Rakta Yamari Explained

Rakta Yamari (Tibetan shin je she mar in, Wylie: gshin rje gshed dmar "the Red Enemy of Death") is a Tantric Buddhist meditational deity which is a wrathful form of bodhisattva Manjushri or Yamantaka.^[1] Yamari deities have two forms: red (rakta) and black (krishna), and are part of the Anuttarayoga Class of Tantric Buddhism.^{[2] [3]}

The Ngor Mandala collection of the Sakya tradition alone lists eight different forms/lineages of the blue/black buffalo-faced Vajrabhairava (which include the two Gelug ones) and four of red Rakta- or blue Krishna-Yamari (all without the buffalo head). All the former are yidams (meditational deities) whereas Yamaraja (sometimes also called Dharamaraja) is a Dharma protector.^[4]

Rakta Yamari of Virupa and Rakta Yamari of Shridhara appear in chapter 8 of The Collection of All Tantras, compiled by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamyang Loter Wangpo.^[5]

External links

• Web site: Rakta Yamari Grand Puja 2007 (May) - Poster & Write-up. Vajrayana Buddhist Society. 2014-02-13. 2009-10-20.
• Web site: A Gilt Bronze Figure of Rakta Yamari, TIBET, 14TH CENTURY, Indian & Southeast Asian Art Auction, Sculptures, Statues & Figures, figure. Christie's. 2014-02-13. 2009-03-20.
• Web site: 9. Rakta-Yamari Tibet 15th century Gilt copper, silver, iron, turquoise, lapis lazuli and painted details. Cast for Eternity: Bronze Masterworks from India and the Himalayas. 2014-02-13. 2005.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Rakta Yamari. Himalayan Buddhist Art - Art Bouddhiste de l'Himalaya. 2014-02-13. 2013-02-14.
2. Web site: Rakta Yamari - Updated. Himalayan Art News. 2014-02-13. 2011-08-22.
3. Web site: Rakta Yamari in Consort with Svabha-Prajna Central Tibetan, probably Tsang, Second quarter of the 15th century. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 2014-02-13.
4. Web site: Gonsalez. David. Vajrabhairava / Yamantaka - An Introduction. Yamantaka.org. 2014-02-13. 2004-06-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20140221223835/http://yamantaka.org/component/content/article/1-vajrabhairava-yamantaka-an-introduction.html. 2014-02-21. dead.
5. Web site: rgyud sde kun btus. Rangjung Yeshe Wiki - Dharma Dictionnary. 2014-02-13.