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Mundamala
Mundamala (, ), also called kapalamala or rundamala, is a garland of severed human heads and/or skulls, in Hindu iconography and Buddhist symbolism#Esoteric Buddhist symbols, Tibetan Buddhist iconography. In Hinduism, the mundamala is a characteristic of fearsome aspects of the Devi, Hindu Divine Mother and the god Shiva; while in Buddhism, it is worn by wrathful deities of Tibetan Buddhism. Hindu iconography Fearsome goddesses The mundamala is often found in the iconography of the Mahavidyas, a group of ten fearsome Tantric goddesses. Kali, the foremost Mahavidya, often wears a garland of freshly severed heads. The blood from her bleeding garland bathes her body. The number of heads in the mundamala is generally described as fifty. Other Mahavidyas like Tara (Devi), Tara, Chhinnamasta, Bhairavi, Dhumavati and Matangi are depicted or at least described wearing mundamalas; the goddess may also hold a severed head or skull (kapala) in her hand.Kinsley p. 153 In descriptions of Bha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chhinnamasta
Chhinnamasta (, :"She whose head is severed"), often spelled Chinnamasta, and also called Chhinnamastika, Chhinnamasta Kali, Prachanda Chandika and Jogani Maa (in western states of India), is a Hindu goddess ( Devi). She is one of the Mahavidyas, ten goddesses from the esoteric tradition of Tantra, and a ferocious aspect of Mahadevi, the Hindu Mother goddess. The self-decapitated nude goddess, usually standing or seated on a divine copulating couple, holding her own severed head in one hand and a scimitar in another. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants. Chhinnamasta is a goddess of contradictions. She symbolises both aspects of Devi: a life-giver and a life-taker. She is considered both a symbol of sexual self-control and an embodiment of sexual energy, depending upon interpretation. She represents death, temporality, and destruction as well as life, immortality, and recreation. The goddess conveys spir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tibetan Art
The vast majority of surviving Tibetan art created before the mid-20th century is religious, with the main forms being thangka, paintings on cloth, mostly in a technique described as gouache or distemper (paint), distemper, Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings, and small statues in bronze, or large ones in clay, stucco or wood. They were commissioned by Tibetan monasticism, religious establishments or by pious individuals for use within the practice of Tibetan Buddhism and were manufactured in large workshops by monks and lay artists, who are mostly unknown. Various types of religious objects, such as the ''phurbu, phurba'' or ritual dagger, are finely made and lavishly decorated. Secular objects, in particular jewellery and textiles, were also made, with Chinese influences strong in the latter. Himalayan art is an overall term for Tibetan art together with the art of Art of Bhutan, Bhutan, Nepal, Ladakh, Kashmir and neighbouring parts of Mongolia and China where Tibetan Buddhism is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kali
Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who provide liberating knowledge. Of the numerous Hindu goddesses, Kali is held as the most famous. She is the preeminent deity in the Hindu tantric and the Kalikula worship traditions, and is a central figure in the goddess-centric sects of Hinduism as well as in Shaivism. Kali is chiefly worshipped as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, and Divine feminine energy. The origins of Kali can be traced to the pre-Vedic and Vedic era goddess worship traditions in the Indian subcontinent. Etymologically, the term ''Kali'' refers to one who governs time or is black. The first major appearance of Kali in the Sanskrit literature was in the sixth-century CE text '' Devi Mahatmya''. Kali appears in many stories, with the most popular one bein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heruka
:''Heruka is also a name for the deity of the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra.'' ''Heruka'' (; ) is the name of a category of wrathful deities, enlightened beings in Vajrayana Buddhism that adopt a fierce countenance to benefit sentient beings. In East Asia, these are called Wisdom Kings. ''Herukas'' represent the embodiment of indivisible bliss and emptiness. They appear as '' Iṣṭha-devatā'' (Tibetan: ཡི་དམ་ ) or meditational deities for tantric sādhanā, usually placed in a ''mandala'' and often appearing in '' Yab-Yum''. Derivation and meaning of the term Heruka represents wrathful imagery with indivisible emptiness (śūnyatā), bliss, peace, wisdom, compassion (bodhicitta), and love. Herukas represent unified consciousness, with emptiness being a reflection of "non-phenomena" or emptiness which is "all love," or removal of imagery to reach universal love, mercy, and compassion-mind. :Heruka means hetu-rūpa-kâya, krodha-form vajradhara's:: Interpretation of Heru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acala
or Achala (, "The Immovable", ), also known as (, "Immovable Lord") or (, "Noble Immovable Lord"), is a Fierce deities, wrathful deity and ''dharmapala'' (protector of the Dharma) prominent in Vajrayana, Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism., Jp. rel. dict., pp. 242–246 Originally a minor deity described as a messenger or acolyte of the Buddhahood, buddha Vairocana, Acala later rose to prominence as an object of veneration in his own right as a remover of obstacles and destroyer of evil, eventually becoming seen as the wrathful manifestation of either Vairocana, the buddha Akshobhya, Akṣobhya, or the bodhisattva Manjushri, Mañjuśrī. In later texts, he is also called (, "Violent Wrathful One", ) or (, "Violent One of Great Wrath", ), the names by which he is more commonly known in countries like Nepal and Tibet. In East Asian Buddhism, East Asian Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, esoteric Buddhism, Acala is classed among the Wisdom Kings () and is preeminent among the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akshobhya
