. This chapter corresponds to Bd.P. 2.3.59.

    There is a male Kali and:

    7. Kali had two very powerful sons (namely): Jaya and
    Vijaya. Vaidya too had two sons of great strength, viz. Ghrni
    and Muni.

    8. When the subjects became desirous of eating, they ate
    each other. Devouring each other, they perished.

    9. Kali begot of Sura (a son). That son of his is remembered
    as Mada. Himsa, the daughter of Tvastr, was the eldest wife
    of Kali. She was known as Nirtti (too).

    10. She bore four other man-eating sons to Kali, viz. Naka,
    the famous Vighna, Sadrama and Vidhama.

    11. Among them Vighna was devoid of head; Naka had no
    body; Sadrama was single-handed; and Vidhama had a single
    foot.

    12. Sadrama’s wife was remembered as Putana. She had
    Tamasic qualities. Revati was the wife of Vidhama. Their sons
    were in thousands.

    13. Sakuni was the wife of Naka and AyomukhI was the
    wife of Vighna. Raksasas of huge heads roaming about at dawn
    and dusk (were born of them).

    14. The sons of Revati and Putana are remembered by the
    name of Nairrtas. All these Raksasas were evil demons known
    as Grahas. They particularly harassed children (by haunting
    them). With the permission of Brahma, lord Skanda became
    their overlord.

    15. Brhaspati’s sister was a noble lady (named) Yogasiddha.
    Observing celibacy and being detached, she roamed over the
    whole universe.

    16. She became the wife of the eighth of the Vasus, viz.
    Prabhasa. Visvakarma, the creator of arts and crafts was born
    as her son.

    17. (He was known as) Tvastr. He created many forms. He
    was the grandson of Dharma.

    18. He made aerial chariots for all the Devas. Human beings
    maintain their livelihood by following the craftsmanship of that
    noble soul.

    19. Tvastr’s wife was the famous daughter of Prahlada and
    was the sister of Virocana and the mother of Trisiras.

    20. Maya, the son of the intelligent preceptor of Devas in
    craftsmanship of all kinds, is remembered as Visvakarma also.

    21. His younger sister, the daughter of Tvastr (originally)
    famous by the name of Surenu, became the wife of the Sun and
    was well known as Samjna.


    In this account, Vairocani is the mother of Saranyu Samjna. That is probably the most succinct way of looking at it.

    This is before Tvastr breaks open the Martanda or Cosmic Egg.




    If we try to track by one of the most primal male names:

    Bhagavata Purana intends to use the name Viraja twice, as a son of Tvastr whose wife is Visuci, and as a son of Purnamasa (which is actually first). There is also Parvasa — a son of Purnamasa and Sarasvati; the lord of all ganas. So there is a Purnamasa Viraj, and then a Tvastr Viraj.

    Purnamasa is in Vayu Purana I.28 as the mate of Sarasvati, father of Viraja and Parvasa. Soon, there is Parjanya and Parjanya--Hiranyaroma. This is followed by what the Vayu is particularly valued for, Chapter Twenty-nine, one of the closest things to Forty-nine Fires of Agni. The huge episode with Daksa becomes a teaching on Jvara--Fevers, and then there is an explanation of Kala--Time.


    Purnamasa repeats the work of the original self-existent Brahma, who is Viraj in his dual-sexed halves:

    (Virāṭpuruṣa; also Samrāt and Manu) married Śatarūpā; sons Priyavrata and Uttānapāda and two daughters, Ākūtī and Prasūtī; the latter was given to Dakṣa and the former to Ruci to whom twins, Yajña and Dakṣiṇa were born.

    1) Vāyu-purāṇa 10. 15.
    2) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 9. 39.


    This makes it easy to find in Brahmanda Purana 2.9:

    By (another) half he became a woman and she was Śatarūpā. She was the Prakṛti,

    That divine lady performed a very difficult penance for a hundred thousand years and obtained Puruṣa of brilliant fame as her husband. Indeed, he is called Manu, the Puruṣa, the earlier son of the self-born lord.

    After obtaining as his wife, Śatarūpā who was not born of any womb, the Puruṣa sported with her. Hence it is called Rati (sexual dalliance).

    38b-40. The first union took place in the beginning of the Kalpa. Brahmā created Virāṭ (the immense Being). That Virāṭ became the Puruṣa. He, accompanied by Śatarūpā, is remembered as Vairāja, Manu and Samrāṭ (Emperor). That Puruṣa, Manu, the Vairāja created subjects (begot progeny). From Vairāja, the Puruṣa, Śatarūpā gave birth to two heroic sons.


    It actually represents a wrathful Rudra Tamas creation.

    The second Viraj is:

    A son of Pūrṇamāsa and Sarasvatī; his wife was Gaurī; son Sudhāmā.*

    * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 11. 13; Vāyu-purāṇa 28. 10-12; Viṣṇu-purāṇa I. 10. 6.




    Purnamasa is in Bhagavata Purana 4.1 as the father of Devakulya (Ganges) and Viraja.

    In 5.15 story of Gaya:

    "From his [Bhauvana's] wife Dûshanâ a son was born named Tvashthâ and from Tvashthâ's wife Virocanâ there was a son named Viraja. From Viraja's wife Vishûcî a hundred sons [and grandsons] and one daughter were born with S'atajit as the first one."


    In 6.6 with the Aditis, it goes on to:

    "The most fortunate Samjñâ gave as the wife of Vivasvân birth to the Manu called S'râddhadeva as also to the twin, the demigod Yamarâja and his sister Yamî [the river Yamunâ]. She appeared on earth in the form of a mare and gave birth to the As'vinî-kumâras... From the marriage between Tvashthâ and the girl called Racanâ, who was a Daitya daughter, the two sons Sannives'a and the very powerful Vis'varûpa were born."

    Varuna and Carsini's unusual modes of reproduction in Bhagavata Purana.



    Vairocani was called "famous", but, does not seem to have much story. Her namesake brother did not amount to much. Her parents on the other hand are dramatically more noticeable, among the oldest demons, but, serious about being Follower of Bliss and Potency of Bliss, and so it perhaps is this which would allow her to transit out if the underworld and into Indra Heaven. Tvastr is already the custodian of Amrita--Nectar--Varuni and is at the crux of immortality practices.

    It would be accurate to say Varuni and Vairocani arise as:

    Ananta--Balarama Shakti

    Tvastr Shakti


    Tvastr has Four Arm iconography, who may ride a Ram, the mount of Agni. He typically carries Kamandalu of Amrita, Noose, Book, and Mace. Of the book, they say: Hindu deities such as Brahma, Manjushree, Saraswati, Prajnaparnmitta, Avalokiteswar, and Vasundhara are associated with learning and arts.


    According to astrology:


    Chitra is ruled by Tvastar, the Cosmic craftsman. Vishwakarma is the divine draftsman of the whole universe and the official builder of all the gods’ palaces.

    Chitra asterism contains Spica in Virgo. Spica is the closest thing in Indian astrology used to locate zero degrees Libra, so it is largely "this" that determines the "circle of the sky". In man, the Citra is the upper end of the shushumna that has a few lotuses where it meets the Brahmarandra which is really like a tube inside the skull orifice or suture.

    In the Yajurveda, Purusha Sukta and the tenth mandala of the Rigveda, his character and attributes are merged with the concept of Hiranyagharbha/Prajapathy or Brahma. Tvastar is mentioned 65 times in the Ṛgveda and is the former of the bodies of men and animals,’ and invoked when desiring offspring, called garbha-pati or the lord of the womb.


    The Aswins are Tvastr's grand-children:

    They are the only gods called golden-pathed (híranya-vartani).

    They are considered Prana aspects of Mars and Ganapati.

    And so in the long run, perhaps there is an unwritten thing such as Aswins Shakti.

    It would be pretty close to Amaravajra Devi.

    Revati and Citra are also fair associations to Varuni and Vairocani.

    Buddhism does not really contain additional information such as "Prahlada had a wife named so-and-so", instead, it encourages experience derived from mantric use of these two.

    Varuni does have modest iconography as if preliminary to her major form:



































    The Rubin has a Nepalese banner with Red Varahi on one side, and White Varuni:










    The Churning of the Ocean is also a story where one could say Amrita was separate from Varuni, and different versions say she went with the Devas or Asuras. There were three females who appeared at this time: Lakshmi, generally shown on top of the mountain; an Apsaras; and Varuni:







    While the point of the Apsarases is that they are exquisite, sometimes it is said Varuni appeared dishevlled and argumentative. She is perhaps shown this way from someone who failed to mention her:

    Last edited by shaberon; 9th September 2021 at 17:59.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Varuni, Parnasabari, and Yamini




    Same thing happened again. When you get your junction box repaired, leave it unguarded so it will be destroyed again in two days. Those goats are some of my bestest friends ever, so, I want them to smash it, because they like to.

    Maybe if we cover it with junk, they will enjoy smashing junk just as well.


    So I tried to get another look at the Varuni article. The funny thing about Samvarodaya Tantra is that Buhnemann calls it "inappropriate" for referring to Ocean of Milk as per the Purana. I suppose it is "useful" since everything else, or, at least a considerable portion of Chakrasamvara, is Puranic. Varuni certainly is, and there is plenty of reason to see her honored in some way from fairly early times in Orissa, where her stonework was found. If Samvarodaya is not claiming to invent her, it probably can be credited with intensifying her to an Eighteen Arm form and the way she is used.

    That she is a boat mistress in Sri Nagara of Lalita Mahatmya is perhaps older than the Samvarodaya. Since Samvarodaya contains passages from the Vajrajapa in Nagarjuna's Pancakrama, it must post-date that. Buddhism has perhaps eliminated the name Tripura Sundari from Lalita while keeping her assistants Varahi, Matangi, and Varuni, in a very similar way to how Sri Nagara works. Because this is also Mani Pura, it is the solar plexus chakra, which we are allowed to focus as Nirmana Cakra of Generation Stage. Most texts say "navel" means below it, but, I personally like solar plexus, which is accepted in a few of the tantras. And then it has a strong resemblance to Sri Vidya. I do not think they can be that different at a basic level.

    However it looks like more than five hundred years after Samvarodaya, tantric Varuni shows up in multiple other yogas.
    Near Deopatan, Eighteen Arm Varuni is called Balakumari and has become a standard part of Durga Navaratra. In some of the Nepali stonework, it suggests Varuni's mount is about to become a Lion, but I do not think she is ever shown on it. As Durga she does. So, as of relatively recently, her tantric form is a public Durga figure; and while we are using many things highly similar to Durga, it is a bit more profound than cheering a form which destroys all evil forms for us. Similar, but a little bit less religious, and more internal.

    There is the virtually identical Saivite Anandabhairavi, whose teaching is highly similar to Buddhist tantra, but considering this emerged ca. 16th century, it is like the Vaisnava adaptation of Sahaja. Both of these incorporate very Buddhist-sounding doctrines at the time when Buddhism entered its final decline in India. But they have not quite imported Sadanga Yoga or the Lokottara Siddhis. They have taken the form, with only part of the inner meaning.


    One of Varuni's names relates to guest offering:

    Arghapatresvari

    She is in most, if not all, Puranas, being called in Bhagavata Purana:

    athasid varuni devi kanya kamalalocana


    This is different. Half the time she has drunk eyes, but not always; here, lotus-eyed.


    Buhnemann notices her regular use of a musical instrument which relates her to certain other goddesses:

    For the Sanskrit text of a description of a form of Sura who delights in the sound of the
    lute (vina) and the flute (venu), see the Vaikhanasa text Vimanarcanakalpa (also known
    as Maricisamhita), patala 20, quoted in RAO 1914-16, 1, pt. 2, App. A, p. 30. For a description
    of a form of Matangi playing the vina extracted from Mahidhara’s Mantramahodadhi,
    see BUHNEMANN 2000-01, 1: 127-129. For a form of Sumukhi who holds
    a vessel of wine, whose eyes show signs of intoxication, and who plays the vina, see
    ˜rividyartavatantra, 1: 258,29-32. SASTRI 1916: 220 gives a similar description of the
    goddess Laghusyamala.


    Elsewhere, Varuni also holds a snake, which resembles Janguli. If Janguli is an absorption of both Matangi and Manasa--Serpent, Varuni's attributes visually continue these. The Fish is intended to resemble Matsya Varahi. A Shield is extremely rare in Buddhism, as is a Mace. It says she carries a Skull, Kapala Kalisa, and, separately, a Kamandhalu. Most of her things are fairly standard.

    In many later texts it says she does Bindu:

    The bindumudra corresponds with the essence (tattva)
    mudra in Saiva texts, which, according to texts such as the Nityotsava, is
    formed by joining the ring finger and thumb of the left hand. The joined
    fingers can also hold a piece of meat (BUHNEMANN 2003: xxx, 73 and pl.
    31), which is dipped in the liquid in the skull-cup.



    In most images, Lakshmi sits atop Mount Mandara, but there is also:

    Varuni atop Mount Mandara.
    Illustrated manuscript of the ˜ritattvanidhi.

    Her Deopatan shrine is attended by Mars and Ganapati, and her three cups are sometimes guarded by:

    Batuka, Ksetrapala and Ganesa.

    Batuka again being Kaumara or Mars. She occasionally has a few other companions, but, the closest ones to her are usually Mars and Ganapati, which tells us something.


    She did not use much of the tantra, but tells us:

    The Samvarodayatantra offers an esoteric interpretation
    of the elements of the myth by interpreting the Mandara mountain (used
    as the churning rod) metaphorically as the diamond-like wisdom (jnanavajra)
    and the Milk Ocean as the element space (khadhatu).


    The Samvarodayatantra specifies that the goddess is “counting” (ganayanti) or (displaying) the
    “counting” (ganayanti) [mudra].

    A rosary, however, is not listed as a
    hand-held attribute of the goddess elsewhere. There is a remote possibility
    that the word might indicate the counting of the musical beat (tala) with the
    fingers.

    That tells us something too. She is not using a rosary, and she probably is counting time, instead of it being the same as Prithvi Mudra.

    A few more of her descriptions inform us that she is an aspect of Kama Rupa, of Rasa, and influences the Nadis:

    suradevi kanyaka kamarupini || 3 ||

    nanarasadhari devi trailokyavasadharini || 5 ||

    mandarojjhatita sarve nadibhutani madhyaga || 8 ||


    Nana means she holds multiple tastes or moods. Most deities are sais to have one, two, or maybe three, with the full display being reserved somewhat selectively.

    There are a few other Buddhist descriptions which say that she is in the red light of Passion and again Rasa:

    padmaragasamaprabha ||

    nanarasadhara devi


    In another, Paramesvari, Cause, and Rasa:

    trilokyamohanim devim varuni<m> paramesvarim ||

    hetudevi<m>

    nanarasadhari devi


    In Lalita Mahatmya:

    trailokyamadadayini

    Nothing about Rasa is forthcoming there, at least not in the same place.

    So I think the Samvarodaya is a lot more direct. In terms of what you actually do with her.

    She could perhaps be called a physiological Vajrasattva.



    Varuni does not seem to be a part of most Buddhism apart from tantra. She is not in Sadhanamala, but, neither is a male deity whom it looks like she may associate with; in the Dharani Samgraha, Amogapasha begins as a Sutra format on p. 143 and ends on p. 161:

    iti āryā smoghapāśanāma hṛdayaṁmahāyāna sūtraṁ nāmadhāraṇāṁ parisamāptaḥ oṁ namaḥ śrīlokanāthāya||

    It contains the first of about a dozen uses of "dakini".

    He evidently becomes involved with Isvara Mahesvara to this extent:

    lokeśvara maheśvara

    and also appears to be called Pasupati.

    ehehi mahā- kāruṇika iśvara maheśvara mahābhūtagaṇasaṁbhagcaka||


    He speaks of final enlightenment:

    mārasainya pramadardanāyasvāhā||


    Among the males in Sadhanamala, there is only mention of Dakini Graha by One Syllable Manjushri 84 and within Mahakarunika Dharani 41. It becomes a familiar subject with the females.

    Allright. We saw that "dakini" was not really one of the Puranic Eight Creatures, so, it was a word which if anything was an insult. "They" however are suddenly well-known in the seventh century charnel grounds. It does start to get used in Shiva tantra, but, more as a mantra which permutes to sakini, hakini, etc., whereas in Buddhism it is a class of being and/or a personal name. If we do not add anything and just capitalize it, then it means Dakini who is in Vajra Family, which, as is the case with Tara, the name Vajradakini does not automatically mean Vajra Family.

    In the long run, if you do this, the one thing you can be certain of is Vajradakini. She is both an individual, and the class, such as the Vajraraudris are vajradakinis.

    What qualifies them as dakinis is they are free to move in space. When they represent the Pithas means such-and-such part of your arm, or lungs, or some kind of pathway has, so to speak, been relaxed by Tara and now the dakini is the flow free to move between those places.

    And so if the motivating energy is Varuni, then the accumulation and use in the body is Vairocani, then when for example Kurukulla becomes active, this certainly means dakini. For the most part, there is no such thing until you become proficient in subtle yoga. Along with Sarasvati and Yadoshara, Varuni is an abdominal Nadi.


    Then there is this Amoghapasha which is supposed to be a type of invitation to the public to study and practice tantra. It seems to be a Sutra, but does not mention his retinue such as Sudhana. I believe he is the main character in the main Amogapasha Sutra, and as to how there becomes a retinue including Ekajati, I am not sure. You can see it, and it does something weird to Bhrkuti, and then he is considered practically the same as Khasarpana, which is probably an advance from this publicized practice.

