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The Bodhisattva with a Mask

Author(s): Dorothy H. Fickle


Source: Artibus Asiae, Vol. 54, No. 3/4 (1994), pp. 347-375
Published by: Artibus Asiae Publishers
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3250062
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DOROTHY H. FICKLE

THE BODHISATTVA WITH A MASK

T he Tibeto-Chinese collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art contains a small bronze


seated bodhisattva who holds a horned lion mask before his chest (fig. i).' The presence of this
mask has initiated this investigation into the identity of this bodhisattva and the meaning of the
mask.
The bodhisattva sits upon a lotus pedestal with his legs crossed at the ankles and his body slightly
flexed at the hips, waist, and neck. His hair is piled high in a double knot topped with a jewel. His
five-leaf crown, his jewelry, his lower garment, and his posture and dimensions are all reminiscent of
Nepalese art, whereas his facial features, the ribbons attached to his crown, and the long scarfdraped
over his arms are Chinese characteristics. He wears the full complement of ornaments typical of
Buddhist bodhisattvas: earrings, a short and a long necklace, armlets, bracelets, anklets. Long
streamersfall from his waistband over his ankles and thence over the pedestal. All the body parts of
this bodhisattva have been painted with cold gold, while the jewelry, dress, and pedestal are
unpainted. The only attribute possessed by this bodhisattva is the horned lion mask.
This image bears an inscription at the top of the lotus pedestal (fig. z) which reads: Da Qing
Qianlongnian jing zao, "respectfully produced [in the] Qianlong period [of the] Great Qing," the
standardseven-charactermark of the Manchu emperor, Qianlong (reigned 1735-96). Stylistically the
image relates to the hundreds that were discovered in 1926 by Stael-Holstein in the Baoxiang Lou in
the Forbidden City, published by Clark in Two Lamaistic Pantheons.2The images in that temple
probably originated among the thousands that Qianlong is known to have given to his mother on her
sixtieth, seventieth, and eightieth birthdays in I75I, 1761, and I77I.3 Innumerable additional images
were produced under this emperor'spatronage to serve the Lamaistictemples throughout his empire.
Many of these images have found their way into sculptural collections around the world.
Another inscription on the base of the image (fig. 2) gives the name of the bodhisattva,gang guang
tongzi, "the youth with a shining net." But why does "the youth with a shining net" hold a mask
instead of a net? What is the meaning of the mask? How did the idea of a net enter his iconography?
These questions can be easily answered, primarily based on previous scholarship. There is another,
more far-ranging question, however, which will be the main focus of this paper. Who is this
bodhisattva, and what is his function in Buddhist iconography? How has the problem about the
meaning of his name affected his interpretation in mandalasthroughout the Buddhist world?

The Name

The Sanskrit name for this bodhisattva is Jaliniprabhakumara,which, as in the Chinese version
above, is generally translated as "the youth (kumara)with a shining (prabha)net (jdlin)." Actually,

Accession no. 74-36/44. Height: I6.5 cm.


2 Walter Eugene Clark, Two LamaisticPantheons,(1937, reprint ed., New York: Paragon Book Reprint Corp., I965).
3 Ibid., xii-iii.

347
however, the name should be translated as "the youth with a shining light," a referenceto the sun.
Jaliniprabhakumarais a sun bodhisattva. The jdlini element of his name is a synonym of the sun.
The earliest Sanskritspelling for the name of this bodhisattva was Jvaliniprabhakumara.4Jvd/i(n)
means "flame"or "bright light". Combined with prabha, "shining" or "bright", its meaning was
intensified. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit tended to simplify the consonant clusters encountered so
frequently in Classical Sanskrit, such as the jv at the beginning of this word.Jvwlinf became simply
jdlinf. To the first users of this altered expression, the intention surely remained the same.
Jaliniprabhastill meant a "bright flame"or a "bright light", and the term was still a synonym for the
sun. Gradually, however, the word came to mean something quite different. The metamorphosed
form,jdlinz, had an alternatemeaning, "net".Either internally in the Sanskrit-using Buddhist world,
or as the original Sanskrit name for this bodhisattva began to be translated into other languages, the
meaning of his name became transformedinto "the youth with a shining net".
We have already seen that the Chinese name for this bodhisattva is translated in this way. The
Tibetan Jaliniprabhakumara is gZhon nu dra ba can gyi 'od. In practice, in both Sanskrit and
Tibetan, the word meaning "youth"(kumaraor gzhon nu) is often omitted, shortening the name to
Jaliniprabha or Dra ba can gyi 'od. This name is included on the list of bodhisattvas in the
Mahdvyutpatti(henceforth called MVY), a Sanskrit-Tibetanglossary of religious terms begun in the
late eighth century and finished during the reign of the Tibetan king, Ral-pa-can, who ruled 815-36,
designed to foster consistency in the translation of Buddhist terms from Sanskrit into Tibetan.s
Alexander Csoma de Kor6s, in his English translation of MVY, rendered the name Jaliniprabha as
"illusoryor ensnaring light". He was apparentlytranslating gyi 'od(Skr.prabha)as "light" and dra hba
(Skr.jalini) as "illusoryor ensnaring",words which bear the connotation of "net".Based upon MVY,
Edgerton, in his Buddhist Hybrid SanskritDictionary,translated the jlinz or dra ba element of tlis
deity's name as "net",or dra ba canas "havinga net".6
An occasional image of this bodhisattva does hold a sun, the proper attribute for Jaliniprabha.
More frequently, he holds a net, the result of the faulty translationsof his name. The mask is unusual.
I know of only two examples where this bodhisattva holds such a symbol. One of these is the Nelson-
Atkins image. The other, also produced in North China during the Qianlong period, is reproduced
in Clark.7We shall see below that the mask, like the sun, is a properattribute forJalinprabha.

