Kurukulla

Kurukulla in Samye Monastery

Kurukulla or Kurukulle (Tibetan: ཀུ་རུ་ཀུ་ལླེ་, Wylie: ku ru ku lle, ZYPY: ku ru ku le ; also: Rigdjema, tib.: rig byed ma) which means "the cause of knowledge"^[1] is a female, peaceful to semi-wrathful Yidam in Tibetan Buddhism.

Representation

Kurukulla is a goddess of her body mostly in red with four arms, holding bow and arrow made of flowers. She dances in Dakini-pose and crushes the asura Rahu (the one who devours the sun). According to Vedic astrology, Rahu is a snake demon head (Navagraha) and ascending lunar node.

She is said to be the incarnation of Amida Buddha and other buddhas.

History

Kurukulla was likely an Indian tribal deity associated with magical domination. She was assimilated into the Buddhist pantheon at least as early as the Hevajra Tantra, which contains her mantra. Her function in Tibetan Buddhism is the "red" function of subjugation. Her root tantra is the Arya-tara-kurukulle-kalpa (Practices of the Noble Tara Kurukulla).^[2] It was translated by Ts'ütr'im jeya, a disciple of Atiśa.^[3]

Notes

References

• Beyer, Stephan (1978). The Cult of Tara: Magic and Ritual in Tibet. University of California Press. pp. 301–310. ISBN 0-520-03635-2. 
• Dharmachakra Translation Committee (tr.) (2011). The Practice Manual of Noble Tara Kurukulle. 84000. Retrieved 2015-03-22. 

Further reading

• Donaldson, Thomas E. (2001). Iconography of the Buddhist Sculpture of Orissa: Text. Abhinav Publications. pp. 298–301. ISBN 9788170174066. 
• Shaw, Miranda (2006). "Kurukulla: Red Enchantress with Flowered Bow". Buddhist Goddesses of India. Princeton University Press. pp. 432–447. ISBN 978-0691127583. 
• Reynolds, John Myrdhin. "Kurukulla: The Dakini of Magic and Enchantments". Vajranatha.com. Retrieved 2015-03-22. 
• Vessantara (2003). "Kurukulla and the Rite of Fascination". Female Deities in Buddhism: A Concise Guide. Windhorse Publications. pp. 79–81. ISBN 9781899579532. 

External links

• Kurukulla Main Page at HimalayanArt.com