    I am pretty sure that Varuni is not a stray remark, and actually is being used personally as a subject here on p. 159:

    jayā vijayā aparājitā nākulīgandhanā kulī| vāruṇī abhaya pāṇi indriya pāṇi gandhapri paṁgata cakra mahācakrā viṣaṇṇakāntā| soma rojī sunandāceti| yathā saibhavato' ṣṭhoktta raśatavā-anya rijappa maṇikṛtvāśira sivādaudhārayitvyaṁ||


    The curse on Jaya and Vijaya by the Four Kumaras is what begins the Daitya Kingdom; i. e. they have been forced to incarnate, and that is how it starts.

    what Varuni leads to or produces is:

    parasaubhāgyekaraṇaṁ|

    Which is similar to Mangala or Good Fortune, but also:

    Saubhāgya (सौभाग्य).—When pralaya went up to the maharlokam and when the whole world was overwhelmed by ahaṅkāra there was a dispute between Brahmā and Kṛṣṇa when out of the latter's chest a light in the shape of a Linga came out. It was drunk by Dakṣa son of Brahmā and the result was the birth of Satī. The rest of rasa became eightfold, seven substances bringing fortune and salt.*

    * Matsya-purāṇa 60. 6-10.


    The major point of the exercise is again given:

    āryyā valoketeśvara hṛdayaṁ paramāsiddhi

    Which is known to be Guhyajnana Dakini. If not, one could say perhaps he first has Concentration Hero at his heart, and it is only specifically her with his Jinasagara form. I suppose Amoghapasha is like a foothold towards her if you are progressing in a standard Avalokiteshvara sadhana.

    Similarly, Pratisara is Aparajita Hrdaya.





    She is about sixteen pages deep and almost at the end of Amoghapasha. At this point, maybe, we can technically call her a Sutra deity. Except it would be ridiculous to presume she was spontaneously invented for this, because it would be overwhelmingly obvious the Puranic version is meant. Because she is this, she is freely accessible for summoning and praise and use in yoga.

    Pasupati is used in about four other dharanis also in an inclusive manner.

    Because he is the national deity of Nepal, it is either welcoming towards 95% of the population, or, it is derogatory, since they would not want to hear that Avalokiteshvara is more powerful. In neither case of Pasupati or Varuni would there be anything remotely vague about who is being discussed here.

    It is very vague to me about what is being discussed here, but not who.

    It would be much harder to translate the Sutra than to just say, well, is Guhyajnana Dakini potentially part of the hypostasis of Varuni, yes, it basically says that.

    Varuni is Mamaki, so, it is hard to say that she has or is in a Family. She is an "explanation of vastness". In general terms, she is Jaldevi or Water Yogini, but, we are specifically enhancing this with Akash, because she is invoked as Kha Dhatu. In order to do this, Mamaki has to be the center of the rite, or the consort of one. It would not matter who. It could be considered Vajra Family, or, it could be Jewel, Varuni is certainly a Jewel to start with. The Ocean of Milk, per se, is Lakshmi, or, the main issue seemed to be that Lakshmi was hiding herself there. Varuni perhaps has a tacit affiliation to Buddhist Vasudhara. Because we are mainly practicing on a dharani goddess basis, and, Vasudhara is the equivalent female role to what Amoghapasha does, and, she is virtually mandatory for Homa like Varuni, those are pretty close. Vasudhara also has the same two main Families as Mamaki.

    Jala or Variyogini is not far from Ganga, who, in Prajnaparamita, passes from one Buddha field to another.

    Varuni's male companions were also intended to represent the Three Skullcups, but, that was the first I have ever heard of it.

    In the manuscript, she also appears with two adjunct females, the Armor Deities White Samcalini and Blue Yamini.

    She is in MMK as chu lha ma, consort of chu lha or Varuna, in the class of matrs distinguished from pisacis:

    Also, the mātṛs and the great mātṛs, [F.106.a] [F.123.a] who wander throughout the world harming living beings and seizing oblatory offerings of food and garlands, joined in. They were: {1.103}

    Brahmāṇī, Māheśvarī, Vaiṣṇavī, Kaumārī, Cāmuṇḍā, Vārāhī, Aindrī,
    Yāmyā, Āgneyā, Vaivasvatī, Lokāntakarī, Vāruṇī, Aiśānī, Vāyavyā,
    Paraprāṇaharā, Mukhamaṇḍitikā, Śakunī, Mahāśakunī, Pūtanā, Kaṭapūtanā,
    and Skandā. {1.104}

    These great mātṛs, with retinues of many hundreds of thousands of mātṛs,
    were present in this great assembly, calling out, “Homage to the Buddha!”

    So, again, this identity of hers is not unusual, but she is nothing of note here.



    By "Varuni hypostasis manuscript", we mean more or less replacing this central Vajravarahi with Vairocani. White Sancalini and Blue Yamini are beside Varuni. There are the four yoginis of Nepal--on the left, Guhyajnana Dakini, like the red form of Mahacina Krama Tara or Sankhu Yogini; on the right is Naro Dakini; to the lower left is Phampi or Pharping Yogini; and the lower right is Maitri Dakini. The lower central figure was unidentified by Circle of Bliss, but is Sukhasiddhi. Varuni's role is to prepare the practitioner with "tools" for visualization and Yogic meditation, and for the efficacy and power of mantra. This group is above, or would be ringed by, the Eight Matrikas:







    Considering her mantric identity in Samvarodaya:

    devi varuni amrte amrtasambhave <||

    amrte hrim


    She is a slight twist to Parnasabari 150 who is:

    amṛte amṛtodbhave amṛtasambhave

    Parnasabari has the syllable Hrih similar to Avalokiteshvara, and this is a Mahakarunika Dharani.

    Hrim is really used by many goddesses such as Durgottarini Tara and Mahacinakrama Tara, up to Sancalini.

    As of now, Puranic Varuni has become embroiled with the Gauris, which follow in a few lines with Parnasabari. This is a different, simple one with Noose and Axe.

    It seems likely that Janguli is similar to Krsna Yamari Generation Stage, and Parnasabari is intensifying this with Pranayama--her whole Pisacis theme lines up into Varuni. Janguli helps you to "Cross Over Water", such as the delusions that separate us from Purity of Water, which sounds like an important base ingredient to mix with Akash and obtain Nectar.

    The appearance of the two armor goddesses is similar to:

    In Rinjung Gyatsa, the Armor sadhana is bracketed by Blue and White Heruka who use the Seven Syllable mantra, followed by Seven Syllable deity with retinue.

    In other words, those two colors, as lotuses, as Hum syllables, and deities, come out as the main Peaceful and Wrathful format of practice. The dominance of Red has to do with adding the Vidyadhara or Sages' realm by mantra. Most of those dakinis are inscribed "Vidyadhari". The female version is a bit more explosive within her mantras and dharani system, and more accessibly so. This Varuni does not have a parallel in any male-based system that ignores her.

    Her original translation says:

    When the amrta was being
    churned in the beautiful sea, the ocean of milk, the goddess Sura
    arose from it; she is a maiden who can assume any shape at will.
    She is similar to the rising sun in hue and is as brilliant as
    the sap of laksa-grass. Her body is many-coloured (being adorned)
    with all (kinds of) jewels and her splendour resembles the colour
    of a lotus. She is a celestial maiden with eighteen arms and
    is like the origin of the character Mam. She is a goddess endowed
    with various rasas, and holds sovereignty over the three worlds.


    and:

    She, being churned by the Mandara-mountain, exists in everything that is (in the form of) flowing water, or: 'she
    flows in the middle of all which have become rivers'.


    What "churns" it is Jnanavajra, which is in Emptiness Mantra, Om Sunyata Jnana Vajra Svabhavatmako Ham. Kongtrul explains Emptiness Mantra as stage one of Guhyasamaja or Nagarjuna's Pancakrama.

    That is like "churning" the Arani stcks of Fire by Friction, which is also mantra.

    That is what I get from the phrase, that deities who teach Emptiness Mantra will help Varuni arise. Samvarodaya Chapter Thirteen has already used it prior to Inverted Stupa for the Generation of Heruka when:

    He should think of bhairambha 4 and so on in the form of the container and the content.

    Translator's note says he didn't know what it was; Wind at the End of Time.

    Otherwise, there is no note or correspondence to what jnanavajra is supposed to be.


    Circle of Bliss 73 is a review of a Nepali manuscript of Sixty-four forms of Chakrasamvara, which includes the statement that Varuni is Khandaroha.

    Varuni primarily continues in the tantras as Khandaroha, who has the first known use of "Mumbai" in Sanskrit.

    Commemorative Essays from the Royal Asiatic Society, 1917, for some reason, singles out Khandaroha In a Nepalese Dakarnava:

    The fifth chapter of this book treats of the worship of
    Khandaroha ; but what is most interesting is her mandala or
    mystic circle This consist of five concentric circles, the
    whole forming an expanded lotus, with compartments mark-
    ed out for petals. Each petal has a letter in it. The letter
    is the initial letter of the name of one of the companion de-
    tities (avarana-devata) of Kandaroha whose Mulamantra is
    at the pericarp or karnika. The eight petals just round the
    pericarp form the heart of the Mantra, those following the
    heart form the neck Those round the neck form the
    naval and those round the naval the head. The number
    of petals in concentric circles are altogether 8 + 16+64 +
    32 = 120. So Khandaroha is accompanied by 120 deities.
    Of these 60 belong to the outer world and 60 to the inner
    world the Macrocosm and the Microcosm. The sixty
    spirits representing the outer world are deities presiding
    over different countries, districts and cities of India and
    the surrounding countries, not in any definite order, as will
    appear from the accompanying extracts containing these
    names. There is an exact agreement between these names
    and their initial letters in the petals

    The interest of this mandala lies in the fact that the
    52nd name is Mumbani and the 52nd initial letter is Mu in
    the naval, showing that there was a shrine to Devi Mum-
    bani in the island of Bombay This shrine can be no
    other than the present shrine of Mumba-devi on the Mala-
    bar Hills, So Dakarnava in its fifth chapter speaks of
    the island city of Bombay and its eponymous shrine and
    deity.

    The 1917 collection translates the first three chapters separately since they are in a dialect utterly unknown to the world. The fifth chapter celebrates Khandaroha, whose mantra has thirty-seven letters. Sixty-four first initials form the navel or body mandala, eight initials form the heart, thirty-two form the throat, sixteen the head. This is also the first known appearance of "Mumbai" in Sanskrit literature.




    Varuni is in Garga Samhita, first getting the sons of Kubera turned into trees, then in a more famous episode related to Kadambara Wine.

    Kadambā (कदम्बा):—Another name for Saumyā

    This Cave Dwelling, which the Ṭīkā calls the Kadamba Cave [i.e., kadamba-guhā], is the Void of the Triangle that represents the goddess’s Yoni projected into the End of the Twelve above the head. It is called the Kadamba Cave because there is a Kadamba tree near to it that symbolizes the maṇḍala of which the triangle is the core. The tree is in the centre of the maṇḍala as the seed-syllable of the deity or in a potential form as its spherical bud (kadambagola) symbolizing the Point (bindu). The latter contains the four energies of bliss, will, knowledge and action. The first is the energy of the Point at rest in itself. The other three are the energies generated from it deployed in the Triangle symbolized by the Kadamba Cave [i.e., kadamba-guhā].



    Chapter Nine: Lord Balarāma's Rāsa Dance

    Duryodhana said: O tiger of sages, when did Lord Balarāma enjoy the rāsa dance on the
    Yamunā's shore with gopis that had been snake-girls in their previous birth?

    Sri Pradvipaka Muni said: One day, eager to see His devotees, Lord Balarama mounted His
    chariot bearing a palm-tree flag, left Dvaraka, and, yearning to see the gopas, gopis, and cows, went
    to Gokula. Yasoda' and King Nanda embraced Him when He arrived. Later He met with the gopas
    and gopis. He stayed there for two months.

    The previously described snake-girls became gopis and, in order to attain Lord Balarama's
    association, on Garga Muni's advice followed the five methods of worshiping Lord Balarāma. In this
    way they became perfect. Pleased with them, Lord Balarāma enjoyed a rāsa-dance with them on the
    full-moon night of the month of Caitra (March-April), a night when the red moon reddened the
    whole of Vrndāvana forest.

    Cooling, gentle, delightful, lotus-pollen filled breezes pushed the Yamunā's waves and blew to
    the splendid shore. Then the land of Vraja became very splendid, its many forest groves and
    courtyards filled with the fragrant pollen of playfully and gracefully blossoming flowers, with the
    cooing of cuckoos and peacocks, and with the sweet humming of bees.

    Decorated with tinkling ankle-bells, glittering gold and jewel necklace, armlets, belt, crown, and
    earrings, and with many lotus petals, dressed in blue garments, and His eyes like glittering lotus
    petals, Lord Balarama was splendid with the gopis in the rasa-dance circle. He was like Kuvera
    surrounded by a host of beautiful yaksis.

    Then, sent by the demigod Varuna, Goddess Varuņī, in the form of honey oozing from the
    hollows of trees filled with the humming of bees made greedy by the sweet scent of the flowers,
    made the entire forest very fragrant. Eager to drink that honey, His eyes now red lotus flowers, His
    limbs weakened by enjoying amorous pastimes, perspiration born from the fatigue of His pastimes
    now streaming down His cheeks and washing away the pictures and designs drawn there, walking
    like an elephant king, decorated with mighty arms like the trunks of elephant kings, as if
    intoxicated, sitting on a throne, relinquishing His plow, His club still in His hand, splendid like ten
    million full moons, His jewel anklets, bracelets, and other ornaments tinkling, His gold earrings,
    necklaces, finger-rings, and jewel crown glittering, and surrounded by beautiful gopis, their cheeks
    decorated with graceful pictures and designs and their black braids mocking the beautiful snake
    girls, Lord Balarama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead the master of the worlds, shone with great
    splendor, and enjoyed transcendental pastimes.

    His lotus face covered with perspiration born from the fatigue of wandering along the Yamunā's
    shore and enjoying many pastimes, Lord Balarāma called for the Yamuna' to come to Him so He
    could bathe and enjoy water-pastimes. When the Yamuna' did not come, Lord Balarāma became
    angry and began to drag it to Him, scratching its shore with the tip of His plow. Lord Balarāma said:

    "Today you have no respect for Me. Even though I call, you ignore My order and go your own
    way as you wish. Now I will divide you into a hundred tiny streams." Rebuked with these words
    and now very afraid, the Yamuna' came before Lord Balarāma, fell at His feet, and said:

    "Rama! Rama! Sankarsana! Balabhadra! O mighty-armed one! I did not know Your great power.
    The entire earth is seen resting like a single tiny mustard-seed on one of Your many heads. It is
    proper for You to release Me, who have now surrendered to You and who did not know Your true
    glories. You should release me because You are always affectionate to Your devotees.

    Begged in this way, Lord Balarama released the Yamuna. Then He enjoyed in the Yamunā's
    waters, as an elephant enjoys with its many wives. When He returned to the shore the Yamuna’
    approached and gave Him gifts of many blue garments and many ornaments of gold and jewels.
    Lord Balarama divided the gifts among the girls, giving some to each gopī. Then He dressed in one
    of the blue garments and decorated Himself with a necklace of gold and nine kinds of jewels. Then
    He enjoyed with the gopis as the king of elephants enjoys with its many wives.

    O king of the Kauravas, in this way Lord Balarama, the king of the Yādavas, spent that
    springtime night with the gopis. Even today the Yamuna' flows in many divided streams at that
    place, a testimony to the great strength, equal to that of a host of elephants, of Lord Balarama, the
    Supreme Personality of Godhead. A person who hears or recounts these pastimes of Lord Balarama
    destroys the entirety of a great host of sins and attains transcendental bliss. What more do you wish
    to hear?


    Then the gopis are instructed in the five-fold worship of Balarama.


    According to an Ayurvedic list, there is such a thing as:

    Gaja Varuni Prayoga Kala



    Buddhist Varuni deals with the Armor Deities, who are also the Six Yogas, in a very similar format such as when we take the Six Buddha Wisdoms such as in Namasangiti and organize it with Vajrasattva first, and Amoghasiddhi or Accomplishment last. The Sixth Yogini is Candika, taken as the consort of Wrathful Amoghasiddhi, who is quite well-known and perhaps the most explanatory of this system. Varuni seems to come forward with two that are less-famous. The deity of the Heart sounds like she ought to be related to death, but, if that is even the case, there is something else.


    Yamini was a wife of Kasyapa (and mother of locusts), or, of Mahabala in Dakarnava's Vajracakra, or even the sister of Vairocani:


    Yāminī (यामिनी) is one of the daughters of Prahlāda, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 46. Accordingly: “... then, all being satisfied, Prahlāda gave to Sūryaprabha a second daughter of his, named Yāminī, and that prince of the Asuras gave him two of his sons as allies”.

    The story of Yāminī and Prahlāda was narrated by the Vidyādhara king Vajraprabha to prince Naravāhanadatta in order to relate how “Sūryaprabha, being a man, obtain of old time the sovereignty over the Vidyādharas”.


    That is from a massive eleventh-century "conquest of Vidyadharas" legend.

    So far, Prahlada's actions are highly regarded, but, his personal life in terms of a family is subject to conflicting versions. Here, he must have had at least two daughters, Vairocani and Yamini. The second is the shakti of one who commands the Vidyadhara realm. Devi Bhagavata Purana commentary says:

    Yam ini or She is the Profile of Nights and Darkness too besides being the Fund of Splendour and Brightness

    This meaning comes from one of the lesser uses of "yama":

    2) A watch, one eighth part of a day, a period of three hours

    and is perhaps most similar to yamika.