4 The orthographical problems connected with the name of this bodhisattva are discussed in Franklin Edgerton, Buddhist Hybrid
Sanskrit Dictionary, (reprint ed., Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1972), I5, no. 2.8; Anjali Mukhopadhyaya, "Traditional Lore
Regarding Manjusri," The Adyar Library Bulletin (n.s. II.i), i9, pts. 1-2 (May i955):32; Marie-Therese de Mallmann, Etude
iconographique sur Manjusri (Paris: Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient, 1964), 27, n. 4; de Mallmann, Introductiona I'iconographie du
tdntrismebouddhique(Paris: Centre de Recherches sur I'Asie Centrale et la Haute Asia, 1975), 193, 204.
5 The Mahavyutpatti(MVY) was originally a Sanskrit-Tibetan dictionary. Gradually other languages were added, including two
Mongolian translations made in the eighteenth century. See Alexander Csoma de Koros, Sanskrit-Tibetan-EnglishVocabulary:the
Mahavyutpatti,Memoirsof the Asiatic Societyof Bengal, 4, pt. I (I9IO):I-127; 4, pt. 2 (I9I6):I29-25I; 4, pt. 3 (1944):253-86; (reprint
ed., New Delhi: Gaurav Publishing House, 199I); de Koros, Mahavyutpatti:Sanskrit-Tibetan-EnglishVocabulary,new ed., enlarged
and corrected by Anil K. Gupta, Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica, nos. 5-6 (Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1980). For a thorough
documentation of the various editions and translations, see Buddhist Text Infornation(BTI), 31 (March 1982), 6-13; 32 (June I982),
I-I2; 34 (December 1982), 5-6; 55-58 (1988), 49, 53-54. A good description of the original production of MVY can be found in
Roberto Vitali, Early Templesof CentralTibet(London: Serindia, 1990), I9.
6 Edgerton, Dictionary,242, who refersto early editions of MVY by Sakaki (Kyoto, I9I6) and Mironov (St. Petersburg, 1910-II).
7 Clark, no. 5 B 14.

348
TheMask (fig. 3)

In Asia a lion mask can symbolize the sun. Napier in Masks, Transformation, and Paradoxpointed
out the link between the sun, fire, and the lion mask.8A typical passage reads:"Agni,9 born of wood
and consumer of wood, is said to make the forest black with a lick of the tongue. Conversely, as a
beneficent force, Agni is the rising sun and the source of enlightenment. This complex solar imagery
of devastation and enlightenment - of an ambivalent deity who is a destroyer but also a source of
inspiration - underlies the notion of the third eye.'I This same imagery also assures the close
connection between the solar fire of Agni and the facial features of the lion since, from Rome to India,
the lion's wide-open mouth mythically accounts for the scorching heat of the sun."" This same view
was expressed earlier by Chevalier and Gheerbrant in Dictionnairedes symboles,who wrote that "le
masque, notamment sous ses aspects irreelset animaux, est le Face divineet plus specialement le face
du soleil, que traversele rayonnementde la lumiere spirituelle."12Again, "lefacede Gloire'3est la face
Yet again, "puissant, souverain, symbole solaire et
du soleil, par ou s'effectue la sortiedu cosmos."'4
a
lumineux l'extreme, le lion roi desanimauxest charge des qualites et defauts inherents a son rang."15
Earlier scholars have also pointed out a link between the lion mask and the sun. Combaz in 1945
noted that in the classical mythology of the EasternMediterraneanworld, "les rapportsentre le lion
et le soleil ne sont pas douteux."'6Cammann in 1940 wrote that the Indians often referredto the lion
mask as Suryamukha, the Sun Face.'7 Coomaraswamy, the great interpreter of Indian symbolism,
wrote in 1927 that the kirttimukha, the terrible Face of God, represents both the Sun and Death,
generating and devouring his children.'8
The form of the mask has varied from place to place and time to time. The earliest examples in
India appeared during the Gupta period (fourth to fifth century A.D.).'9 The Indian kzrttimukha, "face
of glory," originally depicted as a monster, gradually came to resemble the face of a lion. Usually the
mask had round, protruding eyes, set closely together, surmounted by arched eyebrows, which
originally extended into two horns, below which were the two ears. The horns usually rose upward.
Flying locks of hair were displayed, and the teeth, flanked by curving tusks, were prominent in the
open mouth. Gradually the lower jaw was eliminated. Sometimes from under the tusks emerged
festoons of pearls or garlands which linked a number of kirttimukha together. These festoons
gradually evolved into stems connecting a central mask over a doorway with other monsters called
makaraat either end of the arch. Sometimes there were arms and hands accompanying the face.20
This type of Indian mask travelled to Tibet, where it appeared as the zirdong, a lion face without a
lower jaw, dripping festoons, pendants, snakes, or an ornamental band from its mouth. This type has
8
A. David Napier, Masks, Transformation,and Paradox(Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 1986).
9 The Indian god of fire.
1O A reference to the third eye of the Hindu god, Siva.

Napier, 146.
Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant, Dictionnairedessymboles,rev. ed. (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1982), 489.
I3 A reference to the kirttimukha,the Indian version of the lion mask.
I4 Chevalier and Gheerbrant, 379.
rS Ibid., 456.
i6 Gisbert Combaz, "Masques et dragons en Asie," Melangeschinoiset bouddhiques7 (945):44.
Schuyler Cammann, "Tibetan Monster Masks,"Journal of the West China BorderResearchSociety,series A, 12(I940):Io.
I7

18
In Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbolsin Indian Art and Civilization (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1962),I175 n.
I9 Combaz, 242-43.
20
O.C. Gangoly, "A Note on Kirtimukha,"RupamI (I920):I5.

349
small horns which rise upward or the horns encircle the ears.2'Another type of lion mask in Tibet,
the chimindra,is more monster-like, with a large head, sweeping horns, and usually lacking a lower
jaw. This type often has arms and hands which grasp snakes or bands which issue from the cornersof
its mouth, and is frequently combined with two deer, two dragons, or two nakara.22The mask held
by the Nelson-Atkins bodhisattva represents a third type, described by John Clarke as Sino-
Mongolian. The jaw is squarer than on examples from Tibet, and it is distinguished "by its
distinctive handle-bar shaped horns which curl downwards and outwards."23The mask held by the
image in the Baoxiang Lou pantheon also has the handle-barhorns and the flat upper jaw similar to
the Nelson-Atkins example.24
Why did these two images originating in North China in the eighteenth century employ a
symbol suggesting the original meaning of this bodhisattva whereas elsewhere his role in the pan-
theon appearsto have been forgotten? Are these two images which hold a mask, a symbol of the sun,
connected with the few which hold the sun directly? In this paper I shall examine all the examples of
Jaliniprabha(kumara)known to me to determine how the faulty translation of his name has affected
his iconographyand to isolate the instances where the artists included the correctattribute.

