Hevajra: 9 definitions
Introduction:
Hevajra 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.
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In Hinduism
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: WikiPedia: HinduismHevajra is one of the main yidams (enlightened beings) in Tantric, or Vajrayana Buddhism. Hevajra's consort is Nairātmyā (Tibetan: bdag med ma). Originally written in mixed quality Sanskrit (with some verses in Apabhraṃśa), the present 750 verse text is reported to be but an excerpt or summary of a much larger, original text of up to 500,000 ślokas (verses) in 32 sections.
Hevajra has four forms described in the Hevajra Tantra and four forms described the Samputa Tantra:
According to the Hevajra Tantra:
(The Hevajra Tantra, a yoginītantra of the anuttarayogatantra class, is believed to have originated between the late 8th (Snellgrove), and the late 9th or early 10th centuries (Davidson), in Eastern India, possibly Bengal.)
- Kaya Hevajra—The two armed Body (Kaya) Hevajra is dark blue in colour.
- Vak Hevajra—The four armed Speech (Vak) Hevajra is dark blue in colour.
- Citta Hevajra—The six armed Mind (Citta) Hevajra is dark blue in colour with three faces - C. blue, R. white and L. red.
- Hrdaya Hevajra—The sixteen-armed, four-legged eight-faced Heart (Hrdaya) Hevajra is black in color.
According to the Samputa Tantra:
(The four forms of Hevajra described in the Samputa Tantra all dance on a lotus, corpse, blood-filled skull cup and sun disk throne.)
- Kaya Hevajra—The two armed Kaya-Hevajra (sku kyE rdo rje) – "Shaker of all the Three Worlds" ('jig-rten gsum kun-tu bskyod-pa)
- Vak Hevajra—The four armed Vak-Hevajra (sung kyE rdo rje)
- Citta Hevajra—The six armed Citta-Hevajra (thugs kyE rdo rje)
- Hrdaya Hevajra—The sixteen armed four legged Hrdaya Hevajra (snying po kyE rdo rje)
etymology: Hevajra (Tibetan: ཀྱེའི་རྡོ་རྗེ་ kye'i rdo rje / kye rdo rje; Chinese: 喜金刚 Xǐ jīngāng;)
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: archive.org: The Indian Buddhist IconographyHevajra (हेवज्र) refers to one of the various emanations of Akṣobhya having their Sādhana described in the 5th-century Sādhanamālā (a collection of sādhana texts that contain detailed instructions for rituals).—In the Hevajra-maṇḍala of the Niṣpannayogāvalī, Heruka is the principal deity, thus showing that their is only a very thin line of demarcation between the two, Heruka and Hevajra. When Heruka is accompanied with his Prajñā, he begets the name of Hevajra.
Hevajra (two-armed variety with one face)—[His Colour is blue; his Prajñā is Nairātmā]. When two-armed, Heruka gets the name of Trailokyākṣepa. The description is as follows:
“Trailokyākṣepa (Heruka) is blue in colour and dances m the ardhaparyaṅka attitude... He is one-faced and two-armed. With the left hand carrying the skull cup, full of blood and marked with a vajra, he embraces his Prajñā Nairātmā... The right holding the vajra is raised”
[The same form is again described in the Sādhanamālā which gives the additional information that the Śakti carries the kartri in the right hand and the kapāla in the left]
Hevajra (four-armed variety with one face)—[His Colour is blue; His Prajñā is Vajravārāhī]. The description in the Niṣpannayogāvalī is as follows:
“Or, he may be four-armed and appear similar to the two-armed form. In the two other hands he embraces his Śakti Vajravārāhī of his own creation. This is the only difference”.
[In the Sādhanamālā, one sādhana is also devoted to the worship of this particular form of Hevajra. Here also Hevajra is four-armed and is embraced by his Śakti who is identical with him in all respects. Hevajra carries in his four hands the blue vajra, the sword, the khaṭvāṅga and the jewel. The Khatvanga does not however hang from his shoulder but is carried in one of his hands. ]
Hevajra (six-armed variety with three faces)—[His Colour is blue; His Prajñā is Vajraśṛṅkhalā]. The description is as follows:
“Or, he (Hevajra) may be six-armed and blue in colour. The principal, the right and left faces show blue, white and red colour. In the three left hands he holds the bell marked with a vajra, the bow and the skull-cup. In the three right hands he carries the vajra, the arrow and the trident. He embraces with the two hands carrying the vajra and the ghaṇṭā the Prajñā Vajraśṛṅkhalā of his own creation”
Hevajra (sixteen-armed variety with sixteen arms and four legs)—[His Colour is blue; His Prajñā is Nairātmā]. The description is as follows:
Source: Himalayan Art: General“Hevajra of the fourth class is sixteen-armed and bears on his crown the effigy of the Dhyāni Buddha Akṣobhya. He embraces his Śakti Nairātmā. Instead of the corpse under his legs as aforesaid, he has four Māras under his four legs.