    It is different from "ratri" which comes from:

    The word Rātri (night) is symbolically derived from the root rā “to give,” and is taken to mean “the giver” of bliss, of peace, of happiness.

    Vasistha says:

    There is an insensibility which overtakes every man before his death; this is the darkness of his dissolution (maha-pralaya-yamini).


    Yamini is perhaps closer to natural law such as time and death, whereas the night does not automatically give me bliss or even rest unless I have done something right.




    Prahlada was in Nirvikalpa Samadhi for 5,000 years, before the Ocean was Churned. The identities of the Daityas are in place before there is such a thing as the blissful liquid forms of Lakshmi and Varuni.

    Yamini has a meaning of "night", such that her lord or husband is generally:

    1. The moon. 2. Camphor.

    Allright. It is not generally mixed in with, or mistaken for, the name of the river who is the sister of Yama.

    Yamuna has a meaning of "twin", secondarily of collyrium, and was originally clear (as a river), becoming blackened by Shiva thinking about Sati. Originally:

    1a) Kālindī (कालिन्दी).—The daughter of Samjñā.*

    * Vāyu-purāṇa 84. 36.

    Kalindi is equivalent to Yamuna, i. e. Balarama dragged Kalindi. If either name is the daughter of Samjna, they are the grand-daughter of Vairocani.

    Kalindi is also a friend of Mahallika, a daughter of Prahlada.

    Well then the difference between Mahallika and Yamini is one chapter:


    Mahallikā (महल्लिका) is the daughter of Prahlāda, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 45. Accordingly: “... on that occasion Sūryaprabha beheld the daughter of Prahlāda, named Mahallikā, who came forward to dance, by order of her father. She illuminated the world with her beauty, rained nectar into his eyes, and seemed like the moon-goddess come to the underworld out of curiosity. She had her forehead ornamented with a patch, beautiful anklets on her feet, and a smiling face, and seemed as if all made of dancing by the Creator. With her curling hair, her pointed teeth, and her breasts that filled up the whole of her chest, she seemed, as it were, to be creating a new style of dance”.


    That makes it unclear whether Vairocani is a third daughter, or this one.

    This name also has the same matron-ish meaning as Mahattari, or possibly with nuns as a mahallika vihara, which is said to be derived from Arabic mahall, although it is also the name of an Avadana story, and appears in Pali. So we cannot be sure of its origin or if this late story has used it to replace Vairocani.


    In Buddhism, Suryaprabha is an alternate for Jalini Prabha, an attendant of Manjushri. The Puranic one is from a prior Kalpa. In these kalpas it is generally the same beings incarnating. It is when we get closer to earth that they start to mean various people who are not always the same.



    Some other blurriness in Prahlada's family:

    Prahlada and Devi have Rachna.

    Simhika as Prahlada's daughter, but, more likely, she is Hiranyakasipu's sister.


    Yamini must be the sister of Puranic Virochana. She then is the consort of Dhyani Buddha Vairocana.

    It sounded a bit strange to me that Yamini caused Vairocana to become a Heart deity, although, this can be said to be in wrathful protector mode. Aside from using Vairocani first, however, this pattern is consistent with
    First Panchen Chakrasamvara generation of Varahi, she is with Vajrasattva at the navel, and:

    At her heart, from the transformation of a blue HAM YAM, comes a blue Yamini, embracing a (yellow) Vairocana.

    Because this is wrathful, she can be interpreted as the consort of Yellow Acala.

    Candramaharoshana uses a churning method to generate Four Acalas. However, those stick to the normal Vairocana Family is White, and the female is Moha Vajri. Because of this, the similar-sounding Mohani is probably not Moha Vajri, because she is in Lotus Family.

    The "Limbs" Armor is "the weapon" (Astra) in Abhisamayamanjari, according to Elizabeth English, who provides the following translations:


    Lady of Night (Yamini), Deluder (Mohini), Agitator (Samcalini), Terrifier
    (Samtrasini), and Terrible One (Candika).



    In that spelling, Mohani becomes like Mohini, or female Vishnu. "Agitator" is like an extension from Cunda, being Cale or "motion". And so most of these yoginis do seem to have "roots" or origins instead of Armor being a whole brand new thing.

    They are perhaps all weapons, if we look in the tri-lingual Samvarodaya Tantra that has nineteen of thirty-three chapters.

    The rare one is in Garuda Purana on Five Faced Shiva:

    Om, Ham, salutation unto Vamadeva. His kalas are thirteen in number, viz, Raja, Raksha, Rati, Palya, Kanti, Trishna, Mati, Kriya, Kama, Buddhi, Rati, Trasani, and Mohini.

    3) Vāmadeva (वामदेव).—One of the seven sons born to Manu by his wife Śatarūpā. It is stated in Matsya Purāṇa, Chapter 4, that the Brahmin was born from the face, Kṣatriya from the hand, Vaiśya from the calf of the leg and Śūdra from the foot, of Vāmadeva, who was an incarnation of Śiva. This Vāmadeva who had five faces and a trident in his hand, fought with Candra, when Tārā the wife of Bṛhaspati was carried away by Candra. (Matsya Purāṇa, 4-13).


    Trasani has only this one single use as a name, along with one that has little meaning other than female Vishnu. Most likely, "Mohani" has this Mohini meaning, and is not Moha Vajri.

    Sancalini or Samcarani may have no existence outside of Buddhism; but is perhaps in the pair due to using Hrim syllable.

    White Hrih is used by Avalokiteshvara, by White Janguli 106, and Mayajala Kurukulla 181. Mahacinakrama Tara personally says Hrim, but, arises from Hum. Durgottarini Tara associates Hrim with Vira Tara. Marici Vajradhatvishvari uses it similarly to how Janguli uses Hrih. Amitabha has Hrim as his seed syllable at the very beginning; the only other one is Vajrasarasvati 166.


    Hrim is used abundantly by Ekajati, Kurukulla, and Varahi, but there is little chance of anyone arising from it until you get to Sancalini. She is hypostatical, in the sense that currently we are being told she resides in the front of the head with Heruka; but then in other tantras, it may be Vajrasattva. From this view, she is in Vajra Family, in a protective if not weaponized sense.



    2) Cāraṇī (चारणी):—[from cāraṇa > cāra] f. a female celestial singer, [Bālarāmāyaṇa ix, 21/22 ff.]

    Cara also has meanings of motion (vital air) or stillness (samadhi) in Kubjika lore, and other motion generally. Carana as divine singers is in multiple Puranas. Ensuingly, a wanderer, pilgrim, bard. In Prajnaparamita, Carana is Conduct, the basis for the Paramitas.

    It has these meanings, but does not seem to be a name elsewhere.



    The Armor Deities are also in the songs, (Maitri's) Carya Samgraha, which make heavy use of the raga Gandharabhairavi, and also have Vajragandhari near the end.


    The Dohas' spelling of the last goddess mentioned is:

    saṁcāriṇī

    and one of them includes her meaning near the end:

    97. (NC. 52 no. song)



    rāga : vibhāsa tāla : jhāpa



    kaṭi-e karuta devi rudramāla cchāde (hāthe)

    sahaja ānanda vācchali devi||

    dhrū.|| nāca-i e kāli tribhuvana brahma sye e kāli

    sayā (sa-ala) ravi brahma sye tuhma e kāli||

    tuhma vācchali devi nānā rūpe

    ekapāda tori gayene (gagane) ra-iyā (la-iyā)||

    tuhma vācchali devi jagata ulani

    toha bharāṁta śrīheruva la-iyā||

    pāli bhairava ubhaya saṁcarane

    sacarācara vaja (vajra) yogini nāca-i||



    Vajrayogini is moving in some way towards Heruka (sriheruva).


    Those songs are practically a sadhana set to music; this section for instance starting with Vilasini and the Four Pithas:

    śrīvajravilāsini tribhavaharaṇa khasama jñānadevi


    Then the next one is a Five Nectar Offering that unites the Heros and Heroines:

    viravīreśvara sahajānande


    and the end of the Six Yoginis song tells us:

    sva bīja saṁbhavā (sambhavā) navarasa digamvarā||


    The seed syllables appear to generate the Nine Moods on one who is naked.


    Chakrasamvara Chapter Seventeen has the topic on these becoming Seven Yoginis. At that point, Bhima is among them.

    That is also at the top of a set of tables from Abhidhanottara Tantra. But in that one, you miss Bhima. In both, there is continuity of Yamini, Sancala or Samcara, and Trasani.






    As we found Musti or Fist is something like the culmination of the Vajrasekhara process or rank of Vairocana, Yoga Nidra shows its application as coming up just for the few last things:


    The ‘efficient cause’ of the Action Seal is the thunderbolt fist
    (vajra-musti).

    The ‘efficient cause' of the Great Seal is chiefly the thunderbolt
    fist.
    The method of casting the seal is to enact the Great Seal
    which abides in self-existence (svabhava). This is such a seal
    as the one of highest enlightenment (paramabodhi).


    Once you have done so many things, the end is pretty easy:

    The 'final cause’ consists in attaining firmness in the deity
    yoga (devatayoga) of non-duality of the Profound and the Bright,
    until contemplating it as attained. As this is easy to comprehend,
    its purport need not be explicitly explained.
    Last edited by shaberon; 14th September 2021 at 07:57.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Tara Seventeen and Harini


    This is some unintentional irony, since, if this Tara has a form epithet, it is something like Foot Stomper:

    ture-pādâghāte


    and if we remove some "ands" from her second line, she has another title which can be shown as:

    mandāra-cālini


    We just saw that Churning by Mount Mandara happens as a result of something that does not match any of the Buddha Wisdoms--Jnanavajra--which could perhaps be called the "new thing" in Emptiness Mantra. You studied what Sunyata is, and, this phrase is something like converting the words and thoughts into an actually-perceived power or aura. Your nature becomes of this Jnanavajra due to enlightened awareness of Sunya. This one is very important. Anyone can understand Purity Mantra, which has more to do with washing away misery and sin in order to settle into the reverence of Sunya. This second mantra has to do with not vanishing into its Nirvrtti aspect, and conjoining it with Pravrtti, how things mentally arise over, within, or from void.

    What the commentary says about the verse is:


    she shakes all the abodes of the great gods, including Mount Meru, Mandhāra and Vindhya. The effect of her actions extends beyond the three thousand worlds. Her stamping causes the three realms: desire, form and formless, on the subterranean, terrestrial and celestial worlds, to quake and quiver.

    The ultimate meaning is that the quavering of the three worlds is purification of the three doors, (body, speech and mind).


    Well, the third mountain was Kailasa, not Vindhya. Those are not close, they do not sound alike.

    Maitreya's comment is Three Close Mindfulnesses which are a bit like Upeksa followed by Upeksa of Upeksa:

    1. To avoid attachment towards those who listen respectfully.

    2. To avoid hatred towards those who do not listen respectfully.

    3. To avoid indifference towards those who do neither.


    This Tara is doing something violent with her feet, which affects Mandara and other mountains, which could have taken numerous actions, but turns out to be Calini, which is almost a name, as in Samcalini of the Armor Goddesses. It is extremely rare as a word, compared to several close variants which are regularly used. And so it is practically non-existent in any other literature, except for Mayuri Vidyarajni, at the end of the bands of Yakshas, the last one before the Four Kings:


    ...including a great yaksha who resides in the palace of Apadakavati. Such and other beings had vowed upon this [invocation] dharani of Mahamayuri Vidyarajni.

    Protect me [your name] and my loved ones, and grant us longevity of a hundred years as I intone this dharani:

    tadyatha / hari harini / cali calini / trapani mohani stambhani jambhani / svayambhuh / svaha.


    So he has vowed to be bound by Cali, which is not very unusual, but also by Calini, which is part of Tara Seventeen and Sancalini.

    Although it sounds like Alakavati where Yakshas live, this guy is actually in A-padaka which means "Footless", such as snakes or fish.

    There is an Apadaka serving Mahishasura in Skanda Purana.


    It sounds to me like this noisy feet Tara would be particularly binding to "footless yakshas".


    The first portion of the Yaksha mantra is also telling, since Hari = Vishnu, and Harini is similar but more like a questing beast in the guise of the Golden Antelope. Three of the Four Dakinis are seeded from the syllables, Ha, Ri, Ni. It is a relatively common word that has selective application as a name.

    Harini, a Doe or Citrini Woman, is also:

    Hariṇī (हरिणी).—Mother of Hari, in the Tāmasa epoch.*

    * Bhāgavata-purāṇa VIII. 1. 30; Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 3. 116.


    Hariṇī (हरिणी).—A daughter of Hiraṇyakaśipu, also called Rohiṇī. She was married to Viśvapati, an Asura. Vana Parva, 211, 18).



    It is in Rg Veda at a point close to Yoni where for some reason they don't really translate either one.

    If we look for it around the Mayuri Sutra, at the very beginning we get:

    samkhini / kamalaksi / hariti / harikesi /


    And while there is a sonic play that Hariti kind of sounds like the "hair of Vishnu", Harikesa actually refers to an important Ray:

    1b) One of the seven important rays of the sun, said to be the root of planets, and the first originator of stars.*

    * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 24. 66; Vāyu-purāṇa 53. 47.



    The doe name comes up in this line:


    harini / vagudi / pamsu pisacini /




    Here is a dharani play on female Vishnu, resulting in a Dramida Siddhi, which I believe is how Vairocani affects Heruka--Melting:


    narayani parayani / hari tali kuntali / ili misti kitili misti / ime siddhyantu dramida mantra pada svaha.



    In Twelve Raksasis:

    Anasika Raksasi / Samudra Raksasi / Raudra Raksasi / Pranaharini Raksasi / Vidyadhara Raksasi / Dhanurdhara Raksasi / Saradhara Raksasi / Asidhara Raksasi / Haladhara Raksasi / Cakradhara Raksasi / Cakravada Raksasi / Vibhusana Raksasi.


    They are "Noseless", followed by a sequence you can practically read, Samudra or i. e. Milk Ocean, Raudra or Raudrakrama, Prana Harini, as a basis for the "dhara" or Holder of multiple items, such as Asi = Sword, ending on Ornament.

    In Maitreya's Mayuri:

    harini harini / danti sabari sive sulapanini /



    Harini was the mother of Jayas as Tusitas, also called Tamasa Manvantara, there in a quick synopsis showing that what we call the Twelve Aditis is the Seventh World for this group of incarnating Devas. It says:

    Since they were attached to (the worldly objects such as) sound, etc. of the worldly as well as Vedic tradition, and since they were entangled in the eightfold (Super human powers) like Aṇimā (minuteness) etc., those Devas were reborn.

    65-69a. Thus, the attachment to the worldly pleasures is remembered as the cause of rebirth. The Devas named Jayas were born as Jitas in the Svāyambhuva Manvantara due to the curse of Brahmā...


    Again, this story of Jaya and Vijaya is what goes into the Sumbha Nisumbha mantra of Chakrasamvara, after they enter those forms relative to our world.


    Right now I am posting from the smaller editor so hopefully an image of Sitabani will link up. The thangkas lacked detail and looked like smudges, but, I cut one off of the initiation card which seems satisfactory.
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    Last edited by shaberon; 14th September 2021 at 22:52.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Bhima and Sulini, Mahamaya Vijaya Vahini and Guhyajnana Dakini



    The first two deities here are ones we have found to be mantricly absorbed and continued in Buddhism as Gandhari and Ekajati. The original Ekajati was a Raksasi; but Sulini is a form of Durga. Why these would merge, I am not sure yet. Ekajati carries a spear by its common name, sakti, and a trident as trisula, on her major form. Rarely, Shiva calls his Trident a Sula, but linguisticly it means a single stake or spike. In this sense, it may be similar to "one braid" or metaphoricly "one-pointedness" we associate with Ekajati.

    These two are neighbors in Himachal Pradesh:


    Bhima is the patron of Sarahan (Sonitpur), 31.52°N 77.80°E, about 7 km above the Sutlej in Kinnaur, is the gateway to it, 160 km N-NW of Simla. Above it is Bashal Peak. Its old Kamru Fort is currently abandoned and houses an idol of Kamakhya Devi (Kamakshi Dev), which is believed to have been brought several centuries ago from Kamakhya temple in Guwahati. Sati's Ear fell at the temple site; moreover, Banasura once ruled here. The goddess was originally Bhimadevi, later Bhimakali. Banasura was a Saivite, Prahlada was a Vaisnavite protected by Narasimha, leading to conflict. Prahlada is famous, and should be more famous for the lack of anyone talking about his wife; and the chatter around Narasimha is bewildering as we will see. So is Banasura.

    Sulini : She Who Holds a Spear, is the patron of Solan, 30.905°N 77.097°E, about 45 km south of Simla . She was, tentatively, present for the incident of Narasimha.

    They are 95 km by air, and over 200 by road.



    Sulini was around as part of a mythical beast called a Sarabha, when Shiva took the form of one to confront Narasimha. There are many accounts of Sarabha. Each one is different. It is thought that "later", a Vishnu emanation similar to a two-headed Garuda was added in, where we find two goddesses getting involved:

    She is black in color - that is why she is called Saloni. She is also holding a weapon called a 'Shool' and so she is also called 'Shool Dharini'... Lord Sarabeshwara released goddess Pratyangira from one of his wings while goddess Shoolini being the other wing. The Goddess destroyed the form of Gandabherunda, while Shiva pacified Narasimha.


