Vajrakila: Confusions in Identification
Vajrakila is one of the Eight Heruka Deities of the Nyingma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. His main attribute is a kila peg held in the first pair of six hands. In the mandala of Vajrakila some of the surrounding retinue figures have a lower torso of a three-sided peg (kila). The confusion in identification arises when anything with a kila shape is labelled as the deity Vajrakila. Four iconographic subjects have the lower torso of a kila[1] Vajrakila retinue figures, [2] the Bon deity Purba Drugse Chempa, [3] Guru Dragpur in various forms and [4] Simhamukha in various forms. (See meditational forms of Padmasambhava where Guru Dragpur and Simhamukha are both included).