The IconographyofJdliniprabha

The major work on the iconography of the bodhisattva Jaliniprabha has been undertaken by
Marie-Theresede Mallmann. In Etudeiconographique sur ManjuSri,25 she described the two different
roles assumed by this bodhisattva, as an attendant to Mafijusri,or as a member of a particulargroup
of sixteen bodhisattvas. She treated him again in her Introductiona I'iconographiedu tdntrisme
bouddhique.26De Mallmann's sourceswere the Nispannayogdvali(hereaftercalled NSP),27a text of the
late eleventh or early twelfth century by Abhayakaragupta, which outlines twenty-six major
mandalas of Tantric Buddhism, the Sadhanaimald(SM),28 an iconographical compendium of the
seventh to ninth century, and the Krzyasamgraha(KS) by Kuladatta, date unknown.29 Benoytosh
Bhattacharyyaalso described this bodhisattva in the introduction to his edition of NSP and in The
Indian BuddhistIconography.3? Snodgrasshas described this bodhisattva as revealed in Japanese ma-
terials.3I
In my study of Jaliniprabha, I shall go beyond these earlier scholars by consulting a greater
number of mandalasthan they were able to do. More materialson Tibetan Tantric Buddhism are now
21
Cammann, Io and figs. I, 3. Cf. PratapadityaPal, TibetanPainting (Basel: Ravi Kumar, 1984), pls. I8, 44.
22
Cammann, figs. 2A and 2B, and Valrae Reynolds, Catalogueof The Newark Museum,TibetanCollection,Vol. I: Introduction(rev. ed.,
Newark: The Newark Museum, 1983), 75.
John Clarke, "A Group of Sino-Mongolian Metalwork in the Tibetan Style," Orientations23, 5 (May I992):69.
23

24
Clark, no. 5 B I4.
25
De Mallmann 1964, 27, 30-31, 193-95, 78, 88, 139, I55, 225, 233.
26 De Mallmann I975, I93-95.
27
Abhayakaragupta, Nispannayogavali (NSP), ed. B.T. Bhattacharyya, Gaekwad's Oriental Series, vol. I09 (Baroda: Oriental
Institute, 1949).
28 Sadhanandald(SM), ed. B.T. Bhattacharyya, Gaekwad's Oriental Series, vols. 26, 41 (Baroda: Central Library, 1925, 1928). Each
sadhanais a description of a deity. This text contains 3Iz sadhanas.
29 De Mallmann used manuscripts at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. For an edition see Kuladatta, Kriyasamngraha(panjika)
(KS),
ed. SharadaRani, Satapitaka series no. 236 (New Delhi: SharadaRani, I977).
30 NSP, (Calcutta: K.L. Mukhopadhyay, 1958),90, I2I.
27; Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, The Indian BuddhistIconography
31 Adrian Snodgrass, The Matrix and DianmondWorld Mandalas in Shingon Buddhisoz,2 vols., Satapitaka series, nos. 354-55 (New
Delhi: Aditya Prakashan,I988), 382-83.

350
available to us. I have located this bodhisattva in nineteen different mandalas. For each example, I
shall identify and examine the text which underlies the mandala,and comparethe textual description
of Jaliniprabha with a published example of the mandala. First I shall examine Jaliniprabha in his
role as an attendant to Manfjusriand then as one of the Sixteen Bodhisattvas. I shall also note his
location in each mandala and with whom he is associated, devoting particular attention to
Candraprabha,the moon bodhisattva, who frequently forms a pair with this sun bodhisattva. This
examination will demonstrate how this bodhisattva has actually been perceived in Buddhist art and
literature, and to what extent the altering of his name has affected his iconography.

GROUP ONE: JALINIPRABHA AS AN ATTENDANT OF MANJUSRI

Mandala no. I: The JapaneseMahdkarundGarbhadhdtu(Taizokai)Mandala

Of the seven mandalaswhich feature Jaliniprabha as an attendant of Manfjusri,the most widely


known throughout the world of Buddhism is the Japanese Mahdkaruna Garbhadhdtu Mandala. This
mandala is also called the Matrix Mandala, the Mandala of the Womb World, or the Taizo-kai
Mandara.32 It is usually combined with another mandala, the Vajradhatu, which will be discussed in
Group Two below. The Japanese Garbhadhdtu and Vajradhdtu Mandalas are together known as the
Mandalas of the Two Worlds, or the Ryokai Mandara, the two most highly prized mandalas of the
Shingon sect.
The basic text for the GarbhadhdtuMandala is the Mahdvairocanasutra(henceforth called MVS),
originally composed in Sanskrit in India between A.D. 500 and 65o by an unknown author.33The
Sanskrit text is no longer extant. An abbreviated version of the MVS was translated into Chinese by
Subhakarasimha and Yixing in A.D. 725.34 This version was taken to Japan by Kobo Daishi (A.D.
774-835) in the ninth century. In Japan the text is known as the Dainichikyo (DNK). In addition to
the text (MVS or DNK), the Japanese Garbhadhdtu Mandala is based upon commentaries by two
eighth-century Indian scholars,Subhakarasimhaand Amoghavajra.35
The present orthodox form of the Garbhadhdtu Mandala, the Genzu Taizokai Mandara, has
resulted from a long process of evolution within Japan, beginning with the copy made in China in
A.D. 805 and taken to Japan by Kobo Daishi in 806.36 This original version is now lost.37 The first
32 Mandara is the Japanese word for mandala.
33 BTI 26:26; A.K. Warder, Indian Buddhism,2nd ed. rev. (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,
1980), 489. For an edition of MVS, translated
into English from the A.D. 725 Chinese version, see Chikyo Yamamoto, Mahavairocana Sutra, Satapitaka series, no. 359 (New
Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture/Aditya Prakashan, I990). For a partial French translation, see Ryujun Tajima,
Etudesur le Mahdvairocana-Sitra(Paris: Maisonneuve, 1936). For studies of the text and its mandalas,see Ryujun Tajima, Les Deux
Grands Mandalas et la doctrinede l'esoterisme
shingon(Tokyo and Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, I959); Snodgrass; and Ulrich
H.R. Mammitzsch, Evolutionof the GarbhadhatuMandala, Satapitaka series, no. 363 (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian
Culture/ Aditya Prakashan, I99I).
34 Taisho edition of the Chinese Tripitaka (henceforth called T): Takakusu Junjiro and Watanabe Kaikyoku, eds. Taisho shinshu
daizokyo, I00 vols. (Tokyo: Taisho Issaikyo Kankokai, I924-32), no. 848; Bunyiu Nanjio, A Catalogueof the ChineseTranslationof
the Buddhist Tripitaka (henceforth called NJ) (Delhi: Classics India Publications, 1989), 30; Lewis R. Lancaster,The KoreanBuddhist
Canon:a DescriptiveCatalogue(henceforth called K) (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979), 427.
35 See Mammitzsch, who also used several ritual handbooks in interpreting the various forms of this mandala. Also see Snodgrass,
171-86.
36 Mammitzsch, 26.
37 Ihid.

