Yamāntaka: Conqueror of Death
Yamāntaka is a classification of major deities within Tantric Buddhism.
Yamāntaka deities are Anuttarayoga Tantra Iṣṭadevatās and are considered terrifying and wrathful manifestations of the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, the Buddha of Wisdom. Yamāntaka deities can be depicted in a multitude of ways, from a simple one faced deity with two hands all the way up to a nine faced, thirty-four armed with sixteen legs, but there's a constant iconographic characteristic to be found: A water-buffalo, be it as a mount or as the head of the deity itself.
Yamāntaka means "Conqueror of Death" or “Destroyer of Death” and the practice of Yamāntaka deities are considered some of the most powerful in all of Esoteric Buddhism. The iconography of Yamāntaka deities is tied to the Vedic Deva Yamarāja, the King of the Underworld and judge of beings at time of death, who is described riding a water-buffalo.
The core Yamāntaka deities are Kṛṣṇa Yamāri, Rakta Yamāri and Vajrabhairava. Within Buddhism, "terminating death" is a quality of all Buddhas as they have stopped the cycle of death and rebirth. So Yamāntaka represents the goal of the Vajrayāna practitioner's journey to enlightenment, or the journey itself: On final awakening, one manifests Yamāntaka – the ending of death.
Yamāntaka deities are related to Kalantaka (“He who ends Death”) or Kalasamhara (“Slayer of Death”), a terrifying and wrathful form of Śiva, personified as the Conqueror of Death in different Śaiva Traditions. Interestingly enough, the Arya Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa, a Buddhist Kriyā Tantra, states that mantras taught in Śaiva Tantras will be effective if applied by Buddhists since they were all taught originally by Mañjuśrī. At the same time, some Śaiva Traditions consider Bodhisattvas like Mañjuśrī to be emanations of Śiva.
Yamāntaka is a classification of major deities within Tantric Buddhism.
Yamāntaka deities are Anuttarayoga Tantra Iṣṭadevatās and are considered terrifying and wrathful manifestations of the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, the Buddha of Wisdom. Yamāntaka deities can be depicted in a multitude of ways, from a simple one faced deity with two hands all the way up to a nine faced, thirty-four armed with sixteen legs, but there's a constant iconographic characteristic to be found: A water-buffalo, be it as a mount or as the head of the deity itself.
Yamāntaka means "Conqueror of Death" or “Destroyer of Death” and the practice of Yamāntaka deities are considered some of the most powerful in all of Esoteric Buddhism. The iconography of Yamāntaka deities is tied to the Vedic Deva Yamarāja, the King of the Underworld and judge of beings at time of death, who is described riding a water-buffalo.
The core Yamāntaka deities are Kṛṣṇa Yamāri, Rakta Yamāri and Vajrabhairava. Within Buddhism, "terminating death" is a quality of all Buddhas as they have stopped the cycle of death and rebirth. So Yamāntaka represents the goal of the Vajrayāna practitioner's journey to enlightenment, or the journey itself: On final awakening, one manifests Yamāntaka – the ending of death.
Yamāntaka deities are related to Kalantaka (“He who ends Death”) or Kalasamhara (“Slayer of Death”), a terrifying and wrathful form of Śiva, personified as the Conqueror of Death in different Śaiva Traditions. Interestingly enough, the Arya Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa, a Buddhist Kriyā Tantra, states that mantras taught in Śaiva Tantras will be effective if applied by Buddhists since they were all taught originally by Mañjuśrī. At the same time, some Śaiva Traditions consider Bodhisattvas like Mañjuśrī to be emanations of Śiva.