    So it was his other wing or Pratyangira who destroyed something which has become the modern mascot of Karnataka. Apparently, they might not have gotten the news that the form existed for about two minutes and was slaughtered. Instead, they say it killed the Sarabha.



    Here is another article which calls the wings Soolini and Pratyangira, but does not give sources. It describes the synthetic-ness of Pratyangira, and that it took Lakshmi Narasimhi to calm down Lord Narasimha.

    So that is right in the middle of "cult conflict", why is Shiva fighting Vishnu, what does it mean, who is more powerful, etc., with details added by different sects to promote their view. This is just after Boar Incarnation--Varaha, formation of the planetary crust, then there is Half Man. He is this way because Hiranyakasipu had a boon from Brahma that he could not be killed by man or animal, so Vishnu appears not exactly either one. He came upon Hiraṇyakaśipu at twilight (when it is neither day nor night) on the threshold of a courtyard (neither indoors nor out), and put the demon on his thighs (neither earth nor space). Using his sharp fingernails (neither animate nor inanimate) as weapons, he disemboweled and killed the demon king.


    The aftermath of how angry he was and what happened is where everyone has their own story. The older versions do not suggest he was on a rampage, and it was more about how to escape the animalized form and re-become Vishnu's divine consciousness. The gods were more worried that the "real" Vishnu would not be known again. In later works such as Shiva Purana, they are afraid Narasimha's violence is going to destroy the world, and so you get the Sharabha and other events.

    According to a post which describes the versions,

    Bhagavata Purana: there is no Sharabha

    Vishnu Purana: Narasimha defeats Sharabha and is calmed by Prahlada

    Shiva Purana: Sharabha subdues Narasimha

    The shiv puran is from shevta kalpa and Vishnu puran from Varah kalpa, so indeed both happened.

    In "some stories and tantras",

    Vishnu makes Gandabherunda which kills Sharabha.

    Pratyangira kills Bherunda.


    The Gandabherunda article does not say where the "goddess wings" originate from, either.


    David Reigle did not find the Bherunda in any Purana. Sarabha is rare:

    The same three verses that Nāganātha quoted from the Skanda-purāṇa (but not the fourth half-verse) are found in the available Śiva-purāṇa and Liṅga-purāṇa. They have some variant readings, the most significant of which is the reading saṃhāra-rūpeṇa instead of śarabha-rūpeṇa.

    In the shared three verses, Śarabha has four legs. The Śiva and Liṅga purāṇas then move on, making no mention of the four upper legs. Yet, tradition is very clear that Śarabha has eight legs. Even the Buddhist Kālacakra-tantra from the tenth century C.E. refers to Śarabha as “aṣṭapāda” (chapter 4, verse 41).

    An Indian person replies:

    Ghanda Bherunda narasimha dhyana from atharvana rahasya is quoted by the karnataka king Sri Krishna Raja Kamteerava.

    Akasha bhairava kalpa doesnt give upasana of ghanda bherunda but the opposite of it that is sharabha with which the ghanda bherunda fought.


    The debate is about the creatures--Bherunda is an old word that means Bhima. Sarabha is in the Vedas and Upanishads as a "wild animal", but nothing about eight legs.

    From 1008 Names of Gayatri in Devi Bhagavata Purana:

    Bhīmā, Bheruṇḍā,

    Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa refers to śarabha in several places (I.Ch 8; II Ch 7) while describing Creation out of Brahma’s body. But this is just a list of wild animals, or group names of such animals. In (II.Ch26) it is an animal that could be hunted along with lions and boars (story of Kārtavīrya of Haihaya country) in the Vindhya Mountains.

    They recur in the "end" or Lalita Mahatmya or Lalitopakhyana, which is probably from ca. tenth century:

    But śarabha and bheruṇḍa appear as vehicles for divine entities in the fight against Bhaṇḍāsura.

    Allright. He takes eighteen chapters, after:

    Chapter 9 - Churning of the ocean for Nectar
    Chapter 10 - Manifestation of Mohinī
    Chapter 11 - The appearance of demon Bhaṇḍa

    A few things from the mass deployment and lengthy battle which are half the book:

    Vāruṇī with tremulous eyes on account of inebriety, rose up even as the Siddhas in the firmament began to think—“What is this”?

    The Daityas evidently rejected her, and the Devas took her at the advice of Paramesthin--Brahma. When Sri emerges:

    The ocean of Milk in an embodied form gave her a lotus garland.

    After Mohini:

    I shall tell you a wonderful thing, O husband of Lopāmudrā. Listen, this has been in my heart. It has never been revealed to anyone.

    Normally, it goes from the churning to something else, which Lalita Mahatmya entirely gouges and replaces with its own narrative. At least the author admits it is new or unknown to us; this is not a Vedic or Puranic villain, he is suddenly here being discussed.



    Bhandasura was the re-animated ashes of Kamadeva.

    He tells Visvakarman to re-build Sonitpur.

    Eventually, Ambika or Mahadevi (Mahalakshmi) arises from the conflux of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva in a Visvarupa form said to have a thousand heads and arms:

    Here Lalitā is equated with Puruṣa in Puruṣa-Sūkta (RV.X.90).

    Durga is said to approach Ambika; they are not the same.

    In every house of the city of the goddess, Cintāmaṇi (Philosopher’s stone), Kalpa (desire-yielding tree), Kamalā (Goddess Lakṣmī) and Kāmadhenus (wish-yielding cows) stood for the purpose of the victory of the goddess.

    Thereafter once, the holy lord, sage Nārada came there, bowed down to the Supreme Power (Parā Śakti) and submitted humbly.

    47. “O great goddess, you are the supreme Brahman...

    Vartali is a pleasing name of the goddess.

    She masses an army of shaktis, many of whom are musical and intoxicated.

    The first group on her chariot held in their hands the Cintāmaṇi (Philosopher’s stone), skull, trident and collyrium leading to achievement.

    Seven deities called Dhātunāthās were stationed in their respective places beneath the same step. They were Yakṣiṇī, Śaṅkhinī, Lākinī, Hākinī, Śākinī, Ḍākinī and (another) Hākinī who had the united (and combined) forms of all of them.

    Bherunda is in the highest tier with Jvala Malini and Citra:

    fifteen imperishable deities are mentioned as having fixed up their residences all round on the Ānandamahāpīṭha (the great seat of Bliss), on the step in the middle of the chariot.

    Ānanda-Mahā-pīṭha.

    I. Around this great seat of Bliss of Lalitā are stationed 15 Eternal deities of the form of time (Kāla-rūpa)—They are on par with Lalitā


    Mantrini has a similar chariot; so does Dandanatha.

    Bherunda bird is the vehicle of the Daitya Vikarna. Meaningful as:

    1) Bheruṇḍa (भेरुण्ड).—A bird, born of Jaṭāyu.*

    * Matsya-purāṇa 6. 36.

    Matsya is one of the older Puranas, probably completed ca. year 500.

    1916 Matsya Purana starting under the seal of the Theosophical Society has this Bherunda on p. 20 or pdf page 39; just called an ancestor of a specie of bird. He is not called Gandabherunda.

    Ganda is a Tamil prefix redundant to Bherunda:

    Gaṇḍa.—(EI 12), cf. Tamil Gaṇḍaṉ; a hero, probably from the meaning ‘rhinoceros’

    Gaṇḍa (गण्ड) is a synonym (another name) for the Rhinocerous (Gaṇḍaka)

    Ganda Bherunda, as "meanings", would be like saying Vira Vira. Bherunda may mean the same as Bhima and Vira, but, it is a bird in one of the oldest writings, while it still must have a "bhima" meaning to simultaneously be a Shakti.




    Sri is more than once called:

    That wicked fawn-eyed woman

    Of Bherunda devi's class:

    the Nityā deities, the chief of whom was Kāmeśvarī

    These Nityā deities were Kālasvarūpiṇīs (having time units for their forms). Every one of them had a Tithi (Lunar day) for her physical form.

    There are two Nityā deities: one Vahnivāsinī, the other Jvālāmālinī. In the battle with the light kindled by them both, Daityas will be clearly seen by us.

    Those Nityā deities drew their Prāṇakodaṇḍas (life-breath-bow).

    The deities Nityaklinnā and Bheruṇḍā killed Humbeka and Hulumallaka.

    Jvala Malini is Caturdaśī (fourteenth) Lunar day.

    Mahaganapati gets involved and earns his super-position.

    Seated in her chariot, Daṇḍanāthā went ahead. With only a single finger of one hand, she was whirling her weapons of ploughshare and with the other hand she was brandishing the pestle frequently.

    She dragged her enemy with the ploughshare that pierced and went deep into his head. Potriṇī struck a hard blow with her iron club.

    113. On account of the blow from the iron club, the great Asura had to abandon his vital airs.


    The vehicles of the other Śāktis were Parārdhas in number. They were man-lions, camels, donkeys, pythons, deer, birds, horses, elephants, Bheruṇḍas, Śarabhas, tigers, Vātamṛgas (swift antelopes) etc. and other animals also became her vehicles.


    There it is. Nothing very personal, but, some kind of untranslatable Berundhas and Sarabhas are beasts you use along with multiple Narasimhas. Well, if that last one doesn't sound...historically accurate, then, maybe these strange ones are not highly "realistic" either.


    In the many charges by the Daityas:



    They smashed and crushed the army of Śaktis as well as Prahlāda who was as it were the greatest Bliss of the Śaktis. It was he who became a boy. He was afflicted by Hiraṇya and so sought refuge in Lalitā. The queen became merciful towards him.

    101-104. Then in order to protect Prahlāda who was in the form of Bliss of Śaktis, the great goddess shook the tip of the ring finger of her right hand. From it arose Janārdana with the face of a lion and the body of a man beneath the neck. He shook the thick cluster of manes. His three eyes shone. Claws were his weapons. He had the forms of Kāla and Rudra.

    She casts Narasimha to protect Prahlada.

    Later:

    Thereupon, Janārdana named Kalki was born of the nail of small finger of sparkling lotus-like left hand of Śrī Lalitā.

    134-136. He was riding on a horse. His glory was bright and brilliant. He made an Aṭṭahāsa (boisterous laugh of challenging) by his sound resembling the blow of thunderbolt, the Kirātas swooned and died, Śaktis were delighted. The leaders of ten Avatāras (Incarnations) completed this difficult task, bowed down to Lalitā and stood by with palms joined in reverence.

    The weapons of Bhanda versus Lalita were mainly Daityas and Vishnus that she cast from her nails.

    "The ashes" are reincarnated by her as Manmatha. Then Skanda is born. After this, it goes on to the building of Sri Nagara, which is the second half of the book.

    It is filled with Humkaras, like the verses in Tara's song are echoes of this same style of writing.

    This roiling army of mostly red shaktis brings one thing to mind.

    Whereas the Durga Suktam was housed in Maha Narayana Upanishad, in Buddhism we have something weird called the Sutra of the Inquiry of Narayana.

    That is a retort against the "Ninth Avatar". Narayan is not only not Buddha, he is still liable to the same suffering as anyone, and has decided to resort to Buddha for assistance.

    The answer to his inquiry is a dharani. Here we have a great red chariot-mounted war goddess who is adored by Vajradhara and makes armies:

    Mahamaya Vijayavahini

    Mahamaya is the magical aspect of Lakshmi; vahini or vehicle means her chariot.

    Narayana-pariprccha-arya-mahamaya-vijaya-vahini-dharani is found in some of the sources for Tson khapa Lamrim, but not in all sources. In the 1965 Tokyo catalog, after Mantranusadharin (who seems major), there is a quick section on Mahamaya Smasana, then Mahamaya Dharani, Mahamaya Vajravarahi Dharani, and Mahamaya Vijayavahini Dharani, followed by Mayuri. In 1008 Names of Mahalakshmi, there is Kanya Maya Vijayavahini, in a phrase where she is vajrachihna, or seems to show vajra as her emblem. The next name refers to Malini and Vishveshvari Ganavati. Name 43 is Mahamaya Mohini. There is also Mahamaya Mahakali, and Mahamaya Yogamaya Mahayogeshvari. If Mahamaya is a "class" of the most subtle and powerful Lakshmis, then, there are only a few specific examples of it.


    The Mahamaya Vijayavahini version we have is from Sakti Cult and Tara, actually a paper by Bhattacharya, who found it in a Nepalese Dharani Samgraha in its Tarabhattarika-namastotraiata section.

    Mahamaya Vijayavahini is given the epithet Sarvavarana-ksayamkari; Varana is "obstructions or hindrances", which are the dualities. Ellora cave shows Sarvavarana (?) Tara.

    Sanskrit Mahamaya Vijayavahini

    Mahamaya Vijayavahini has been mostly translated by someone with an interest about Vishnu in Buddhism.

    Another study in Chapter One p. 17 discusses her in the context of whether there is such a thing as Tara with a Thousand Heads--yes, in the 108 Names and Dharani Samgraha of Nepal. It says this, but remains unknown iconographically, as no one really knows about it.


    In the few unidentifiable dharanis of Namasangiti, there is:

    Sarva Varana Vishodani

    For the time being, it seemed to me to use Mahamaya Vijayavahini Dharani here, as she has a Sarva Varana epithet similar to Prasanna.



    Mahamaya Vijayavahini is Padmapani Priya, his love or consort. So, we expect she is a Red Lotus Family goddess, and it says she also is:

    sarvatathagatahrdayagarbhe

    Womb of the Heart of All Tathagatas.

    Her attributes are that All Tathagatas' Wisdom is Refuge from all the Varanas she splits away, and "final samadhi" or Parasainya:

    Mahamayavijayavahini smara smara
    sarvatathagatajnanarupendgaccha gaccha sarvavaranaksayamkari
    parasainyavidrapani

    She is Maha Maya Jala and Consecration to Maha Mandala:

    mahāmaṇḍalādhiṣṭhite



    So, she is a Sutra goddess who is particularly close to Avalokiteshvara--Padmapani; and we are aware of another who is not from the Sutras but who is a spontaneous eminence found in the subtle sphere.

    As a companion, the way Guhyajnana Dakini interacts with Jinasagara Avalokiteshvara is rather complex. But, there is a way she may appear in a fairly basic way just with him.

    Taranatha's Secret Accomplishment Avalokiteshvara 50 (Mitra tradition) is a Two Armed, Three Eyed, Hrih-arisen White form with reddish radiance, with Red Guhyajnana Dakini (Sangwa yeshe kyika) in the aspect of (or: "is similar to") Varahi with a drum and skullcup full of blood. Both are crowned with Amitabha. They are seated and he embraces her with his left arm. She becomes a simple extension to the mantra:

    Om Manipadme Hum / Dakini Ha Ri Ni Sa Hum



    The corresponding IWS 118 is a bit more replete and changes him to Pratyalidha stance with the Four Dakinis and a retinue of Buddha, Manjushri, Amitabha, Vajrapani, Prajnaparamita, Tara, Kurukulla, Bhrkuti. This is something through Mitra, but not considered part of his formal mandalas.

    She will either appear with the Four Dakinis, or with Avalokiteshvara. She seems to have no solo aspect.


    The public Noose into Lotus Family, Avalokiteshvara Amoghapasha, is not necessarily so simple as Ekajati is in Lotus Family because she is in the West. This is more in the format that Lotus entered the center trading with Vajra. Bari's Amoghapasha 44 says that Ekajati is crowned by Akshobhya; her mantric identity is Trasaya. Bhrkuti in dancing pose is crowned with Amoghasiddhi although she is Bhava Pandarani. IWS 105 says it is in Potala.







    For any source of the "bird" other than the Matsya, Wiki says The Vimathgira purana, Vathistabhaana purana, Bhalukka purana, and other puranas narrate that Vishnu assumed the form of the ferocious Gandabherunda bird-animal to combat Sharabha.


    I have never heard of those, they could be from the 1500s.


    According to Asta Mukha Gandabherunda:

    Remember, Pratyangira is not to be confused with the lion faced devi form, which seems like an extension of the dasha maha vidya. Here, Pratyangira or Simha Mukhi Lakshmi is none but Mahalakshmi.

    It is believed that Ashta Mukha Gandaberunda is none but the combined power of Narasimha in all his Grandeur with Sharabha, Durga, Kali forming a part of his body and Lakshmi as Narasimhi/Pratyangira cooling his ferocity.

    There is a claim it is a Sri Vidya tantra of the royal family of Mysore, and mentioned in:

    Sthambhodbhava Kalpa, Nrsimha Kalpa, Gandabherunda Kalpa, Gandabherunda Tantra, Nrsimha prasadam. I am not sure if these scriptures are as old as the puranas or came to be written much later.


    They seem to have specifically this word, Gandabherunda, in the Tamil areas, in which we have found far more ancient deities. But it was actually said to be drawn from Atharvana Rahasya.


    This has untold antiquity and uses Mahalakshmi or Mahasri:

    Sri Lakshmi kamala dharinyai Simha vahinyai swaha.

    This finds favoritism in Rasayana. They admire the body of gold made by nectar.

    They recommend empowerment in these mantras, or else:

    If this is not possible, it would be better to go to a temple where there is a sannidhi of Swami Hayagreevar along with Lakshmi, offer pranams and create a belief in your mind that you have learnt it from that God i.e. assume that God is your Guru.

    Well, one cannot pinpoint this text other than it has similar things for Rama and Surya. It does in the words of most just mean esoteric Atharva Veda practices, such as was apparent to us with Atharva Bhadrakali and the whole significance of Atharvan in the Homa with Nectar.