35I
copy of this lost model, made in 821, is also lost.38 Both the 805 Chinese original and the 821 copy
were in full color. The only surviving copy that can be linked to Kobo Daishi's lifetime is the Takao
Mandara, painted in 824 with gold lines on purple cloth. It is not clear whether this Takao version
was based on the Chinese original, the 821 copy, another copy, or a black-and-white sketchbook
based on one of the earlier versions.39An A.D. 1191copy of the Chinese original, recognized as the
second official copy, now a fragment, is the oldest surviving full-color version.40Two more official
copies were made in 1296 and I693.4' The placement of the deities in the Takao and the 1191versions
is identical, suggesting that the latter is in the direct line of transmission from the original version.
There are a few differencesin the iconographyof the individual figures.42
The most widely known of the Genzu Mandalasis popularly called the Shingon-inMandala. This
one, which has been beautifully published by Heibonsha,43is outside the official line of transmission.
The Shingon-in was the name of a Buddhist chapel in the precincts of the imperial palace at Kyoto.
A set of the Mandalasof the Two Worldskept in that chapel for use in certain rituals was destroyed in
a fire in II77. For four years, 1178-8i, the set from the Sai-in (Western Monastery) at the Toji in Nara
was borrowed to use during these official rituals. This pair became known as the Shingon-in
Mandalas, whereas in reality they should be called the Sai-in Mandalas, named for the temple where
they traditionally belong.44This full-color set is linked with the early Heian style and probablydates
to the late ninth to the early tenth century.
In JapaneseJaliniprabha is called Moko Doshi, translated by Snodgrass as "boy with the net of
lights,"45or Komyo Bosatsu, "the bodhisattva with the net of lights."46 Mammitzsch translated his
name variouslyas "Shining-net Bodhisattva,""light net youth" or "light net hook."47
The central figure of the GarbhadhatuMandala is Vairocanaor Mahavairocana,seated in medi-
tation. Within a central square, called a "quarter"or a "mansion,"Vairocanais accompanied by four
Tathagatas and four bodhisattvas. Surrounding this is a band that contains three concentric rows of
deities, who are grouped into seven more quarters. Outside this is a third band with four more
quarters, and outside the entire group is a fourth band containing two hundred and two additional
deities. Manijusri's quarter is located in the third band of the nmandalaat the top (East), with Manijusri
himself seated in the center, surrounded immediately by four bodhisattvas. Jaliniprabha is seated at
the proper right of Mafijusri's group, accompanied by four other bodhisattvas. Jaliniprabha is the
nearestto Manfjusri.His companions are Ratnakuta,Vimalaprabha,Candraprabha,and Maiijughosa.
The first two of these companions are mentioned in MVS, although not in connection with
Mafijusri'smandala. Candraprabhaand Mafijughosaare not mentioned in the text at all.48The text
says that Jaliniprabha "holds many precious nets."49 However, Subhakarasimha's commentary says:
38 Ibid., 176.
39 Ibid.,I75.
40
Ihid., 74-75.
41 Ibid.
42 Ibid.
43 Yasuhiro Ishimoto, The Mandalas of the Two Worlds,4 vols. (Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1977), Japanese text. For an abbreviated form of
the above, see The Seibu Museum of Art, Eros + Cosmosin Mandala (Tokyo: The Seibu Museum of Art, 1978).
44 See article by Yanagisawa Taka in Seibu.
45 Snodgrass, I69.
46
Ibid.,382.
47 Mammitzsch III,
II3,II7.
48
Snodgrass, 379.
49 MVS, 24.