The first is Skandha Māra in the form of Brahmā of yellow colour,
the second is Kleśa Māra in the form of Viṣṇu of blue colour,
the third is Mṛtyu Māra in the form of Maheśvara of white colour,
and the fourth is Devaputra Māra in the form of Śakra of white colour.On them the four-legged god stands with two legs arranged in ardhaparyaṅka and two others in ālīḍha. He is blue in colour and has eight faces. The principal face is blue, the right has a smile and is white, the left is red, the fourth is on the top of his head with distorted teeth. All other faces are blue in colour. In the right hands he carries 1, the vajra, 2. the sword, 3. the arrow, 4. the discus, 5. the wine-glass, 6, the staff, 7. the triśūla, and 8. the goad. In the left hands the holds 1. the bell, 2. the lotus, 3. the bow, 4. the raised khaṭvāṅga, 5. the skull-cup, 6. the jewel, 7. the raised index finger and 8. the noose.”
Shri Hevajra is a principal meditational deity of the Anuttarayoga classification in Buddhist Tantra. According to the Sakya system Hevajra belongs to the sub-class of 'non-dual' tantra. The Kagyu system classifies Hevajra as 'Wisdom-mother' tantra. From the numerous texts within the cycle of Hevajra the root Tantra of 'Two Sections' is the most important.
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.
General definition (in Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: The gods of northern BuddhismThe tutelary god Hevajra is described, with all the rites and ceremonies used in his worship, in the sutra of the Hevajra tantra, which figured historically in the conversion of the Mongolian emperor Khoubilaii in the thirteenth century A. D. 5
Hevajra is represented with eight heads, sixteen arms, and four legs. There are three heads on either side of the central head, which is larger than the rest, and all have the third eye. Above the central head is another head. The heads, however, may be disposed in two tiers of three, with a head on top. In this form there are only seven heads.
Tibetian name: kye-ba-rdo-rje (oh, eternal thunderbolt!).
Mongolian name: kevajra.
Hevajra is one of the main yidams in Tantric, or Vajrayana Buddhism. Hevajra’s consort is Nairatmya (Tibetan: bdag med ma). The Hevajra Tantra is believed to have originated between the late eighth century CE, and the “late ninth or early tenth century”.
Source: Wisdom Publications: Teachings on Guhyasamāja TantraA tantra with the nature of method and wisdom. The syllable he is great compassion; vajra means wisdom.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryHevajra (हेवज्र).—(1) name of a deity: Sādhanamālā 479.1; (2) (also °ra-tantra), name of a tantric work: °ra-deśakaḥ Sādhanamālā 450.1; °ra-tantra-saṃbandhāṃ…Kurukullāṃ 381.1.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English DictionaryHevajra (हेवज्र):—m. Name of a Buddhist god, [Horace H. Wilson]
[Sanskrit to German]
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Hevajrakrama, Hevajrakramakurukulla, Hevajrapindarthatika, Hevajratantra.
Full-text (+38): Hevajratantra, Saroruhavajra, Nairatmya, Hevajrapindarthatika, Trailokyakshepa, Vak Hevajra, Kaya Hevajra, Citta Hevajra, Dombiheruka, Krishnapandita, Shunyata, Adiyoga, Heruka, bka' babs bzhi, Paurika, Margaphala, Lamdre, Kevajra, Mother tantra, ma rgyud.
Relevant text
Search found 18 books and stories containing Hevajra; (plurals include: Hevajras). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Hevajra Tantra (analytical study) (by Seung Ho Nam)
1.3. (ii) The Intrinsic Pure Mind and the Accidental defilements < [Chapter 3 - Tantric Doctrine in Hevajra Tantra]
1.3. (i) Existence of Gotra < [Chapter 3 - Tantric Doctrine in Hevajra Tantra]
1.2. Mantras (used for invoking the Buddhas) < [Chapter 4 - Tantric Cult in Hevajra Tantra]
The gods of northern Buddhism (by Alice Getty)
Iconography of Buddhist and Brahmanical Sculptures (by Nalini Kanta Bhattasali)
Introduction to Buddhist Iconography < [Part 1 - Buddhist Sculptures]
Blue Annals (deb-ther sngon-po) (by George N. Roerich)
Chapter 1 - Master mar pa and Ngok lineage < [Book 8 - The famous Dakpo Kagyü (traditions)]
Chapter 10 - Phagmodru Lineage (xi): spyan snga dpal idan bzang po ba < [Book 8 - The famous Dakpo Kagyü (traditions)]
Chapter 10 - Phagmodru Lineage (ix): tshe bzhi gsar ma ba < [Book 8 - The famous Dakpo Kagyü (traditions)]
The body in early Hatha Yoga (by Ruth Westoby)
Genealogy of ritual sex to sexual affect < [Chapter 5 - Kuṇḍalinī: the matter of emotion]
Paradox: material and ethereal < [Chapter 2 - Begin by cooking yourself]
Kuṇḍalinī technique: Strike < [Chapter 5 - Kuṇḍalinī: the matter of emotion]
On the use of Human remains in Tibetan ritual objects (by Ayesha Fuentes)
Charnel materials in the Saṃvara tradition < [Chapter 2 - The use of skulls and bone ornaments]
Conclusion: Skulls and charnel ornaments in Tibetan sources < [Chapter 2 - The use of skulls and bone ornaments]
Interpretation and context < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]
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