Item: Hayagriva (Buddhist Deity) - Secret Accomplishment

Hayagriva 'Secret Accomplishment' (Tibetan: tam drin sang drup. English: Horse Neck): terrific deity of the Padma (Lotus) Family, manifestation of the wrathful activity of Buddha Amitabha, from the Terma (Treasure) Tradition of Kyergangpa, 12th century.

??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).

Jeff Watt 12-2000

Thematic Sets
Buddhist Deity: Hayagriva Main Page
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Mongolia
Buddhist Deity: Hayagriva (Secret Accomplishment)
Tradition: Nyingma Deity Paintings
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Painting Gallery 9
Tradition: Shangpa Kagyu Main Page