352
"The right hand is raised in front of the chest, palm upward, and holds the noose of Wisdom.... The
left hand is raised,palm inward, and grasps a blue lotus."50
In both the Takaoand Shingon-inGarbhadhdtuMandalas,5IJalinlprabhasits at the right of Manju-
sri, as prescribed in the text. On the Shingon-in Mandala, his image is too badly damaged to reveal
the attribute, although we can see his two hands placed before his chest. On the Takao Mandala, his
two hands are again brought before his chest. He holds a noose in his right hand and a lotus in his
left,52 the iconography according to Subhakarasimha's commentary. As for Candraprabha, he sits
third to the viewer's left ofJaliniprabha. He carriesa blue lotus that supports a crescent moon.53
Mandala no. 2: The Tibetan Abhisambodhi
VairocanaMandala
This second mandala, the Abhisambodhi Vairocana Mandala of Tibet, is based on the same text as
the Japanese Garbhadhdtu Mandala. In Tibet the text is called the Vairocanbhisambodhitantra.54 This
was translated into Tibetan by Silendrabodhi and dPal-brtsegs during the reign of King Ral pa can
(ca. 815-36).55The Tibetan version of the mandala was based on an interpretation of the text by
Amoghavajra (active A.D. 742-74), with some variations.56
An example of the Tibetan Ahhisambodhi Vairocana Mandala is no. 20 in the set of mandalas from
the Ngor Monastery published by Kodansha in I984.57 The same mandala is also illustrated as no. 20
in volume thirteen of A New Tibeto-MongolPantheon(NTMP).58 The central figure is a seated,
meditating Vairocana, known by the Tibetans as the Abhisambodhi-Vairocana. He is surrounded by
three concentric square houses. Mafijusri,59corresponding to the text, sits in the center of the top
outermost layer, which is East, and Jaliniprabha sits at his right. In Ngor, Jaliniprabha is flanked by
two smaller bodhisattvas, identified as Kumara Vimalaprabhaand Kumara Ratnakta.60 In NTMP
there are likewise three bodhisattvas in a group to the right of Manijusri although they are not
individually identified. Presumably the middle one is Jaliniprabha. We have noted that in the
50
Snodgrass, 383.
5' Forthe TakaoGenzuMandala,see LokeshChandra,The EsotericIconography ofJapanese Mandalas, Satapitaka series, no. 92 (New
Delhi:InternationalAcademyof IndianCulture,1971).Forthe Shingon-in(orSai-in)version,see Ishimotoor Seibu.
52
Snodgrass,382(sketch)andChandra,Esoteric
Iconography.
53 Snodgrass, 385.
54 BTI 36:26.
55
Lokesh Chandra, "Comparison of the Japanese and Tibetan Versions of the Abhisambodhi-Vairocana Mandala," in Indo-Tibetan
Studies,ed. Tadeusz Skorupski, Buddhica Britannica, series continua 2 (Tring, U.K.: The Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1990), 67.
The Tibetan translation of this text is located in H. Uli, M. Suzuki, Y. Kanakura and T. Tada, eds., A CompleteCatalogueof the
Tibetan Buddhist Canons(I-4569) and Y. Kanakura, R. Yamada, T. Tada, H. Hadano, eds. (5ooi-7083) (henceforth called TOH)
(Sendai: Tohoku University, I934 and I953), no. 494.
56 Snodgrass,171-82 and fig. 38, with some variations.The Tibetanversiondoes not includethe outerhousefilled with numerous
Indiandeitiesthat is presentin Snodgrass'fig. 38,whichalsowasbasedon the Amoghavajra
interpretation.
57 Ngor Thar ttse mKhan po bSod nams
rgya mtsho, Tibetan Mandalas, the Ngor Collection (henceforth called Ngor) (Tokyo:
Kodansha, 1984). This publication reproduces a collection of 139mandalaspainted in the nineteenth century, commissioned by the
Ngor sect of the Sa skya school of Tibetan Buddhism. They illustrate the mandalas in a tantric compendium, the rGyud-sdeKun-
btus,compiled also in the nineteenthcenturyby bLo-gter-dbang-po(32 vols., repr.ed. [Delhi: N. Lungtokand N. Gyaltsan,
197I]).The Ngor collectionof mandalaswasbroughtout of Tibet in 1958by Ngor Tharttse mKhanpo bSodnamsrgyamtsho,the
abbottof Ngor Monastery,who supervisedthe presentKodanshapublication.
58 Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra, A New Tibeto-Mongol Pantheon(NTMP), 20 vols, Satapitaka series, vol. 21 (New Delhi:
InternationalAcademyof IndianCulture,I961-67). Vols. 13-15of NTMP containdrawingsof the same I39mandalasas in the
Ngor set. No dateis given forthe originaldrawings.
59 In Ngorhis nameis listed as rDo rjedampa sbyinpa. Chandra,"Comparison,"1990,70, translatesthis as Vajrasadhu.
Vajrasadhu,
however,is the nameof one of the sixteenVajra-Bodhisattvas
who appearas a groupon a numberof man.dalas. The usualTibetan
nameforVajrasadhu is rDo rjelegs pa.
60 Chandra, "Comparison,"1990, 70.

353
Japanese GarbhadhatuMandala, there are four bodhisattvas accompanyingJalinlprabha to the right
of Mafjusri instead of two. As mentioned above, Jaliniprabha is the only bodhisattva in this group
prescribed by the text as an attendant for Manijusri. 6 Vimalaprabhaand Ratnakuta are mentioned
elsewhere in the text but not in connection with the quarterof Mafijusriin this mandala.The other
two found in the Japaneseversion, Candraprabhaand Mafijughosa,are not mentioned at all.62
We have alreadyobserved that the text (MVS) stipulates "manyprecious nets" as the attribute for
Jaliniprabha.63 In the Japanese version, he was actually holding a noose and a lotus. In Ngor, his
attribute is difficult to see, but it could be either a banner or a jewelled net at his right shoulder. In
NTMP, none of the three bodhisattvasattending Mafijusriholds an attribute.
The image of Jaliniprabhakumarapublished by Clark that holds a mask before his chest was
located in the fifth side-chapel of the Baoxiang Lou, in a group which Lokesh Chandrahas identified
as illustrating the Vairocandhisambodhitantra.64It is a mystery why this image, as well as the image at
the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, holds a symbol of the sun instead of the "many precious nets"
stipulated by the text. Perhaps the eighteenth-century artisans of North China who created these
images had access to a translation of MVS or an iconographic compendium which retained the
original meaning for this bodhisattva'sname. We shall return to this question later.
Mandala no. 3:ArapacanaManjughosaMandala

Another text which mentions Jaliniprabha is the Manijusfrijdnasattvasya-paramdrthananrama-


samgiti, usually shortened to Manjusrrlnamasanmgti(MNS), "chanting the names of Maijusri."65Like
MVS, this text originated in the sixth-seventh centuries. It was translated into Tibetan in the
eleventh century by Rin-chen-bzan-po, assisted by Kamalagupta. The text was later revised by Son
Blo-gros brtan-pa.66This text underlay seven mandalasaltogether. Two of these mandalas include
Jaliniprabha as an attendant to Maijusri. These will be discussed here. In the next section of this
paper I shall examine three additional MNS mandalasthat treat Jaliniprabhaas a member of a group
of sixteen bodhisattvas.The other two MNS mandalaswill be ignored because they do not include the
bodhisattvaJaliniprabha.
One of the two mandalasbased on the MNS is the Five-Deity "Arapacana" ManjughosaMandala.67
Because the text itself is extremely vague, one must rely upon the Sddhanamala(SM)68for informa-
6i
MVS, 24; Snodgrass, I68-69, 379, and fig. 38.
62
Snodgrass, 379.
63
MVS,24.
64 Clark, no. 5 B 4; Lokesh Chandra, Buddhist Iconographyof Tibet, 3 vols. Satapitaka series, no. 341 (Kyoto: Rinsen Book Co., 1986),
I:I8.
65 Raghu Vira, Manjiuri-ndma .sangiti (MNS I), Mongolian, Tibetan, Sanskrit, Chinese texts, Satapitaka series no. I8 (New Delhi:
International Academy of Indian Culture, [1962?]); Alex Wayman, Chanting the Namvesof Manju.ri: the Manjuisri-naza-samngiti
(MNS 2), Sanskrit, Tibetan, English (Boston and London: Shambhala, 1985). The original Tibetan text is located in TOH 360, NJ
1408, TII87.
66 MNS
2,36.
67 MNS 2, Ch. VI, 30-31 and 74-82. To describe the mandala, Wayman relied upon commentaries on the text plus writings by Bu-
ston and the Sddhanamalad(SM). For Bu-ston, see Lokesh Chandra, ed., The CollectedWorksof Bu-ston, 28 vols., Satapitaka series,
nos. 41-68 (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, I969). For SM, see note 28. For Arapacana in SM, see
de
Bhattacharyya, Indian Buddhist Iconography,120-21; de Mallmann I964, 27-32 (discussion) and 192-202 (Sanskrit); and
Mallmann I975, I94. There is another East Asian version of the Arapacana Mandala which does not include Jaliniprabha. See
Christine Guth Kanda, "Kaikei's Statues of Mafijusri and Four Attendants in the Abe no Monjuin," Archives of Asian Art 32
(I979):8-26.
68 The date of the earliest known is 1163(Bhattacharyya,2).
manuscript of the Sddhanarmald