    It is the Vishnu Avatar after Narasimha, Vamana the Dwarf, who takes Three Steps to fill all the Space in the Three Worlds, which, I think, occultly, is what we know as Vishnu in full manifestation with human minds. The Narasimha epoch perhaps involved animal life. He killed the premier Daitya, Hiranyakasipu, who is of another world. Banasura, Hiranyakasipu's great-grandson, is at the time of Krishna, the third avatar after Vamana. On Wiki, it is Bhadrakali that kills him. This may just mean Adi Shakti, who takes her fifth or so birth or form as Bhima.

    Sulini vs. Narasimha must be considerably prior to Bhima vs. Banasura.

    According to Wiki:

    There are references to Narasiṃha in a variety of Purāṇas, with 17 different versions of the main narrative...The Narasimha legend was influential by the 5th-century...Some of the oldest Narasimha terracotta artworks have been dated to about the 2nd-century CE, such as those discovered in Kausambi.





    The Bhimakali temple is an unusual wooden complex with influences from Japan to Scandinavia:








    Guhyasamaja Ekajati is Sulini. In its time, this must have been "influenced" by all those Gupta coins and so forth, if Narasimha had become widely-known--except this is still prior to Shiva Purana when Sulini might be in the story.



    Sulini is in Lalita Sthava:


    11.Kali , kapalini, soolini, bhairavi, mathangi, panchami , tripure, Vaag devi, Vindhya vaasini Bale bhuvanesi palaya



    The wings of Sarabha are Pratyangira and Bhima or Sulini. Most legends attribute the devis as being produced by a single deity, but, here we find a few obscure legends about how Pratyangira was a fusion from multiple gods, and that Bhima is Mahalakshmi or effectively Lakshmi and Uma and therefor a consort of at least two gods at once.

    More general descriptions call the wings "Durga and Kali".

    The current Sulini practice says that Pratyangira did not kill Gandabherunda, Sulini calmed both combatants who returned to their normal forms. She is solar and looks like Vishnu, not Ekajati. They say:

    The hidden power inside each of these Shakti Peethas is Shoolini Durga.




    However, there is a Sulini Durga temple in Thepperumanallur where she has a black eighteen arm form:





    Atharvana-Rudra-Kali. This Goddess is a symbol of Victory.


    The Sarabha Upanishad is in the Atharva Veda and has:

    the terrible form called ‘Sarabha’ (divine bird)

    but there are no Durgas:

    The Saras are the jivas. They are always shining (Bha) in His body. Hence the (all) consumer Brahman is called Sarabha.

    Exactly how he means "sara", I have no idea.

    Shiva simply kills Vishnu, but, he does make this admission:

    24. Vishnu, the origin of all the worlds, with his own manifestations, and along with my manifestations, protects all the worlds. The same become dissolved by time. Therefore (except him) all others are false.


    Wiki does say that maybe Shiva does not have a trident in this Upanishad:

    Salutations to that Rudra who is the greatest god, who holds the Soola (trident spear) in his hand...

    From another version:

    9 Salutations to that Rudra who is the greatest god, who holds the Soola (spear) in his hand...

    10 “Chara”, indicates beings which move and because Brahmam shines in the half of their body as Hari, it is called Sarabham.


    Same as we have been reviewing:

    3) Cāra (चार) refers to the “movement” (i.e., activity of the vital breath), according to the Ṣaṭsāhasrasaṃhitā


    There would be good reason to find a male Sulin here, understood as Spear Holder. I would guess that the weird animal is a later interpolation, as the Upanishad only makes a name and describes it in a way understood as Prana.





    Wiki says of Sarabha in Buddhism:

    It is often depicted as mounts of young Devas or dwarfs in a Torana – a six-level archway behind an enlightenment throne of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. Together with the devas, they symbolize the perfection of effort (virya).


    Virya is a Paramita and a Jewel of Enlightenment. It is also the characteristic of Bhima. Virya--Jewel is Vajrabhairavi, who perhaps is also Bhima.



    This is Prahlada and his mother watching the defeat of Hiranyakasipu:











    Varuni and Bhima are fairly close in Rudrayamala, considered a missing root text, although can mainly be said to be earlier than 1052.

    It is explained by Bhairavi.

    Chapter 17

    An interesting chapter because it describes the characteristics of the Atharva Veda, to which some tantrik schools ascribe their vedik credentials, and, later on, apparently recommends the adoption of Buddhistic practises (Mahachinachara) to achieve enlightenment.

    The Mahachinakrama, it emerges, is sexual intercourse with an initiated Shakti.


    It says that, and so if one says Mahacinakrama was not written until 1052 so they could copy it, that would be the result. If the Krama is perhaps older than the written sadhana manuscript, one would think so, especially since it is named for a culture of remote antiquity.


    This has subjects such as:

    Ten Vidya Rahasyas


    and similarly to Parasol:

    paramam pratyangirayah siddhaye ॥


    is based in these syllables:

    hrim bijam, srim saktih, svaha kilakam



    and within its pages has the following groups of names:


    varada varuni vina vinavadanatatpara ।
    vinodini vinodastha vaisnavi visnuvallabha ॥ 67 ॥


    vividharkakara vira bimbosthi bimbavatsala ।
    vindhyastha viravandya ca variyanaparacavit ॥ 69 ॥


    bhagini bhagamala ca bhavani bhayabhavini ।
    bhima bhimanana bhaimi bhangura bhimadarsana ॥ 71 ॥



    matangini ca matangi matangatanayapi ca ।
    madhusrava madhurasa madhukakusumapriya ॥ 81 ॥

    yamini yamininathabhusa yavakaranjita ।
    yavankurapriya maya yavani yavanadhipa ॥ 82 ॥


    yajnasutraprada jyestha yajnakarmakari tatha ।
    yasasvini yakarastha yupastambhanivasini ॥ 84 ॥




    Bhima is in Kumarijiva's early 400s Mahamayuri Vidyarajni, having the consort Shivabhadra. She was known in Gandhar and South India.


    In our Amoghavajra translation of Mayuri, it says the yaksha Shivabhadra resides in Bhisana, a location, which is used as a Cemetery in Dakarnava Tantra, or, mainly, is otherwise a male Red Bhairava from Rudrayamala. No consort.

    The first evidence of Buddhism in Kinnaur is a ca. year 100 penalty for bikkhus having sex with Kinnari women. This is of course a Mahacina culture.

    Nearby is also a Candika temple at Kothi.

    This region was quite active with esoteric Buddhism until the seventh century, when pushed back by Brahmanical resurgence.

    Shiva was in a Kirat form here.




    A seventh-century pilgrim to Gandhar says:


    To the north-east of the city of Po-lu-sha 50 li or so, we come to a high mountain, on which is a figure of the wife of Īśvara Deva carved out of green (bluish) stone. This is Bhīmā Devī. All the people of the better class, and the lower orders too, declare that this figure was self-wrought. It has the reputation of working numerous miracles, and therefore is venerated (worshipped) by all, so that from every part of India men come to pay their vows and seek prosperity thereby.


    Bhima is in Devi Bhagavata Purana.

    She is in Markandeya Purana:

    And again when taking a terrible form [Bhima] on mount Himavat I shall destroy Rākṣasas for the sake of delivering the munis


    If Mahanarayana Upanisad makes a hypostasis of Vishnu and Shiva, here is Bhima in Adbhuta Ramayana:

    You are Virupa (i.e., you have unconventional, distorted, terrifying
    and ugly features— see also verse nos. 54, 66 and 76) on the one
    hand, and on the other you are Surupa (i.e., one who is pleasant,
    charming and endearing to look at— see verse no. 39 also). You
    are Bhima (the divine consort of both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu,
    i.e., Goddess Parvati and Laxmi respectively).



    In Buddhist sadhanas, Bhima probably has the major form of Vajragandhari, and also appears in her own name.

    Buddhakapala has two mandalas; the larger one is in NSP and Vajravali, with slightly different retinues. Bhima is in a Vajravali Twenty-five deity Buddhakapala which includes:

    Kapalini (N), Bhima (W), Rupini (N), Kapalini (NE), Marani (NW), Tarini (E), Bhimadarsana (N), Kalaratri (SW), Mahayasa (NW), Sundari (E), Vajrasundari (N).


    Himalayan Art says:

    the pile of hair adorned with a vishva-vajra and crescent moon

    expressing the nine moods of dance. [He] embraces the consort Vishvasukha Matri


    Bhattacharya says he is crowned by Akshobhya and:

    Excepting the four deities of the innermost circle, all the goddesses have blue colour...

    The first circle has Sumalini (blue) in the east, Kapalini (yellow) in the north, Bhima (green) in the west and Durjaya (white) in the south.

    It has Sundara rather than Vajrasundari, and:

    Vikalaratri (north-west)

    Nairatma (south)

    As he put it in Iconography.


    But his NSP Buddhakapala 13 does have Vajrasundari; it tells us that Buddhakapala has a Five Buddha Crown, and Citrasena has Mahavairocana.

    Mitrayogin 31 notes the reverse casting at least for the first ring, starts the second with Subhamekhala, and again reversed gatekeepers having Vasudhara (N) instead of Vajrasundari, and shows a normal Akshobhya pattern.

    The next, smaller Buddhakapala 32 casts the whole retinue backwards making White (N), Yellow (W), Red (S).

    It does not match NSP, where Buddhakapala 10 does not have union; Citrasena is in the East, crowned by Akshobhya. This is followed by Kamini (S) Vairocana, Patalavasini (W) Ratnasambhava, Saubhadra (N) Amitabha, and in the corners, Saundini, Chaturbhuja, Akasavasini, and Pitambara (probably Bagalamukhi). It did not reverse the casting which would make Kamini (N) and so on. The author of Mitrayogin's mandalas states that NSP says to reverse it.

    Well, his basic level seems to have Bagalamukhi, and his larger assembly has Bhima, who in one rendition is almost the same as Bagala.



    These are in a very explanatory Vajravali relationship, as it is the three main "levels" of Dakinis. At the bottom is Jnanadakini by herself, seated like Tara with Fancy Pants, and then on the lower left, she is with Yogambara. The center mandala is Mahamaya with Buddhadakini. The top two are the two kinds of Buddhakapala and Citrasena. It does not have the varied colors for his inner ring on the large one, but, you can easily see the small one is reversed. Therefor it can be seen the Jnanadakinis are a slightly different type of reversal:











    Citrasena and her kind are Attahasas, i. e. Loud Laughter, with the potencies of Bagalamukhi and Bhima. Since Laughter largely derives from Mahacinakrama Tara and Ekajati, those must be part of the preliminary. If so, such practices are probably as old as Saraha, who provided the Buddhakapala sadhanas.


    As to relative age, Amoghavajra's Mayuri has a section where each of the Seven Historical Buddhas say their Mahamayuri Vidyarajnis. The very first one, Vispasin, says:

    Parna Savare


    He was from a prior kalpa, was a hundred and twenty feet tall and lived 100,000 years.

    The main group of Historical Buddhas is not exactly human, like the Puranic deities:

    Vipassī (lived ninety-one kalpas ago)
    Sikhī (lived thirty-one kalpas ago)
    Vessabhū (lived thirty-one kalpas ago in the same kalpa as Sikhī)
    Kakusandha (the first Buddha of the current bhadrakalpa)
    Koṇāgamana (the second Buddha of the current bhadrakalpa)
    Kassapa (the third Buddha of the current bhadrakalpa)
    Gautama (the fourth and present Buddha of the current bhadrakalpa)

    The Koṇāgamana Buddha, is mentioned in a 3rd-century BCE inscription by Ashoka at Nigali Sagar, in today's Nepal.

    One sutta called Chakkavatti-Sīhanāda Sutta from an early Buddhist text called the Digha Nikaya also mentions that following the Seven Buddhas of Antiquity, a Buddha named Maitreya is predicted to arise in the world.


    The first Buddha of this Kalpa, Krakucchanda, had a wife:

    Virochamana (also known as Rocani)

    He was from Nepal and associated with Vipula Peak, Rajgriha.

    Kasyapa was born in Deer Park and lived at Kashi for twenty thousand years.

    So it is hard to say Buddha Kasyapa is not Puranic Kasyapa. These Buddhas have personal details like they were our neighbors, but, the last one resembles less a person and more like a Sage who begot the kingdoms of nature. Like Sages, they may have Gotras and there may have been a mortal Kasyapa who did inhabit the earth as we know it.


    Kasyapa is the father of Vamana, who overthrew Bali from the Three Worlds, but let him live in Patala.
    Last edited by shaberon; 17th September 2021 at 05:18.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Avalokiteshvara Companions



    The Dharani Samgraha seems to be a compilation which adds a Nepali accent and slashes grammatical rules. So quite a few of its pieces exist elsewhere in standard Sanskrit. Quite possibly all of them, but, most of it has not been published. Aside from the fact that the language is ruined, these dharanis do not seem to make major changes, i. e. Tara's song appears to be about the same in either format. Except here, it salutes Ekajati. So I suppose it is unique, not found elsewhere, but to what extent, I am not sure yet.


    Page 237 is missing. It appears that a new Tara piece starts on p. 238:

    oṁ namaḥ stānāyau|| || tārāmāra bhayaṁkarī suravarī saṁpūjitā

    having the trait or location:

    śrīmatpotalake

    and a Thousand Eyes (Netre):

    oṁ locane sulocana tāre tārodrabhave sarvasatvānukaṁpini sarvasatvottriṇi sahasra tu (tra) je sahasranetre|


    She is also a Maharaudri Visvarupi, but also Sarasvati, Visalaksi, and Kamarupini.

    and this seems to conclude and title itself on p. 246:

    āryyatārā bhaṭṭārikā yāḥ nāmāṣṭottaraśataṁ buddhabhāṣitaṁparisamāptaḥ||

    (108 Names of Tara)



    The following dharani is also large and continues to p. 256:

    inyāryyantarā bhaṭṭā rikāyāḥ śragdharāskāśraṁ samāptaṁ|| 90||


    One might surmise the deity of 108 Names of Bhattarika is closely related to the following Bhattarika Sragdhara. Is it "a" deity? Avalokiteshvara gets 108 forms in these circumstances, which is all written out, and so if you have a thing for it, you can try to meet them all.

    Tara is less bossy and pretty forgiving of mistakes. If we take her 108 Names at face value, then, Bhima is an identity, so is Saranyu. Actually, if you skipped Prajnaparamita, I would think this was a Hindu document based on female Shiva. Her first name is Kalyani, which is "not specific enough" to be a particular goddess. The first one that registers is Mahayasa--who is in Buddhakapala's mandala. Someone could call this litany a Kriya Tantra if they want, but you are grossly underestimating Tara's immanence. Lakshmi is not directly mentioned. So we would tend to think this is a Durga-type multi-manifestation that has Mahalakshmi behind it. Does this contain Shiva-type entities bound by the vow of Lotus Family? It is at least suggestive. If I just had general knowledge, I would think it was using Sarasvati as bait to get me in a thing that is more strongly Guhya Kali.

    The only other Bhattarika in the book is Grahamatrika, when she sits in the northwest, crowned by Ratna.

    So it is a fairly rare title. It is a difficult subject, especially in looking at something bigger like 1008 names, you get the impression that the same honorifics are spread around absent-mindedly, and that the mantras are only praise. For example, everyone knows that Sri is just respectful and applied to people, as it is to many deities, but it is also an individual name. In fast, it is the name given to Sragdhara, Sri Tara. That is the only place you find it. Does that constitute Maha Sri Tara? Probably not. Conducive towards her, probably so.

    In Sadhanamala, Tara 115 who uses Kurukulla is Bhattarika.

    It is also used with Vajra Tara, Mahacinakrama Tara and Ekajati, Marici, and Kurukulla. The Sragdhara Stuti Vidhi also says:

    tām eva ghagavatīm āryatārām

    Ghagavati is a term for Shakti with no Buddhist context--although unless there is more to go on, I think a few people are just typing g instead of b which is beside it. There are a handful of typing mistakes in our text such as this double k in a line which at least makes it clear that Sragdhara is a personal name:

    kkṛtvā vidhimatiyuktaṃ tārāyāḥ sragdharāyā




    English 108 Names of Tara has a Sutra showing that Vajrapani requests the teaching from Avalokiteshvara, and the translation loses all the mantra.

    A version from the friendly translator distinguishes what he sees as the block of names, and emends a "glitch" to sahasrabhuje or Thousand Arms in the phrase with Thousand Eyes, taking this to be a later addition. Wilson says there are two totally different versions, and worked with this one, noting they are almost half names of Durga:

    Ghosh finds particularly significant the Name 'Knowing all kinds' (jata-veda), alternatively 'Knowing all created beings'. This was a Vedic title of Agni, given to Durga because she was like a boat helping devotees to cross the ocean of suffering the very meaning of Tara, 'She who takes across', as She Herself indicates in verse 17.


    The Tibetan eleventh-century version ends with thirty-nine verses of just the names. Another later version is complete. The Sanskrit is better. Avalokiteshvara says he can emanate Tara due to the power of the vow of Amitabha. She causes the three worlds to shake. Then he Anglicized everything.

    We have already found out about Jata Veda thanks to Durga Suktam which helps clarify our meaning to the name Vairocani. Otherwise she would just be a "wife/mother of" in a list. If this turns out to be significant to an Indian researcher into his own heritage, very good.



    The corresponding, cleaner Sanskrit 108 Names of Tara is much easier to see, with the names commencing at verse twenty-nine. From this, we can tell the Dharani Samgraha is not only a complete version, its first line is an addition, appearing to use a form of stanayati, "roaring like thunder", viz.:

    Stanayadama (स्तनयदम):—[=stanayad-ama] [from stan] mfn. (cf. 1. ama) having a roaring onset (said of the Maruts), [Ṛg-veda]

    Or, it is in the first line of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

    Here, we cannot quite say "this" Tara has a thousand arms, etc., because it is a lot of Taras to which an "additional" one has been connected.

