Item: Hayagriva (Buddhist Deity) - Secret Accomplishment
| Origin Location | Tibet |
|---|---|
| Date Range | 1700 - 1799 |
| Lineages | Gelug |
| Material | Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton |
| Collection | Navin Kumar |
Classification: Deity
Appearance: Wrathful
Gender: Male
Hayagriva 'Secret Accomplishment' (Tibetan: tam drin sang drup. English: Horse Neck): deity of the Padma (Lotus) Family, manifestation of the Buddha Amitabha. With Lama Tsongkapa above, along with various buddhas and deities, two forms of Tara sit at the sides and wrathful protectors stand below.
??King of the Wrathful, Hayagriva, with a body red in colour, three faces and six hands. The main face is red, right green, left white. Each face has three eyes, radiant, with bared fangs. The hair, moustache and beard are blazing. At the crest of the three faces are three green horse heads with mouths sounding with the neighing of horses. ? With six hands, the first right holds a vajra, second a katvanga, third a sword. The first left a wrathful gesture, second a spear, third a lasso of intestine. Having a crown of five dry human skulls and a necklace of fifty fresh, wearing an upper garment of human skin and an elephant hide, and a lower garment of tiger skin; with a Brahman cord of human hair. Adorned with drops of blood, clots of mold, bunches of charnel ashes and coils of snakes. The eight legs trample upon the eight great nagas in the aspect of snakes; standing in the vast blazing fire of pristine awareness.? (Terdag Lingpa Gyurme Dorje (1646-1714) and Min-ling Lochen Dharmashri 1654-1718. Tibetan source text 'dod 'jo bum bzang, Part I, page 247-248).
The 'Secret Accomplishment' Hayagriva, practiced in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, is a Treasure Teaching of the Nyingmapas discovered by Nyemowa Sanggye Wangchen in the 12th century. The Shangpa Kagyu master Kyergangpa acquired the teaching directly from Padmasambhava in a dream and was further instructed to receive the teaching of the 'Terma' from Nyemowa. The practice was then made famous throughout Tibet by the lama Kyergangpa.
Jeff Watt 10-2000
Publication: Dojo Bumzang - Images
Thematic Sets
Buddhist Deity: Hayagriva (Secret Accomplishment)
Collection of Navin Kumar Gallery: Painting
Tradition: Gelug Deity Paintings
Buddhist Deity: Hayagriva Main Page