354
tion about the individual deities in this mandala. There are five deities: a central Manijusrisur-
rounded by four attendants, Kesini, Upakesini, Jaliniprabha, and Candraprabha.Jaliniprabhasits in
the East, in front of Manfjusri,and Candraprabhasits in the West, behind the Master. The other two
attendants are at the central deity's right and left. The five each representone syllable of the name A-
ra-pa-ca-na.Jaliniprabha or his equivalent, in connection with the ArapacanaMandala, is found in
sddhanas 55, 56, 58, and 65. In SM 55 and 56, his name is Jaliniprabha. In SM 58, he is called
Jalinikumara. In SM 65, his name is Suryaprabha,"the light of the sun," another indication of the
true meaning of our deity. In all of these sadhanas,the four attendant deities hold the same attributes
as the central Mafijusri,a sword and a book.
Examples of this mandala include Ngor 21 and NTMP I3:2I.69 In Ngor, the name of our sun
bodhisattva is gZhon nu dra ba can gyi 'od, the longer version of his name, equivalent to Jalini-
prabhakumara,the "youth with the shining net." In both Ngor and NTMP, both Jaliniprabha and
Candraprabhahold a sword and a book, the attributes stipulated by the sddhanas.
Ma.ndalano. 4: The Thirteen-DeityVddirdjManjusrzMandala

The second mandala based upon MNS is the Thirteen-DeityVddirdj Manjusri Mandala.70 This
mandala is the subject of eight sddhanasin SM, but in only one, number 46, is the sun bodhisattva
included. The central figure is Manjusri as Vadiraj, with one face and two hands. He is flanked by
Sudhanakumaraat his right, Yamari at his left, Suryaprabha,the name used here for Jaliniprabha,
behind him in the North, and Candraprabhain front in the South.7' Additional Buddhas and
goddesses form another circle around this interior group. Neither Suryaprabhanor Candraprabhais
described in this text, and I have found no example.

Mandala no. 5: TheMandala of theRedManjusri

The Mandala of the Red Manjusri,described in SM 57,72 also includes Jaliniprabhaas an attendant
to Manijusri.Jaliniprabha sits to the East of Manijusriand Candraprabhato the West. Both perform
the varadamudrd,or charity gesture, and carryapadma.I have not located an example of this mandala.

Mandala no. 6: The Eight-SyllableManjusriwith Thirty-SevenDeities

Yet another mandala which includes Jalinlprabha as an attendant to Mafijusri is the Mandala of
the Eight-SyllableManijusrzwith Thirty-SevenDeities, derived from a text called the DelineatedRites of
the SecretEight-SyllableFormulaand Mandala Practicesof the GreatHoly ManjusriBodhisattva,73 which
has been studied by Raoul Birnbaum. This ritual text was composed or translatedinto Chinese in 824
by Bodhirsi, who resided in Chang'an. According to Birnbaum, specific information about the
69 For
sculptural renditions of this mandala, see Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, History of Indian and IndonesianArt (New York: Dover
Publications, 1965), fig. 358, and Nalini Kanta Bhattasali, Iconographyof Buddhist and BrahmanicalSculpturesin the Dacca Museum
(Dacca: Rai S. N. Bhadra Bahadur, 1929), pl. VIIb.
70 MNS ch.
z, IX, 34-35 and 99-IO6; SM 46 (de Mallmann I964:I88-89).
7' De Mallmann 1964, 24 places Candraprabha in the North and Suryaprabha in the South. De Mallmann 1975, 194 corrected the
translation, reversing these positions. The Sanskrit text of SM 46 reads daksinottaraparsve
candraprabhasuryaprabhau (de Mallmann
I964, I88), which assigns Candraprabhato the South and Suryaprabhato the North.
72 De Mallmann 1964, I95 (Sanskrit) and 30-31 (French). The original source for the sddhanais not known.
73 T XX:I84, a text found only in Japanese collections and not in Chinese or Korean catalogues. See Raoul Birnbaum, Studieson the

Mysteriesof Manijugsr: a Groupof East Asian Mandalas and Their Traditional Symnbolisnz,Society for the Study of Chinese Religions,
Monograph no. 2, c. 1983, 68-9I.

355
mandala is presented in the Bessonzakki,a Japanese iconographic compendium by Shinkaku (II1117-
80). An example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art is reproduced by Birnbaum.74 Again Manjusri,
with one head and two arms, sits in the center, and is surroundedby eight youths, with Jaliniprabha
in the North, at the top of the mandal. The latter's name is translated by Birnbaum as "Radiant
Net." According to the text, Jaliniprabha should sit on a lion and hold a banner.75 In the Metro-
politan painting, he does sit on a lion, but his attribute is unclear. Candraprabha is not present in
this mandala.