    The one that does is in Mahamaya Vijayavahini Sutra, which occupies pp. 461-471.

    Parasol is also known for it, I would think that would be pretty blatant to anyone looking for a Thousand Arm Tara. Or, in the Nepalese hypostasis, there is also Guhyeshvari. Both of them are in Dharani Samgraha, but not as these large forms.


    Now we will go through some things in the Blue Annals since there are two female Buddhist lineage holders, Lakshmi and Siddharajni, who are very interesting with regards to this. Lakshmi is a bit more widely-recognized for a fasting practice and the 1,000 Arm Avalokiteshvara.

    Sakya Pandita says:

    If one who has correctly attained an awakening of the will to enlightenment
    is imbued with the true spirit of that resolve, he may perform certain Action
    Tantra practices-Vijaya, Amoghapasa, and the like-without having first
    become maturated through initiation.

    The Amoghapashakalparaja mentions a ritual that one can take from oneself, like the rite of conceiving the will to enlightenment. This would seem to be exactly what Candradhvaja says. He was "Avalokiteshvara of Pundravardhana".


    Lakshmi's fasting lineage goes from Yeshe Zangpo to Penaba (Nepal), to Candradhvaja. Penaba was told by Manjushri to go to India to get the Thousand Arm Avalokiteshvara practice from Yeshe Zangpo. He and Dawa Shonnu were both gurus to Penaba. Next, Candradhvaja is called a Tibetan and named Dawa Gyeltsen, which means the same thing, Victory Banner Moon. When he visited Nepal, the dakinis surrounding him said Pundravardhana was the home of Thousand Arm and Six Syllable Lokeshvara.

    Lakshmi actually does have her story in "Buddhist Fasting Practice". She too was told by Manjushri to go to Pundravardhana. She attained ten bhumis and along the way, Seven Red Lotus Dakinis offered to become her retinue. Dawa Shonnu was Indian (Pandita Candra Kumara), and Yeshe Zangpo is actually Jnanabhadra.

    H.H. D. L. transmitted it in 2004 similarly perhaps shifted:

    Excellent Bhikshuni Lakshmi, gone to the stage of supreme liberation,
    Chandra Kumara, who favored the five sciences, [Candradhvaja]
    Jnanabhadra, strong in patience, effort and faith, [Candradhvaja disciple]
    I supplicate you three friends of sentient beings.

    3. Penyawa of Nepal, best of scholars, [Penaba]...



    The earliest literary reference to Puṇḍravardhana is to be traced in the Buddhist work, the Divyāvadāna, where it is mentioned as the eastern-most city of India. Pundravardhana contains the oldest archeological site in Bengal. At the time, I am pretty sure Assam was a Kirat kingdom or foreign country.


    Jamgon Kongtrul attributes Lakshmi with four Eleven Face Avalokiteshvara practices: the deity, the fast, Pancha Jina or Five Families, and Five Dakinis. The latter is instantly recognizable because it would be Guhyajnana with Four Dakinis.

    For Marpa Kagyu, he gives the goddess Lakshmi in Protector aspect the names Shridevi Dhumavati and Kamadhatvishvari Parvati. I think that is mainly correct with regard to the Panjara and Hevajra Tantras. In essence, they are the Sixth Yoga and the plane we will be conveyed into, when there is a high degree of stoppage to the physical.


    I read that Lotus Family is usually the easiest for most people to connect to, but, because I am a Tara follower, once I tried to sense what these Families mean, I got a bit bogged out as we see there is not quite a basic Red Tara who expresses it, and the whole Family scatters when you ask them where their Chain is. I understand a lot more why there would be a White Tara in this family than green.

    What I found helpful was the tantric names, such as Maya Jala and Vajrasattva Jala, which is not really a Noose but a Net, which is a Noose of Nooses. Dakini Jala as well. And so it turns out there is a tantric Avalokiteshvara, Padmajala. As relative outsiders, we are not supposed to visualize deities in union. But then for instance if we look at the series of Namasangiti mandalas from the goddess perspective, on the one hand she becomes increasingly wrathful, but, she does show us the stages, Smile, Gaze, Embrace, Enter Union.

    And then if you will notice, a lot of the sadhana texts actually say "embrace" in cases where the art presumes it is union.

    Correspondingly, if we try to find "Avalokiteshvara's consort" in different degrees, then the...strangely trifling...Red Lotus Tara at least can be said to have a chain of events.


    A Two Arm Red solo Padmapani is called Rato Macchendranath, i. e. refers to Matsendrya Nath, and can be found with Guhyajnana. Matsyendra is highly revered by them and is the main focus of Red Avalokiteshvara generally speaking. This is fine, he is just not necessarily the origin or only aspect.



    As well as the Degrees of Approach, Avalokiteshvara can be found to place each Family into the Desire realm, or the West, in a regular order where Accomplishment means Union:


    Lakshmi Eleven Face Lokeshvara: Vairocana is in the West.

    Amoghapasha: Ekajata (Vajra)

    Two Arm Red Nartesvara 30: Bhurini (Jewel). It is a nine deity mandala with a seated couple, where Pandara appears in Yaksa form.

    Sabara's Nartesvara and Vilasini: Ram Amoghasiddhi is in the West. He has the normal fire syllable associated with males and the blood symbol of red females.




    Avalokiteshvara does have Union on Padmanarttesvara and other forms, but, those are not as powerful as Padmajala, who is an Eighteen Arm form.


    It is also correct that Ganapati is considered an emanation of Avalokiteshvara. I have wound up training him for nearly a year as Ganapati Hridaya Dharani. Without getting into the details yet, he has various consorts. One of them is red, and so it is actually her I have been leaning towards, due to the relative scarcity of simple red Taras. And so by way of example, her mantra is:

    Om Ucchista Candalini Sumukhi Devi Maha Pisacini Hrim Thah Thah Thah


    Ucchista is not appropriate for everyone, because they eat scraps and revel in filth, are outcastes. Works great for me. Some deities "descend to this level", but Ganapati is the only one willing to deal with insults. So you can't really bother him; most sadhanas for example tell you to brush your teeth after eating, are very ritualized and tidy, which makes this a very different direction where you might as well go ahead and squirt mustard on your shirt. Then get someone to abuse you verbally for no real reason. This is a purely Hindu form where suddenly a female Pisaci is being revered. The cool thing is that she is an aspect of Matangi.

    Wait, Buddhism put Matangi in the Pisaci class since the times of some of the earliest surviving manuscripts...and then at some point in time, non-Buddhist Matangi practice seems to agree with this. It, of course, is not her only aspect, but just because of my personal background, she works. And, in Chakrasamvara, there are two kinds of All-Purpose Mantras. They are, I think, somewhat less necessary and informative at first, since their main task is to clear the area where you are going to do mandala practice, they are like a swarm of vultures that rend any obstructors and prevent any more infiltrations. They are still similar to the more fundamental mantras, because they basically absorb Hindu deities. Probably at least eighty per cent of the time you might only hear about the male version, but, the deities in this capacity are:

    Ganapati --> Amritakundalin

    and

    Varuni --> Khandaroha


    That is why it is probably of more benefit to follow the basic deities if we are not attempting a full Chakrasamvara practice. That is why it will not work for us. If you do not "have" these in a familiar way based in their own teachings, there is no such thing as the advanced version.


    Neither one is intended to be a principal. We use them to make a bond to Avalokiteshvara or someone like that. Like Ganapati, he also has a Hrdaya or "Heart Bride", although it seems she has two very different aspects. One is quite vague where it seems like she should be the main teaching; the other is explicit and is like the fruit of gnostic work.




    Pandita Purnavajra transmitted:

    White Six Arm Sukhavati Lokeshvara 154 and Red Two Arm Sukhavati Lokeshvara 155.

    The red one has at his heart the secret consort Tara; the white one is seated and embraced by her, "who resembles me", holding an utpala flower.

    Sukhavati is not found outside Nepal, but he is abundant there. Padma Tara is Two Armed with him:







    It must have been in India, if Pandita Purnavajra took it to Tibet in Taranatha's time.


    Compare her gesture to the next item, which was produced in India around the 700s, which is unidentified.

    She is under Amitabha with Vajrapani and Padmapani, and flanked by White Tara (Karuna) and Bhrkuti (Prajna) who has a stupa in her hair. The problem is Tara holds an atripya or custard apple, which is a foreign object in all Buddhist iconography, and her gesture is unique.

    This is among the best-preserved and most mysterious Taras in the world:










    It has to be Padma Tara, by circular definition, unless we can find someone who would sit under Amitabha like that. Why she has the odd fruit is a good question.

    Compare Pandara's gesture with Red Nartesvara 30:








    So, Padma Tara can be inside him or beside him; so can Guhyajnana Dakini, in fact this is inevitable.

    Karma Kagyu lineage of Padmasambhava, Siddharajni, and Rechung is a Four Arm Red Jinasagara Avalokiteshvara with Benargchen, Hayagriva, Padmasambhava, and Guhyajnana. This is called a Five Deity configuration, which may not be technically correct since a Guru is among them.

    One of the oldest relics is a 1500s Karma Kagyu Vajradhara, with this Five Deity Jinasagara in the upper right:










    These figures are also considered symbolic, Jinasagara = (any) Ista Devata or Yidam, Bernagchen = Protector, Hayagriva = Wrathful, Padmasambhava = Lineage Guru, Guhyajnana = Dakini. And so in this version, using a different Guru, Padmasambhava is replaced with Siddharajni in a 19th century Kagyu:








    Although appearing in the painting as a vertical hierarchy the five deity figures are understood to be present on a horizontal flat plane with only the Machig [Siddharajni] figure placed in the sky directly above the head of Jinasagara. This is very abstract because Marpa is at the top, and he does not have the oldest Siddharajni lineage, so the painting expresses putting the two together. I believe it is accurate to say Rechung is the "funnel" in that sense.

    Bernagchen is Mahakala and so again not one we really use, and so for example if you switch him for Parnasabari then the whole assembly becomes very immanent. Hayagriva is going to come for you one way or the other. If we wait till we die, it could be an unpleasant surprise, which means it is probably better to gird ourselves while we still have the chance.



    The main source of Red Jinasagara in Union appears popularly to be Mindroling, but, this is an even older 1400s Karma Kagyu where he has a consort (oldest known representation). The Five Deity configuration is in the upper right.:







    Jamgon Kongtrul with Jinasagara:













    Amoghapasha in his heritage describes Sudhana Kumara as winning the Kinnara maiden Manohara twice.

    This retinue character links Amoghapasha with Padmanartesvara and Padmajala.

    Eighteen Arm Padmanartesvara 32 in Sadhanamala stands between tārā--sudhana--bhṛkuṭī--hayagrīvaṃ (same as Sakya Pandita's Amoghapasha retinue).

    Instead of this retinue, he gets the Four Dakinis of Guhya Jnana to really be Padmajala in Nepal.

    If Dharmadhatu Vajra in Vajravilasini should be correctly named Padmajalini, although she is in Jewel Family, she is still with Padmanarttesvara...which would make her pretty close to a female Padmajala. The esoteric male Padmajala most strongly resembles Samputa Vajrasattva. The two names, Padmanarttesvara and Padmajala, seem to be equated on a popular basis, but we would think the latter more properly just means the major form.


    At the Samvara temple in Nepal, Bodhisattva Candradhvaja gathered a cloud of dakinis, and transmitted the Padmajala lineage to Nying phug pa [chos kyi grags pa, Chokyi Drakpa; b. 1094, present at the building of Bodong]. Candradhvaja was attended by sachen (kun dga' sning po; Sakya) and also taught Pamo Dru (Drikung, Drukpa) and la gyag pa.

    In Vajra Rosary, Padmajala is one of the last names of the winds in Six Families experienced nine ways (perhaps the Nine Moods).

    Hmm. Avalokiteshvara and Dakinis are right there in tow with more standard or Sutra-based practices. Here is the same sentiment edited in to a relatively official archive:


    {There seems to be two aspects of Avalokiteśvara transmission and practice discussed here: one associated with the monastic/institutional transmission that follows a general Sutra Mahayana system and personal/individual practice associated with fasting, possibly a more populist tradition, and more tantric? EP}




    14.3 Latö Marpo (la stod dmar po’i skabs). {Chandra 911; Chengdu 1195; Roerich 1025}
    This lineage is said to have originated from the Buddha Amitabha and the ḍākinī Guhyajñānā (gsang ba ye shes), and is the basis for the cycle of Mahakaruṇika, mentioned above.

    His doctrine consisted of the following: the teachings he received from rdo rje gdan pa, those taught to him by dākiṇis while he was staying at Sītavana, such as the Precepts ransoming death ('chi la bslu ba'i gdams ngag) in order to remove misfortunes to his physical body, the lam sbyor ba lnga, with the help of which one was able to cross the five Paths simultaneously, the dbang bzhi khug pa, which removed defilements from sins and helped to acquire power, and the Precepts of merging the 18 kinds of relativity (stong pa bcho brgyad) into the essence of the Merciful One with the view of practicing all the doctrines simultaneously.

    {In general, this is a tantric set of practices, as evidenced by the comparison of this list with the previous lineage’s monastic Mahayana practices. I couldn’t find the title of the latter text anywhere, but it seems interesting in its mentioning of the simultaneous practice of all doctrines. EP}


    Referring to Mitra:

    14.4.2 Special Cycle and Hidden Blessing (R1039)}
    The initiation of bde chen ral gchig (Mahāsukha Ekajati) and the precepts of Avalokiteśvara in 25 Ślokas formed part of the Special Cycle, expounding the Introduction to the Hidden Blessing.

    14.5 Severing the Samsara Stream [Great Seal system] (‘khor ba rgyun gcod kyi skabs). {Chandra 922; Chengdu 1208; Roerich 1039}.
    The origins {R1039}
    This is another transmission involving Mitra, and likely originating with him. A group of five ḍakiṇīs came forth from the miraculous great Künngak (kun sngag, Samantabhasa) caitya of the country of Dharmaganja (chos kyi mdzod) in Oddiyana, and preached this doctrine to Śrī Saraha, who taught it to Mitra.

    14.10 Origin of the Adamantine Garland (Skt. Vajrāvali) and other (cycles) (rdo rje phreng ba sogs ji ltar byung ba’i skabs). {Chandra 928; Chengdu 1217; Roerich 1046}.
    This section gives a story of the ācārya Abhaya, the author of the Adamantine Garland. He was a strict monk and had been tempted by Vajrayogini in the form of an ordinary woman. He resisted this temptation, but was criticized by his teachers for abandoning the opportunity to use the method and realize the sahaja jñana. Then he had dreams in which Vajrayogini told him to compose ritual manuals so he will become “a fortunate one.” That is how the text came to be.


    There are really a lot of problems with the lineages and dating, the subject of a study which brings to our attention that the nun Lakshmi who transmitted the popular practices is virtually identified as Laksminkara who is the source of Cinnamasta practices. Lineages are difficult. If H. H. D. L. were to transmit me the practice, I would be fine that its source is Lakshmi, and be just about unconcerned with the rest of it. If we read about the experience, she got the "easy of the easy" practices.

    Lakshmi is not exactly the source, I guess, she attained a phenomenon that was already known in India and is only the "source" of those lineages as we have them now, taking India to be a loss. Laksminkara however personally is the source of the Vajrayogini Cinnamasta practice. We could try to say that Renuka and perhaps a few other decapitating deities were already "known", but not by this kind of experience. In this case Laksminkara is talking about something utterly new and revolutionary, Trikaya Vajrayogini. The form or appearance may have been something which was praised, but, I do not think that anyone had done it this way before, at least not in a way transmitted to others.

    And so what we are really doing is the system of Tara and Vajrayogini, but, like Chakrasamvara, Vajrayogini is basically inert until you have met her requirements.

    She is something like a Guru to Guhyajnana Dakini, and so a Five Deity Jinasagara with Siddharajni is almost literally showing us this.



    Guhyajnana Dakini does not require Avalokiteshvara's presence.

    They can become involved to any degree, but, it is rather more like her office is not in Potalaka because it is in a cemetery.

    Siddharajni is closer to her spokesperson.

    To us, they are initiation; I do not know how else to put it. Were you to become close to a certain practice, you would probably get it that way, but if you are training with faith in general, they may take you.


    Another way of putting it is that they are experience. I can guide myself a lot better by how things feel, look, or what seems to happen. If we say the Four Dakinis are like hyper extensions of the Four Activities, which are like adornments on the face of Akash, and the importance of Akash is not really its own raw energy but the imperishable Buddha Nature or Tathagatagarbha, it all becomes quite tangible.



    And so there is a Thousand Arm Tara in some way mentioned with her 108 Names, but this particular mantra does not reflect any name, possibly Locana, but it seems more like that just means her eyes. So if we follow along for just two hundred more pages, we get a name that has this many eyes, Mahamaya Vijayavahini, who is a War Goddess, similar to the chariots in Lalita Mahatmya.


    Her form is described within her dharani:

    mahāmāyājālasahasramukhi sahasraśire sahasramuje jvalitanetre


    Oh. You have to accomplish Maya Jala to see this many faces. That sounds fair. I can't normally do it. Lakshmi's sadhana actually says Avalokiteshvara has eleven faces, but does not specify the arms. In probably his oldest representation, an eleventh-century mural at Alchi, he has twenty-two:









    One of the only possible deity visions I have ever had was of him in the night sky, with somewhat indeterminate arms, similar to this:







    It was spontaneous, I could sense something was coming and that is what happened, and then I was interrupted. No kind of bond came out of it. Anyway it makes sense that the more vivid Thousand Arms takes more power and concentration, you have to attain it.

