Text 17.7 (Commentary)

[Guhyagarbha-Tantra, Text section 17.7]

To represent the chillocosm and its horizon
They wield diverse hand-implements,
Including vajra, human skull-cup filled (with blood),
Sword, axe, and ploughshare.
And they are embraced by the terrifying host of their queens. [7]

[Tibetan]

stong-gi 'jig-rten 'khor-yug bcas /
rdo-rje dung-chen gang-ba-dang /
ral-gri dgra-sta gshol la-sogs /
rang-gi lag-cha sna-tshogs-bsnams /
btsun-mo 'jigs-pa'i tshogs-dang 'khril / [7]

Commentary:

[The third aspect concerns their symbolic hand-implements, and the conduct of their queens. (It comments on Ch. 17.7):]

As to the former, Buddhaguhya interprets this passage to mean that they have hand-implements including (la-sogs) a vajra (rdo-rje) and wheel in their first pair of right and left hands, a sword (ral-gri) and human skull-cup (dung-chen) in their second pair of hands, and an axe (dgra-sta) and ploughshare (gshol) in their final pair of hands. He then says that the words "including" indicate the trident and the club. Rong-zom-pa claims, however, that their first right hands respectively hold these respective hand-implements, while their first left hands hold a skull full of bleed; end the other hands hold those other Implements in sequence.^[1]

The present explanation corresponds to that of the Indestructible Reality of the Magical Net (NGB. Vol. 15), in which the first right hands (of the Herukas) respectively hold these (identifying) hand-implements, i.e. the first right hand of Vajra Heruka holds a nine-pronged vajra. The second right hand of (all Herukas) of the five enlightened families holds a five-pronged vajra, while the second left hand holds a human skull-cup, i.e. a hairless cranium filled with blood. The first right hand of Karma Heruka holds a sword. The first left hand of the Tathāgata (Buddha) Heruka and the last left hand of the Ratna Heruka both hold an axe. The first left hand of Karma Heruka holds a ploughshare. The last left hand of Vajra Heruka and the last left hand of Karma Heruka both hold a small drum to represent the chiliocosm and its horizon (stons-gi 'jig-rten 'khor-bcas).^[2]

The word "Including" (la-sogs-pa) also Infers that the first right hand of Buddha Heruka holds a wheel, that of Ratna Heruka holds a gemstone, that of Padma Heruka holds a lotus; the last left hand of Buddha Heruka holds a khaṭvāṅga, the first left hand of Ratna Heruka holds a noose of intestines, the first left hands of Vajra Heruka and Padma Heruka hold bells, the last left hand of Padma Heruka holds a small drum, and the last right hands of all (the Herukas) brandish a club of human corpses (ti-ra), in this way, they respectively wield their diverse hand-implements (rang-gi lag-cha sna-tshogs bsnams).

The Indestructible Reality Of the Magical Net (NGB. Vol. 15) also says:

Vajra Heruka holds aloft the vajra and bell
Along with (drum symbolising) the world and its horizon.
Buddha Heruka plays with the wheel and the axe,
And the khaṭvāṅga club.
Ratna Heruka firmly grasps the gemstone.
The noose of intestines and the vajra-axe.
The one of supreme desire holds the great lotus.
And plays the bell and drum.
Karma Heruka has the sword and human ploughshare.
And (the drum) which rejects the world afar.
Their second (pair of hands) hold a vajra and cranium.
Stirring the red (blood).
And (with their last right hands)
They firmly strike a human club (ti-ra chen-po).

As for the embrace of their queens: they are embraced by the (dang-'khril) the terrifying host ('jigs-pa'i tshogs) of the five queens (btsun-mo) belonging to their respective enlightened families. These have one face and two arms, the right one entwining around the male consort, and the left one holding a blood-filled skull to the mouth of her lord.

The latter part concerning the array of their retinue has two aspects.

[i. First, there is the array of the twenty female wrathful deities (which comments on Ch. 17.8):]

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Footnotes and references:

[1]:

All commentators state that in their first right hand the Herukas hold the symbol which designates their particular enlightened family, usually vajra, wheel, gemstone, lotus and sword.

[2]:

Lo-chen, op. cit.. p. 404, generally agrees with kLong-chen-pa, with the following exceptions: he allocates the ploughshare to Karma Heruka's last left hand, points out that all the exegetical tantras allocate the crossed-vajra instead of the sword to Karma Heruka's first right hand, and he allocates the bell to all their first left hands. He asserts that this description is consistent with their means for attainment which derive from the eight exegetical tantras (NGB. Vol. 15). kLong-chen-pa, also on the basis of the exegetical Tantras (sgyu-'phrul rdo-rje), gives the following sequence: Vajra Heruka (nine-pronged vajra & bell, five-pronged vajra and skull-cup, human club and drum); Buddha Heruka (wheel and axe, five-pronged vajra and skull-cup, human club and khaṭvāṅga): Ratna Heruka (gemstone and noose of intestines, five-pronged vajra and skull-cup, human club & axe); Padma Heruka (lotus and bell, five-pronged vajra & skull-cup, human club and drum); Karma Heruka (sword & ploughshare, five-pronged vajra and skull-cup, human club & drum). See the foliowins quotation, p. 1169.