Mandala no. 7: TheForty-nine-DeityVajrabhairavaMandala

The Forty-nine-DeityVajrabhairavaMa/ndala,based on the Srivajramahdbhairavandmatantra,76


presents the final example of Jaliniprabha as an attendant to Manijusri. This mandala is illustrated by
Ngor no. 57 and by NTMP I4:57. The mandala is centered upon a nine-faced Vajrabhairava,an
emanation of Mafjusri, who is surrounded by four male and four female vajra bodhisattvas. Around
this inner group is a squarehouse containing forty deities. In Ngor,Jaliniprabhais one of these. He is
the last figure, excluding the corner deity, in the southern row, which is at the bottom. His name is
spelled Dra ba can gyi 'od, Jaliniprabha. Candraprabhais in the East. Except for the central Vajra-
bhairava, all the other forty-eight deities are ferocious like the Hindu god Yama, standing in
alfdhdsana, with their right legs bent and left legs stretched out to the side. They all have buffalo
faces, two arms, two legs, and hold a knife and a skull-cup. In NTMP, the individual deities are not
identified.
To summarize the iconography ofJaliniprabha as an attendant to Mafijusri, he is associated with a
net in MVS, the textual source of both the Japanese Garbhadhdtu Mandala and the Tibetan
Abhisambodhi Vairocana Mandala, whereas he actually holds a noose and a lotus in a Japanese example
and a symbol of the sun in a Tibeto-Chinese example. For the Arapacana Manijughosa Mandala and
the Vddirdj Manijufr Mandala, both based on MNS, we must rely for iconographical information on
sddhanas from the Sddhanammad. The sddhanas stipulate that this bodhisattva in the Arapacana
Manjughosa Mandala should hold a sword and a book, which he does in the known examples.
Suryaprabha, the equivalent of Jaliniprabha in the Vddirdj ManjusrizMandala, is not described in the
text, and I have located no example. For the Red Manjusrz Mandala and the Eight-Syllable Manj/zusri
Mandala, the stipulated attributes are a padma and a banner respectively. In the Forty-nine-Deity
Vajrabhairava Mandala, Jaliniprabha is like the god Yama, in buffalo form, holding a knife and a
skull-cup. In other words, in only the first two of these seven mandalas is there any relationship to his
name. The text for the Garbhadhdtu Mandalas did specify a net, the attribute derived from the faulty
translation of this bodhisattva's name, but in practise he holds something else. In Japan he holds a
noose and a lotus. In two Tibeto-Chinese versions he holds a mask, a symbol of the sun, derived from
the correct translation of his name.
In addition to the mask, we have encountered a few other clues that support the idea that
Jaliniprabha is a sun bodhisattva. One is the frequent pairing of Jaliniprabha with the moon
bodhisattva, Candraprabha. Another is the name Suryaprabha given to him by SM 65 for the
Arapacana Mandala and by SM 46 for the Vddiraj Mandala.

74 Museum no. 1975.268.I8. Birnbaum, 77-91, illustrated in pl. 17 and in a drawing on p. 81.
75
Birnbaum, II9, n. 96.
76 TOH 468.

356
GROUP TWO: JALINIPRABHA IN A GROUP OF SIXTEEN BODHISATTVAS

Mandala no. 8: TheJapaneseVajradhatu(Kongokai)Mandala

Two groups of sixteen bodhisattvas are prominent in Buddhist mandalas. One is the group of
Vajra-bodhisattvas, each of whom has the word vajra preceding or suffixed to his individual name.
These are associated four by four with the four regional Jinas or Tathagatas who surround the central
Vairocana in the Vajradhdtu and other mandalas.77 The Sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Bhadrakalpa, who
usually reside in one of the outer circles or squares of a mandala, constitute a second group.
Jaliniprabhaand Candraprabhaare members of this latter group.
The Bhadrakalpa is the name of the present eon (kalpa), as opposed to the past and the future.
Each of these three kalpas is believed to have one thousand Buddhas. Vairocana is the leader of the
present, the Bhadrakalpa, so mandalas which are centered on him often contain the Thousand
Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa.78 The first reference to the Thousand Buddhas occurred in the
Brahmajdla-sitra,which was translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva in A.D. 406. It says: "I am called
Vairocana and live in the ocean of the lotus world.... I incarnate myself into one thousand
Buddhas."79 The Thousand Buddhas are all described and named in the Bhadrakalpika-sztra.8
Sometimes a set of sixteen bodhisattvas has been substituted for the Thousand Buddhas. Such a
substitution is not mentioned in the basic text for the important Vajradhdtu Mandalas which I shall
examine next.8I The idea of the Sixteen BhadrakalpaBodhisattvas seems to have originated in the
commentaries, perhaps, as some claim, with Anandagarbha, who wrote such a commentary in the
eleventh century.82However, certainJapanesemandalaspainted in the ninth century alreadyinclude
the group of Sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Bhadrakalpa, as we shall see below. Furthermore, the ninth-
century Tibetan dictionary, the Mahdvyutpatti, includes a definition of the Bhadrakalpika bod-
hisattvas, suggesting that the concept was alreadyknown at that time.83
Among the mandalas that contain either the Thousand Buddhas or the Sixteen Bodhisattvas of the
Bhadrakalpa, the most important throughout the world of Buddhism is the Vajradhdtu ("Diamond
World')Man.dala.The best known example is the GenzuKongokaiMandaraof Japan, the second basic
Shingon mandala, which is paired with the Genzu TaizJkai Mandara that has already been discussed.
The VajradhatuMandala has been important in many countries throughout Asia. Its earliest repre-
sentation may be the sculptural arrangement at Chandi Sewu in Java,84which dates to the eighth
century. The Borobudur in Java, dating to about 825, may also represent a VajradhdtuMandala.85
77 See de Mallmann
I975, 396-400.
78 K.W. Lim, "Studies in Later Buddhist
Iconography," Bidragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkundevan Nederlandsch-India,120
(I964):333.
79 Lokesh Chandra, "Borobudur:a New Interpretation," in The Stupa:its Religious,Historicaland ArchitecturalSignificance,ed. Anna L.
Dallapiccola (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1980), 3I2.
80
Ibid.
8' Snodgrass, 664.
82
Lim, 338-39. Anandagarbha'scommentary is the Tattvalokakari.
83 MVY 1980, io. A
Bhadrakalpika Bodhisattva is defined as "aBodhisattva of the happy age."
84 F.D.K. Bosch, "Buddhist Data from Balinese
Texts," in SelectedStudies in IndonesianArchaeology(The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff,
1961), IIo-33. Also see Jacques Dumar?ay, Candi Sewu and I'architecturebouddhiquedu centrede Java (Paris: tcole FranFaise
d'Extreme-Orient, 1981). Dumarcay believed the central figure was Mainjusrlrather than Vairocana, although he admits the form
of the mandalais close to that of the VajradhatuMandalas.
85 Alex Wayman, "Reflections on the Theory of Barabudur as a ," in Bra : History and Significanceof a Buddhist
Monument,ed. Luis 0. Gomez and Hiram W. Woodward, Jr. (Berkeley: University of California, 1981), I39-72. Also see Chandra
1980, "Borobudur",and Lim.