    Mahamaya Vijayavahini is never said to have less than a thousand arms. So she could be on the tip of the tongue for quite a while before actually manifesting.


    She carries an arsenal of weapons, primarily a Sword.

    She is honored by Vajradhara, and is the Priya or beloved of Padmapani Avalokiteshvara. She has these invocations:


    om kāmarūpiṇīye svāhā| om māyārākṣasīye svāhā|


    shortly before her personal name:

    jaye māyā bhagavati mahāmāyāvijayavāhinī gṛhāṇa|


    If she is not a Maya Raksasi, she has control of them. This is quite similar to the "army of shaktis".



    After the dharani is spoken, there is explanation of writing it with Kunkuma, and her form is re-iterated specifying she is in a Ratha (Chariot):

    tasmin rathamadhye mahāmāyāvijayavāhiṇīṃ nāma vidyārājñīṃ anekaśatasahasrarūpāṃ anekaśatasahasrabhujāṃ trinetrāṃ lohitakṛṣṇavarṇāṃ dīptaiścaturvaktraiḥ parasenāṃ bhakṣayantīmiva cintayet|



    That also says she has many thousands of rupas, but this probably does not mean "thousands of different forms", since the form specifically has thousands of arms, three eyes per face, is Dark Blood in color, and has four columns of faces glowing like lamps, which appear gluttonous. The only thing that might be bigger is that Parasol might have five columns.

    Rupas probably means "bodies" as though she does dish out an army.


    It does not give any details about a scene or what she does.

    She is a really big Padma Tara, powerful enough to cause Narayan Vishnu to call Buddha "my Vibhu". Well, it is an honorific, but it actually has the same meaning as Vishnu, "all pervasive". So as Vishnu has pervaded the universe, now he says Buddha pervades him.

    If we put this in simple terms, according to the tantric technique of Three Lights, there are two conditions:

    Previously Awakened--Not Fully Expanded

    and

    Previously Awakened--Fully Expanded

    The latter being the difference of the Tathagatas, versus any other practitioner.

    When the Tibetans call him Sangyas, it is from Sanskrit, Vibuddha, which is exactly what it means, Fully Expanded Buddha.

    It is the same principle as Agni Vaisvanara, Agni Vishnu Man, from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

    And so the dharani here is a thing that anyone can read, and you can also use it in any appropriate manner, such as its own sadhana, or part of Twenty-one Praises of Tara. She has almost no rules, we cannot say she represents a cemetery like Sitabani, but we could say it is highly unlikely to see the real thing without prior experience. On the Eighth Bhumi, Lakshmi saw Amoghapasha with the Kriya deities; on the Tenth Bhumi, she saw Thousand Arm Avalokiteshvara with all classes of tantric deities.


    She is allusive to Sitabani, since Narayan had been defeated by Asuras, etc., and with Sitabani dharani, Rahula had been mentally defeated by Asuras, etc.


    In savoring it for a moment, something from the dharani jumps at me:

    sarvamudrāmantrapadebhyaḥ|


    which has almost no existing correspondence except page four in Sadhanamala:

    anayā
    004ḷ10 sarvamudrāmantrāṇāṃ samayaḥ sandarśito bhavati /


    Dharani Samgraha does something other than a spelling error to the phrase:

    mahāmudrā manupadebhyaḥ ||



    Mantrapada is the arcane.

    This is from a refutation in the importance of Dharani in Prajnaparamita Sutra:

    While following the same framework, the Bodhisattvabhūmi, a work of Yogācāra origin, introduces a new element by bringing in magical formulas (mantrapada). In the mantradhāraṇī, they serve to pacify the scourges (īti) of beings, not by themselves but insofar as they are blessed or consecrated (adhiṣṭhita) by the bodhisattva. In the kṣāntilābhāya dhāraṇī, they show the inadequacy of language to express the absolute. In the Yogācāra view, the absolute is the true manner of existence (bhūtatathāta) of things or their absolute intrinsic nature (pariniṣpannasvabhāva)...



    Tara uses mantrapada six times on various forms in Sadhanamala.

    What is bizarre is that in Mahamaya Vijayavahini, the mantric power is applied to "All Mudras", or, to Mahamudra, which amounts to about the same thing.

    She does not have the only Mahamudra in the Samgraha, but, she does have the only Mahamandala. This resembles the point of Namasangiti, which is that Vajradhatu Mandala arises as Vajradhatu Mahamandala.

    “The acquisition of the dhāraṇis leads to the memorization of the words of all the Buddhas.”

    Just as the three higher samādhis – śūnyatā, ānimitta and apraṇihita – are called vimokṣamukha ‘gateways to deliverance’ because they lead to liberation (cf. p. 1221F), so the dhāraṇīs are often called dhāraṇīmukhas because they all open the door to memorization of the Dharma of the Buddhas and because, by engendering one another, they are in ‘communication’.


    So, yes, this dharani has to reach out to one or more other sources to even get an idea what those Mudras are. It doesn't say here. It concentrates your awareness to a weapon-like edge. As we can see, she is probably the only one going a "step beyond" the uncommon mention of her subjects by other deities. That is how it becomes something other than seemingly-redundant tokens of respect. It will do something according to what you feed it.

    Worst case scenario, if one went from being a cold, absent-minded novice one day to spontaneously accomplishing Jnanamudra the next, then, without further information, the consort could be called Guhyajnana Dakini. And yet there would be two Seals left to go. And so this dharani would continue to be effective, in fact it would still be seeking instructional input.


    For the time being, if it tells me something about all mudras, which is the same as the beginning of Sadhanamala, I would be doing good to even understand them and get one at all. Well, the science itself says it has this purpose, to help you learn and understand fully. Mahamaya Vijayavahini if an answer to Vishnu is also an answer to Vishnu Man, which again is a masculine version related to finding "shattered parts" in minor fires and gathering them, which is why even the Yogini system is also still part of Homa.
    Last edited by shaberon; 19th September 2021 at 08:12.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Ekajati, Charya Tantra, and Mahakala



    There was a suggestion that Mahasukha Ekajati was a secret bundle in Mahakarunika.

    That sounded familiar, because in Dharani Samgraha, after Sragdhara on p. 256, there is:

    oṁ namaḥ śrī āryya ugra tārā yo ekajaṭāyai||


    having on p. 258:

    skānaṁ mahāsukha mayaṁ mirvdāṣādravavarjjitaṁ| asyāstudhāvaṇātsarvadharmmā skandhā vṛtāstathā||



    ending on p. 270:

    āryyā eka jaṭā nāmadhāraṇī samāptaṁ||



    This is a bit of a special book of her, we saw she leads Twenty-one Taras, and here is her large individual portion following what appears to be an also large Lotus Family Bhattarika Tara. Although we would probably find Mahasukha sixty-eight times on any significantly tantric article, in these dharanis, it is extremely conservatively used. You see it with:


    vajasatvo mahāsatvo vajarājo mahāsukhaḥ||


    It is part of a subject a few times in Swayambhu Purana dharani, and then:

    devīmahālakṣmī saṁprāpta kathāṁtadā 2. devī sarvva vṛttānāṁ kathita rājāmahāsukenatiṣṭhatī ||



    So far, they have put it in the clutches of Vajrasattva, Ekajati, and Mahalakshmi.



    In Sadhanamala, Mahasukha Vajrasattva is almost at the very beginning with Sadaksari Mahavidya.

    Vajra Tara 95:

    kramāvalīnaṃ sūkṣmabindurūpaṃ mahāsukhamayaṃ



    Vajra Tara 110 in what seems to be a relation of Moon and Sun:

    malā mahāsukhaṃ paramānandam /


    Bali mantra of Marici 140 which is Vajradakini Samaya.


    Kurukulla and Nairatma as would be expected. With these, it is a base level. To us, it is the Four Dakinis and the Crown center, Mahasukha Cakra. In some instances it may be given the name Jnana Cakra, or a few other names, but Mahasukha is the most fitting and relevant name in terms of yoga related to the overall Chakrasamvara literature.

    And so if we have an internal Guhyajnana Dakini, it is basically that.

    The Four Dakinis as a sort of portable ring that could be on several deities are mostly considered as being in Jewel Family.






    The long Ekajati is really a Sutra spoken to an audience including:

    locanā bhṛkuṭīcaivatārā bhagavatī tathā| mārīcī parṇu sāmakī pāṇurā tatā||


    Locana, Bhrkuti, Tara, Marici, Parnasabari, and Pandara.


    Within her incantation are such appellations as:

    bhagavatyā mṛtārāyoḥ kulamātu bhagavanniti||

    Fullness of Compassion and Wrath:

    karuṇā kroṭa pūrṇāni


    She is doing Sattva Vinaya, Taming of Beings, which is related to Vajrapani:

    satvāno vinayāthīya ugratārā


    It seems she has One Braid and Jewel gives rise to Lotus Family:

    piṇgakaṁjaṭāḥ maṇinataṁ karuṇākulaṁ|

    dhāraṇī mantrarājānaṁ sarvasatva sukhāvahe||

    ācurā rojana dhanaṁ sukha saubhāgyabaddhanaṁ|

    Vajrapani and Hayagriva are present, as well as a Naga Kanya.


    The mantric portion of the dharani starts on p. 260:

    oṁ ukṣo' mahogro'grarupe ugratāre||


    Portions of it include:


    bhīṣaṇa darśaṇe|

    vetāro kasi priyamahāśmavāsinī|

    vaja mahākāla rupadhāriṇī

    avadhutanivā sini|

    bindunāda dhamani

    mahānāda medhani|

    mahānāda priye|

    She has gotten to the Avadhut and Primordial Sound. She is the only Avadhut in the book.



    jaya 2 mahākāruṇiko parameśvarī viśveśvarī vīreśvarī| kroṭeśvarī mahākroṭa rājeśvarī pīṭheśvarī| samayeśvarī samaye
    mahāsamaye| samayān pāriṇī samaya varttiṇī cakravarttiṇī samayaśodhanī|

    kāmeśvarī kāmarupe viśvarupe

    citrarupa dhāriṇī|

    vajaḍākiṇī hṛdayānmūlenī

    mahāmūdrādhiṣṭhite

    māyājālanaye|


    In some way she is a lover of Four Activities:

    jaḥ hyūṁ vaṁhoḥ vajāṁkūśa dhāraṇī pāśā sphoṭadhvani priye|

    mahā vajadhararupiṇi| dharmā dhātujñāna garvhe nama 2 sarvva yogiṇī| sarva karṣaṇī svāhā||


    Form and Formlessness:

    rupiṇī svāhā|| arupiṇī svāhā||


    Lover of joyful noise:

    mahakilikilapriye svāhā||

    Related or alternate deities:


    jñānaḍākinī svāhā||

    trailokyadhamanī svāhā|| mahāsāhṛsrapramarddanī svāhā||

    bhagavatipirgarārgrakajaṭe

    The dharani itself ends on p. 266.


    Some of the benefits appear to include Vajra Kaya:

    yukto vajakāyonamastas


    A wife or sister of some kind:

    baddhānāṁ bhāryyāyāṁsutavātpavān|

    prabaddhā sukhai


    Knowledge of what amounts to the commentarial system of Mahamaya Tantra (Gunavati):

    ma hā guṇavatī vidyā



    vajapāṇiśca yakṣendrośakraśca tridaśaiḥ sahaḥ|

    bhairavaṁmātṛkā durgā
    stathānye mārakāyikāḥ|| vidyādevyāmahāvīryyāmahābalaparākramāḥ| māmakī bhṛkūṭī tārā sūbīryyo mṛtakūṇḍarī| vajā
    parājitāca caṇḍī svarṇṇakeśīca pirgalā| ekajaṭā mahādaivī dhanyā viyūtsūmālinī|| śrīsarasvatī lakṣmī siddheśvarī
    sadānūgāḥ||



    Sitabani charnel ground is also considered the source of Upayoga, which is Charya Tantra, which is intended as outer-to-inner conversion. Its Accomplishment, or view, is Yoga Tantra. Comparatively, all of our instructions to bond to a deity are in Charya, and then Yoga is the yoga of said deity, could be said to begin the Six Yogas.


    General information on Charya:


    Charya tantra (Skt. caryātantra; Tib. སྤྱོད་རྒྱུད་, Wyl. spyod rgyud) aka Upayogatantra or Ubhayatantra (Skt.; Wyl. u pa'i rgyud) — the second of the three outer classes of tantra and the fifth yana according to the nine yana classification.

    The vehicle of charya or ‘conduct’ tantra is so-called because it places an equal emphasis on the outer actions of body and speech and the inner cultivation of samadhi. It is also called the ‘tantra of both’ (Skt. ubhaya tantra) because its view conforms with that of yoga tantra, while its conduct is similar to that of kriya tantra.

    The main Charya Tantra is the Mahavairocanabhisambodhi Tantra (tathagata lineage), in Japanese it is called the 大日経 (dainichikyou).

    Two others are the Vajrapani Initiation Tantra (Vajra lineage) and the Extensive Tantra of Hayagriva (lotus lineage).

    Also the Arya Manjushri Root Tantra [MMK] is a Charya Tantra text.

    Upa, or practice tantra, is also called Ubhayatantra, dual-tantra, because it combines the view of the next vehicle, Yoga tantra, with the action, or conduct, of Kriya tantra, the former one.

    The abhiseka consists of the empowerment of the Five Buddha Families.

    One is matured by means of the five empowerments, which include the empowerments of the vajra, bell and name in addition to the water and crown empowerments, and then maintains the samayas of caryā tantra, as described in the particular texts themselves.

    In the short term, one attains the common accomplishments and ultimately one reaches the level of a vajradhara of the four buddha families, i.e., the three mentioned earlier plus the ratna family.





    Davidson relates the movement of the Mahãvairocanãbhisaṃbodhi-tantra by the Ch'an monk Wu-hsing (2002: p. 118):

    "The Ch'an monk Wu-hsing remarked around 680 C.E. that the popularity of the esoteric path was a new and exceptional event in India, observable even while he was in residence.

    Importantly, during the Carya tantra class and literary period, there developed the salient innovation wherein the sadhaka is to cultivate identification with the deity in meditative absorption.






    Himalayan Art says:


    The principal mandala of the Charya class is the Maha Vairochana Abhisambodhi [Toh 494] . This ritual and meditation practice lost popularity in the 15th century and very few works of art can be found after that time.

    The Charya Tantra Classification although following the Kriya system of Three Buddha Families, Tatagata, Padma and Vajra, has very few actual texts and very few deities and mandalas.

    Padma Family:
    (There are no texts translated from an Indian language into Tibetan from this classification)

    Vajra Family:
    - Vajrapani Abhisheka Tantra [Toh 496]
    - Nilambaradhara Vajrapani Tantra [Toh 498]
    - Vajrapatala Tantra [Toh 499]


    There is a Mitra system of nine tantras which are multiple Vajrapanis, Amritakundalin, Garuda, and Akshobhya.


    Others taken from 84000:


    Toh 497/999. Incantation of the Eight Goddesses. ལྷ་མོ་བརྒྱད་ཀྱི་གཟུངས། · lha mo brgyad kyi gzungs/
    aṣṭadevīdhāraṇī (3 pages).



    Toh 500. Moving Through the Three Vajra Levels, a Sovereign Practice. རྡོ་རྗེ་ས་གསུམ་དུ་རྒྱུ་བའི་རྟོག་པའི་རྒྱལ་པོ། · rdo rje sa gsum du rgyu ba'i rtog pa'i rgyal po/ vajrabhūmitricaraṇarājakalpa (9 pages).



    Ekajati's use of "Vinaya" as "Taming" is apparent in a couple of the other titles.

    Blue-clad Vajrapāṇi, a Tantra to Tame the Three Worlds:

    vajrapāṇi­nīlāmbaradhara­trilokavinayatantra

    The Practice Described as the Taming:

    acalamahākrodharājasya sarvatathāgatasya balāparimita­vīravinayasvākhyāto nāma kalpaḥ

    It turns out that Ekajata does have a scripture:

    Toh 476. The Tantra of Ekajaṭa. རལ་པ་གཅིག་པའི་རྒྱུད། · ral pa gcig pa'i rgyud. ekajaṭatantra.
    Volume 83 (0968), pages 489-494. Maha Yogeshvara Shri Jagata Mitra Ananda. Indian maha pandita Vajra Shri Kalarudra. Tibetan translator Bhikshu Jampa'i Pal.


    Despite its low number, by showing it as a Mitra lineage, he transmitted it considerably after VAT was composed.


    Here is also another foreign record which shows all the major tantras spilling forth from Sarvabuddha Samayoga [Dakini Jala], and on the level of Hevajra, etc., you find Twenty-one Taras and:

    Amitabha [Family]

    Bhagavad-Ekajata Tantra



    Cultural Heritage of India:


    Vasavadatta of Subandhu (seventh
    century) contains the earliest literary reference to a worshipper of the Buddhist
    goddess Tara. The Sakta Tara, also called Ugratara, Ekajata and Nila-sarasvati
    might be an adaptation of the Mahayana Buddhist goddess of the same name.