Akshobhya (, ''Akṣobhya'', "Immovable One"; ) is one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, a product of the Adibuddha, who represents consciousness as an aspect of reality. By convention he is located in the east of the Diamond Realm and is the lord of the Eastern Pure Land Abhirati ('The Joyous'). His consort is Lochanā and he is normally accompanied by two elephants. His color is blue-black and his attributes include a bell, three robes, and staff, as well as a jewel, lotus, prayer wheel, and sword. He has several emanations. Textual history and doctrine Akshobhya appears in the Akṣobhyatathāgatasyavyūha Sūtra ( zh, t=阿閦佛國經, p=Āchùfó Guó Jīng, links=no), which was translated during the second century CE and is among the oldest known Mahayana or Pure Land texts. According to the scripture, a monk wished to practice the Dharma in the eastern world of delight and made a vow not to harbor anger or malice towards any being until he achieved enlightenment. He d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dharmapala
A ''dharmapāla'' is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of ''dharmapala'', Worldly Guardians (''lokapala'') and Wisdom Protectors (''jnanapala''). Only Wisdom Protectors are enlightened beings. Description A protector of Buddhist dharma is called a ''dharmapala''. They are typically wrathful deities, depicted with terrifying iconography in the Mahayana and tantric traditions of Buddhism. The wrathfulness is intended to depict their willingness to defend and guard Buddhist followers from dangers and enemies. The '' Aṣṭagatyaḥ'' (the eight kinds of nonhuman beings) is one category of ''dharmapālas'', which includes the Garuda, Deva, Naga, Yaksha, Gandharva, Asura, Kinnara, and Mahoraga. In Vajrayana iconography and thangka depictions, ''dharmapala'' are fearsome beings, often with ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tibetan Mahakala
Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dialect ** Tibetan pinyin, a method of writing Standard Tibetan in Latin script ** Tibetan script ** any other of the Tibetic languages Tibetan may additionally refer to: Culture * Old Tibetan, an era of Tibetan history * Tibetan art * Music of Tibet * Tibetan rug * Tibetan culture * Tibetan cuisine Religion * Tibetan Buddhism * Tibetan Muslims Other uses * Tibetan alphabet * Tibetan (Unicode block) * Tibetan name * Tibetan calendar * Tibetan Spaniel, a breed of dog * Tibetan Mastiff, a breed of dog See also * Tibet (other) * Tibetan Bells (other) * Traditional Tibetan medicine * Tibetan language (other) Tibetan language may refer to: * Lhasa Tibetan or Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dialect * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' (; IAST: ''Brahman'') connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality of the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In the Vedic Upanishads, ''Brahman'' constitutes the fundamental reality that transcends the duality of existence and non-existence. It serves as the absolute ground from which time, space, and natural law emerge. It represents an unchanging, eternal principle that exists beyond all boundaries and constraints. Because it transcends all limitation, ''Brahman'' ultimately defies complete description or categorization through language. In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the non-physical, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists.For dualism school of Hinduism, see: Francis X. Clooney (2010), ''Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Break Down the Boundaries between Religions'', Oxford University Press, , pages 51–58, 11 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion, diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age#South Asia, Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a lingua franca, link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting effect on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Indo-Aryan languages# ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aghoramurti
The Aghori (from , ) are a Hindu monastic order of ascetic Shaivite sadhus based in Uttar Pradesh, India. They are the only surviving sect derived from the ''Kāpālika'' tradition, a Tantric, non-Puranic form of Shaivism which originated in Medieval India between the 4th and 8th century CE. Similarly to their Shaivite predecessors, Aghoris usually engage in post-mortem rituals, often dwell in charnel grounds, smear cremation ashes on their bodies, and use bones from human corpses for crafting '' kapāla'' (skull cups which Shiva and other Hindu deities are often iconically depicted holding or using) and jewellery. They also practice post-mortem cannibalism, eating flesh from foraged human corpses, including those taken from cremation ghats. Their practices are sometimes considered contradictory to orthodox Hinduism. Many Aghori gurus command great reverence from rural populations and are widely referred to in medieval and modern works of Indian literature, as they are sup ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gajasurasamhara
Gajasurasamhara (lit. "The Slayer of the elephant demon"), also Gajasamhara, Gajantaka and Gajaha (all three lit. "the Slayer of the elephant") and Matangari ("The Enemy of the elephant"), is a fierce aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as the Destroyer of the elephant demon, Gajasura. The icon is popular in Pallava and Chola art, which portray him dancing vigorously in the flayed elephant hide of Gajasura. The chief temple of Gajasurasamhara is at Valuvur (Vazhuvur), Tamil Nadu, where the chief icon is an eight-armed bronze Gajasurasamhara. Valuvur is one of the '' Atta-virattam'' temples, the eight sites of the heroic acts of Shiva. Textual references and legend The Gajasurasamhara form is associated by scholars to the epithet Krittivasa ("who has skin as his garment"), used in the Vedic hymn '' Shri Rudram Chamakam'' for Rudra, a Vedic God associated with Shiva. Often, devotional hymns of the ''Tevaram'' call Shiva the one who wears the elephant hide, alluding to this incident. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
