Ghoracandi, Ghoracaṇḍī: 3 definitions

Introduction:

Ghoracandi means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

Alternative spellings of this word include Ghorachandi.

In Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Source: archive.org: The Indian Buddhist Iconography

Ghoracaṇḍī (घोरचण्डी) refers to one of the six Goddesses standing on the six spokes of the wheel of the sun, according to the Saptākṣara-sādhana.—Accordingly, [...] on each of the six spokes of the wheel of the sun on which the god stands there are six deities, namely, (commencing from the right) Herukī, Vajravārāhī, Ghoracaṇḍī, Vajrabhāskarī, Vajraraudrī and Vajraḍākinī. They have respectively blue, yellow, red, green, smoky and white colour. All of them have dishevelled hair, fierce appearance, three eyes and the quarters as garments. They carry the resounding ḍamaru and the ghaṇṭā in the first pair of hands, and the human skin in the other pair. They [viz., Ghoracaṇḍī] stand on the orb of the sun placed on a corpse. Their head-dresses are decorated with rows of skulls, and they stand in the ālīḍha attitude

Source: academia.edu: A Critical Sanskrit Edition and a Translation of Kambala’s Sādhananidhi, Chapter 8

Ghoracaṇḍī (घोरचण्डी) is the name of a deity associated with the syllable “ha” of the Quasi-heart Mantra of Heruka (upahṛdayamantra): one of the four major mantras in the Cakrasaṃvara tradition, as taught in the eighth chapter of the 9th-century Herukābhidhāna and its commentary, the Sādhananidhi.  The Upahṛdaya-mantra consists of seven letters. [...] The purity of these seven deities [viz., Ghoracaṇḍī] is the Seven Limbs of Enlightenment (bodhyaṅga).

Tibetan Buddhism book cover
context information

Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.

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Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

[«previous next»] — Ghoracandi in Sanskrit glossary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Ghoracaṇḍī (घोरचण्डी).—name of a goddess: Sādhanamālā 488.7.

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

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