    Others considered contemporaneous:

    Katyayani of Kusumapura

    Candi Mahatmya of Markendeya Purana, worshipped by Savaras

    Vindhyavasini


    In their list of chronicles, they depict Tara--Ekajati as Buddhist and foreign and proceed to copy her material and add it in with their practices:

    Tara Tantra or Tarini Tantra^ Tara-sukta^ Tadala Tantra^ Taranam^
    Nila Tantra^ Maha-nila Tantra^
    Nila-sarasvati Tantra^ Cinacara^ Tantra-ratna, Tara-
    savara Tantra^ Tara-Upanisad^ Ekajati Tantra^ Ekajata-kalpa^ Brahmayamala
    Tantra^ Maha-clnacara-krama^ Ekavira Tantra^ Tarini-nirmya and so on.


    They have at least that much stuff where evidently they don't mind copying entire Buddhist sadhanas. And they leave off saying there was no such thing in India before ca. seventh century when they "imported" material. Ekajata might not have anything in her own name prior to this, but we have found she is already coming from an Indic source and being distributed to Pakistan and China.


    In Nepal according to Keith Dowman:

    Bhagawani or Bhagawati is a powerful form of Durga, known locally as Swobar Bhagawati, and known to the Tibetans as Ekajati.

    Sankhu Bajra Dakini, which is known to the Hindus as Sankhu Narayani, where there is an image of the venerable Vajra Dakini which gives extraordinarily powerful blessing. [LT]


    On the exterior, she is Red--Guhyajnana Dakini--the public face of her being blue inside. Guhyajnana's existence, per se, is nothing secret at all, is common in national symbols. Her personal realization, is not, of course, this emblem, and this place seems to show her as more of a universal initiatory power with respect to the next:


    The chief symbol of this power place is the Goddess Ugratara, or Ekajati, inside a pagoda temple with a gilt copper roof. She is red in colour with one face and four arms, two of which hold a skull-cup (kapala) and knife (karpatra) at here heart, and the remaining two hold a sword (khadga) and an utpala lotus. In the upper temple is an identical image of Ugratara in bell metal, in which her left leg is outstretched (in pratyalida?); to the left and right of her is a hollow copper vessel and the head of Bintiraja .... In the upper temple is the loom of the Nepali Princess Bhrkuti ....

    According to the Newari tradition, the Sankhu Bajra Jogini is the elder of the four sister yoginis of the Valley - Sankhu Khadga Jogini, Guhjeswori, Pham-thing Jogini and Bidjeswori. Since she is associated with Manicuda [q.v.] she is called Mani Jogini; since she holds a blue utpala lotus in her left hand she is called Nil Tara (?); since the sword is her distinctive emblem, she is popularly known as Khadga Jogini; though she is of serene mien she is Ugratara, Tara in angry mood, according to the Buddhist tantra; because here iconography is commensurate with the Goddess Protectresses and she is a form of Durga (Sankhu Narayani: Narayani is a name of the matrka Vaisnavi or Visnusakti, the Consort of Visnu, i.e. Durga), CN calls her Ekajati. The Hindus also count here amongst the Dasamahavidhya (the ten aspects of the Mother Goddess's wisdom) where she is worshipped as the personification of spiritual hunger. But the Hindu tradition acknowledges that she was originally a Buddhist deity, and even today a Hindu Guru will direct his chela to practise ritual meditation according to the Buddhist liturgy.

    When Sankaracarya, or one of his ardent disciples, was living in Sankhu, there was conflict with the followers of the Buddhas' path. Ugratara's necklace of skulls (mundamala) is composed of the heads of Sankaracarya's Brahmin followers. The sword that she carries was borrowed from her younger sister, Guhjeswori, (where did Guhjeswori keep this sword?), in fulfilment of Sankaracarya's petition after he had been humbled by her for arrogantly upturning a swayambhu stupa to demonstrate the his power to his Brahmin followers. The blood in her kapali is the blood of Brahma collected when she severed his head at the behest of a reluctant Mahadev after Brahma had lost his contest with Vishu to discover the height and depth of Siva's jyotir lingam.

    In both the upper and lower temples, Yogini is flanked by Baghini and Singhini, the Tiger and Lion-headed Yoginis. In the same upper room in the upper temple is a solid bronze standing Buddha and a standing Lokeswar. Below this shrine room is a small room containing a swayambhu stupa flanked by a Buddha's head, which is known as the head of Vikramajit (or Vrsadeva) who is CN's Bintiraja, the parricide Manadeva's father [vide Boudhnath), and an upturned frying-pan to which is attached an irrational moral legend. The casting of the bronze figures is reputed to be of outstanding quality [vide Slussor, Kathmandu].

    Indisputably, Sankhu Bajra Jogini is one of the Valley's oldest shrines. There is the 5th c. association with Manadeva; an Amsuvarman inscription of the 7th c. mentions a Gum Vihara which may be identified with the Gvam Vihara of Bajra Jogini [Regmi p.278]; Urgyan gLing-pa's Padma bKa'-thang mentions Sankhu thrice in the history of the 8th c.; Sankaracarya may have visited in the 9th c. However, there is a mystery associated with Bajra Jogini herself. Tara was originally a Buddhist deity, but in her Sankhu form the Gvam Vihara Licchavi Buddhist bronze casters would never have worshipped her. If we discount the legend associated with Sankaracarya [see above], it would seem possible that a long time before the present temple was built by Raja Prakas Malla in 1655 the site was usurped by Hindu priests who established the Devi as the chief image (kwapa-deo) for worship and instituted blood sacrifice to her. A devi pitha is an unlikely site for the establishment of a hinayana vihara and blood sacrifice is never performed for Buddhist yoginis. Today, Buddhist Newar priests again attend the temple, and blood is shed at the Bhairabi pitha below. If the name Bajra Jogini has a Buddhist provenance, and a Buddhist goddess was in power in the 9th c., unlikely it is that she was Ugratara, perhaps she was a different deity, such as Naro Khecari (Naropa's Dakini), who of the four yogini's associated with the Cakrasambara-tantra, is the only one without a sthan of her own. More research into this very interesting shrine is necessary.

    CANDISWORI

    Ekajati: Cantishwari: this shrine is in visual range of Banepa. Ekajati and Devi Candika have one essence.

    Candesvari or Candika is a form of Durga or Gauri, the Consort of Siva; she is one of the astamatrka and the navadurga. A composite form of Durga, she is young, beautiful, seductive yet angry, depicted with various number of arms to destroy her demonic offspring, the Asuras, and particularly the buffalo demon, Mahisasura. As the slayer of the buffalo demon she is called Mahisasuramardini. Her temple is located a mile north east of Banepa.



    Mitra was relatively late, 1100s:


    After his initial vision of Avalokiteśvara, wherein the deity gave the yogi a ḍamaru drum to ward off hindrances, he met a woman on the road dressed in red, who turned out to be a witch. Mitra sounded the drum, and the woman split in two; out of compassion he restored her with another beat of the ḍamaru. She then agreed to serve him, and told him of a city of witches in the south where the queen devoured men all day long. He decided to go and subdue the queen with his drum, and traveled south with the woman in red. He went before the queen of the witches, but before he was able to sound the ḍamaru she froze him in place. Addressing him as a "son of the lineage," she gave him a warning not to try to subdue the witches until he had sufficiently practiced the generation and completion stages. The queen, whose place in the story thus seems quite ambivalent, then prophesizes that Mitra will complete the path to liberation in six years. She granted him an initiation into Avalokiteśvara’s Liberated Path Wheel (grol lam ye shes 'khor lo) and warned him not to sound the ḍamaru until his religious training is complete.

    Instructed by Avalokiteśvara in another vision and then a paṇḍit Padmeśvara, Mitra met with a yoginī (who was in actuality a form of Ekajaṭī) and it was like a "mother and son reunited." She directed him to go west and ask for transmission and blessings from a twenty-two year old Brahmin's daughter, Sukhaḍākinī, who had supernatural abilities and whose mother was a wisdom ḍākinī. Having done so, Sukhaḍākinī advised him that he must become fully accomplished in order to overcome the witches' hindrances. She directed him to a sacred valley and instructed him to perform a pūja, after which she reappeared with many ḍākinī and the Mahākaruṇika form of Avalokiteśvara with consort who together initiated Mitra into one hundred and eight maṇḍala. After the empowerment, the deities and ḍākinī returned to their abodes. Sukhaḍākinī remained and instructed him in the skillful means of the secret vajra. He stayed with her and meditated for six months, after which he attained the perfect accomplishment he had sought.


    According to Nyingma:

    Ekajaṭī cut open his head and, from the light that poured out of his skull, Avalokiteśvara and his host of attending deities emerged. They initiated Mitra in one hundred and eight sādhana, after which Ekajaṭī returned his skull and he was whole again.


    Mitra Gyatsa in its contents excludes Ekajati, although it has the oldest known Seven Syllable deity mandala.


    The display at Tibet House in India actually consists of Mitra's mandalas.







    As an attendant to Tara at Lhasa:













    She is in the tantras in a particular way; one of the final things you place in a mandala is a "vajra circle", which is really a vast egg, which is more or less the domain of Mahakala. Correspondingly, this deity is exceedingly powerful and probably a Teevra and I doubt we will go into it much. It is part of Hevajra and has outer deities such as White Pratisara, and Ekajati is in it.

    In the Panjara Tantra, she has the following Family relationship:

    Ekajati, the mother of all Mahakalas



    In this form Ekajati is regarded as the mother of Mahakala and Shri Devi.

    This is a 1600s Sakya carving that is part of a set.


    Ekajati, with a body blue in colour, one face, two hands holding a nectar filled vase to the heart, wearing an upper garment of white silk fabric and a lower garment of tiger skin. The hair is tied in one braid hanging to the left; in a fierce aspect." (Konchog Lhundrub, 1497-1557).










    The public Mitra mandalas certainly depict multiple Vajrapanis in various stages leading to Trailokyavijaya, and then he has an alternate form of the Mudra that seems to be a but more powerful which is:

    At the top left is Bhutadamara Vajrapani, blue, with four hands, standing in a wrathful posture surrounded by flames. At the top right is the mother of all Mahakalas, Ekajati, blue, with one face and two hands holding a vase to the heart, in a seated posture. At the bottom left is Mahakala Vyaghravahana, riding a tiger, holding a stick upraised in the right hand and a skullcup in the left. At the bottom right is Shri Devi with one face and four hands, riding a mule.

    1400s Chinese:









    Her Family then shows she is transcendental to Ekajati Raksasi.

    Emanating from the circle of fire is a wolf, black dog, black crow and a garuda directly above. These animals are the 'messengers' of Mahakala.


    At the top center is the primordial buddha Vajradhara, blue in colour, holding a vajra and bell. On the right side is the Vajrapanjara Dakini, blue, in a slightly wrathful appearance, holding a curved knife and skullcup. On the left is the mahasiddha Brahmin Vararuci performing the mudra of blessing with the right hand and holding a skullcup in the lap with the left.

    At the upper right is Ekajati, dark blue, with one face and two hands holding a vase, seated in a relaxed posture. Below that is Shri Devi (Tib.: pal den lha mo, Eng.: Glorious Goddess), black, with one face and four hands holding a sword and skullcup in the right and a spear and trident in the left, riding a mule in an ocean of blood.

    At the left is Vajrapani Bhutadamara.

    Directly below Mahakala are five black wrathful deities forming an arch. They are the inner retinue of Mahakala, a father and mother, Kala Rakshasa and Kali Rakshasi and their three offspring Putra, Bhatra and Ekajati Rakshasi. They all have one face and two hands, blue-black in colour and hold a variety of weapons, surrounded by black smoky flames.









    Sri and Ekajati are in the same place when he uses a rare Six Spoked Wheel similar to Seven Syllable deity using this group.


    In most cases Mahakala is an emanation, or wrathful aspect, of the principal meditational deity that he is associated with. For instance Panjarnata Mahakala is the most wrathful emanation, or form, of Shri Hevajra. In other situations Mahakala might be a wrathful emanation of Vajradhara or Akshobhya Buddha.

    A Kadam roster of Mahakalas includes a Four Dakini version and many others.


    The family relation continues such that in Kagyu, Sri reverses Mahakala on her mule, under H. H. Second Karmapa and Dombi Heruka:









    Dombi Heruka is also in a thangka which gives the main Panjara auxillary deities:

    12. Samputa Vajrasattva (Samputa Tantra)
    13. Vajra Nairatmya (Root Tantra)
    14. Kurukulla (Root Tantra & Panjara)
    15. Bhutadamara Vajrapani (Panjara)
    16. Chanda Maharoshana/Achala
    17. White Prajnaparamita (Panjara)
    18. Yellow Vajra Tara (Panjara)
    19. Maitreya, Bodhisattva
    20. Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva
    21. Orange Marichi
    22. Yellow Vasudhara
    23. Yellow Jambhala (Panjara)


    Oh. So the Panjara mostly reflects what we had assembled as Yoga deities. In its turn, it is mutable, but primarily serves as the Most Wrathful Hevajra, which is like saying Kilaya is the Most Wrathful Vajrasattva.

    This is very relaxed, one of the best Ekajatis and tiger skirts ever:








    Despite her extravagance, she still has an important aspect with Vajra Feet similar to a Prajna with a Nectar Vase. If she did not have that, she would not be the Queen of Mamos. How this distinguishes her from Parnasabari, the Queen of Pisacis, is now a bit more difficult. Especially given the case of Parnasabari 150, who has both been enmeshed in Mahakarunika, and been found to be the equivalent base mantra of Varuni (Amrtasambhava). If anything, she has acquired the syllable Hrih. She is also the only Vamana--Dwarf in the entire book, and emphatically so:

    vāmane tvāṃ namasyāmi vāmane tvāṃ bhagavati /


    It is a common word for anyone of that stature, but, on an individual basis, it is almost completely restricted to Vishnu, having only one minor appearance as feminine:


    Vāmanikā (वामनिका):—[from vāmanaka > vāmana] f. Name of one of the Mātṛs attending on Skanda


    The general adjective in Sadhanamala is Kharva Lambodara, used with Hayagriva, Mahacina Krama Tara, Ekajati, and Parnasabari 148. That is her standard Yellow Six Arm form, followed by a Harita equivalent crowned by Amoghasiddhi; the dharani does not specify her form. Sequentially, these use the seed syllables none, Hum, Hum and Hrih. These three iterations constitute her entire presence. She is not a usual retinue member for others. Nevertheless, if we stick to the Honey Doctrine, she does have a voyage to be a carrier of it. And so if Varuni becomes the root consecration of magical fluid, we then become interested in the magical vessels it appears in, such as in the hands of Parnasabari, Ekajati, Bharati, and Vetali in Dakini Jala.

    The Vetali in Dakini Jala is so different from any of her known applications that she is almost a refutation of herself. She is a white, sparkly jazz dancer with the Nectar Vase. The importance here is that this is not exactly a lineage, such as Vajrabhairava Tantra, which she revealed. She is a Gauri which in this sense means part of one's stream of perception since beginingless time. And so while it is correct that in almost all the imagery, these Gauris are shown as anywhere from wrathful to extremely violent strewn with gore--and that is still the case here, with a few--Vetali is quite clear that there is an aspect similar to the peaceful-looking Ekajati with Mahakala.

    Perhaps the best term for it is the principle of Taming, because it is much like an axis. On the reverse polarity, you get worldly mamos, and these deities erupt as "undead" and other nemesis classes, and all that is out there is insanity and disease. A Queen is only there when the Taming is firm. If not then it would seem like the same Hayagriva and Ekajati are butchering and devouring you.

    Parnasabari seems to be intended to fuse with Sarasvati, and as her own name is closely equivalent to Krsna Yamari Generation Stage. On a dharani basis, Paramartha Parasol continues this at a level rivalling any tantra.


    I do not think it is published, but, a quote of Vajrapani Initiation says it is mainly about Guhyamantra or Secret Mantra. It is about entering the Mahayana and then Entering the Mandala.

    That plus Dakini Jala are the underlying commensurates to the Six Yogas system of Tara involving her song.

    I have always thought that Ekajati is also a word-scheme from Ekaggata or One-pointedness, which is a permanent universal arm of every Citta, to Samadhi as intended by the Six Yogas. For example, in most Buddhism you have Sati or Mindfulness, and then there is also Dhyana, and Smrti, and then Samadhi, which starts to look like a blender of synonyms if you just try to look at the definitions. But it is really the piercing of veils, or the onion skins or Russian doll nesting of degrees of intensity in psychological and physical states resulting from yoga.

    To most people, if we enter in what might seem to us to be samadhi as it may perhaps be described other places, it is probably Dhyana, in the Crescent of Inverted Stupa related to Upa Yoga, summarized by Vajrapani and how he might be associated with a Tara system including Ekajati.

    Buddhist Pranayama is not really a thing we can describe or define at all without a deity samaya produced from the above.

    Prajnaparamita with Sarasvati and then eventually Pratisara are the ways it has been developed so far.

    The guidance of Vajrapani for one thing unleashes Mamaki, and for another, the point of Upa Yoga moves one from the Three Jewels of Tathagata, Vajra, and Lotus Families, to the acquisition of Jewel Family--which translates into the Four Dakinis and Mahasukha Cakra or Crown center.

    So that is why we have added Pratisara as a protective advance of it. She is also a Yidam. But in the Tara system there is also Vasudhara, and she will bring in Jambhala. And so if this is based from a Vajra Family bond, then we see how this derives from Mahacina Krama, which involves laughter and pleasure, which is practically invisible from most imagery, but is intended to be built in to some of the mantras.
    Last edited by shaberon; 20th September 2021 at 22:49.

  40. The Following User Says Thank You to shaberon For This Post:

    Bill Ryan (20th September 2021)

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