357
Shashibalabelieves she has detected traces of the VajradhdtuMandala in Khotan.8 I shall examine
Japaneseand Tibetan versions below.
The basic text for the VajradhdtuMandalasis the Sarvatathdgatatattvasarmgrahasgtra (STTS), "the
assembly of truth of all the Buddhas."87In Japan this text is called the VajrasekharasZtra (VSS) or
Kongocho-kyo,"Diamond Peak Sutra."88Recently Lokesh Chandra has clarified some confusion
resulting from the Japanese title, explaining that in the school of Vajrasekhara-yoga, there are
eighteen assemblies or systems. The STTS (and the Japanese VSS) is concerned with only the first of
these eighteen assemblies, whereas the term Vajrasekharareally applies to the entire group. Each of
the eighteen assemblies, including the STTS, is in turn divided into four chapters, each of which
focusses on a different deity: Vajradhatu,Trailokyavijaya,Sakala-jagad-vinaya,and Sarvarthasiddhi.
Each chapterdescribes six types of mandalas,resulting in twenty-four for each assembly (six mandalas
times four chapters). Thus the STTS should have twenty-four mandalas. The Genzu Vajradhatu
Mandala, the first VajradhatuMandala that we shall examine, consists of nine separatemandalas.The
first six represent the six mandalasof the first chapter of STTS, all dedicated to Vairocanaas Vajra-
dhatu. The seventh is a variation of the sixth. Mandalaseight and nine are the first two in the second
chapterof STTS, focussed on Trailokyavijaya.9
STTS was probably composed inothe late seventh or early eighth century in the Andhra region of
South India by either Nagabodhi or Santarakshita.90 A ninth-to-tenth century Sanskrit manuscript
of this text was located in Nepal in I956. This is the manuscript edited by Isshi Yamada.
Vajrabodhi translated the recitation portions of the text into Chinese in A.D. 723,9' and in 753
Amoghavajra translated the first chapter of the first assembly.92 This is the translation most
frequently used by the Japanese. Amoghavajra also wrote a short summary of all the eighteen
assemblies, which the Japanese call theJohachi eshiki, "Synopsis of the Eighteen Assemblies."93
In 1015, the entire first assembly was translated by Danapala.94 who also translated the fifteenth.
The sixth was translated by Dharmabhadra at about the same time. All of the other assemblies are
now lost, but it is believed that many esoteric Buddhist szitras may once have been part of the
eighteen-assembly Vajrasekharasutra. Danapala's translation of assembly one was sent to Japan in
1073 by Jojin, but it never became a part of the Sino-Japanese tradition.95 Danapala's translation
more closely resembles the Sanskrit version found in Nepal and the Tibetan version.96 These seem to
86
Shashibala, Comparative oftheVajradhdtu-MandalaandtheTattva-Samgraha
Iconography (New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan,1989), it.
87 Isshi Yamada, ed. Sarvatathagatatattvasamgraha(STTS) Satapitaka series, no. 262 (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian
(STTS) (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,1987).
Culture, 1981); Lokesh Chandra,ed. Sarva-tathagata-tattva-samgraha
88
Chandra,STTS,iI.
89 Lokesh Chandra, Preface in
Giuseppe Tucci, The Templesof WesternTibet and Their Artistic Symbolism,2 vols., orig. Indo-Tibetica
III:i-2 (1935), trans. Uma Marina Vesci, ed. Lokesh Chandra, Satapitaka series, Indo-Asian Literatures, nos. 349-50 (New Delhi:
Aditya Prakashan,1988),I:xxiv-ix. Fordiscussionsof STTS, also see LokeshChandra,A Ninth CenturyScrollof the Vajradhdat
Malndala(New Delhi: SharadaRani, I986); Shashibala;Snodgrass;Hajime Nakamura,Indian Buddhism:a Surveyuith
BibliographicalNotes(Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,1987), 323-25.
90 Shashibala, io; Ishimoto, The Mandalas of the Two Worlds, introduction; Warder, Indian Buddhism, 489; Pratapaditya Pal, A
BuddhistParadise:the Murals of Alchi, WesternHimalayas (Hong Kong: Visual Dharma, 1982), 37; Ngor, introduction; Nakamura,
323-25. Pal and Ngor say the author was Santirakshita. Nakamura says he was Nagabodhi.
91 NJ 534, T 866, K 429.
92 NJ I020, T
865, K 1274, TOH 479.
93 NJ 1448, T 869, K 1289.
94 NJ IOI7, T 882, K 1466; Chandra Ninth Century Scroll, 7-8; 18. Snodgrass, 559, agrees with Chandra, but Lim, 331, says this
translation was done by Siksanandarather than Danapala.
95 Chandra,A Ninth CenturyScroll,8; Snodgrass, 56o, n. I6.
96
Lim, 332;Shashibala, 30.

358
have been based on a different Sanskrit text of the STTS from the one used earlier by Amoghavajra,
which underlies the Japanesemandalas.
STTS was translated into Tibetan by Sraddhakaravarma and Rin-chen-bzan-po in the early
eleventh century.97 Commentaries on the text by Sakyamitra and Anandagarbha, also translated into
Tibetan in the eleventh century, are useful in interpreting the Tibetan Vajradhdtu Mandala.98
Likewise, it is necessary to rely on Japanese commentaries to understand the details of the Japanese
mandalas.
Several versions of the Vajradhdtu Mandala have been painted in Japan. Here we shall discuss only
the Genzu Vajradhdtu Mandala, also called the Nine AssembliesVajradhdtu Mandala, the version used
by the Shingon sect. In ritual practice, this mandala is combined with the Genzu Matrix or
GarbhadhdtuMandala, which was discussed in the previous section. The two form a pair known as
the Ryokai Mandara.Like the GarbhadhdtuMandala, the VajradhdtuMandala is based on materials
brought back from China by Kobo Daishi in A.D. 806. The most authentic copies still extant in
Japan are the partnersfor the GarbhadhdtuMandalasdiscussed above, the Takao,painted in gold and
silver on a dark ground, copied in 824 from originals brought back by Kobo Daishi,99 and the
Shingon-inor Sai-in from Toji, copied in color in the late ninth to early tenth century.I00The Shingon-
in is the most widely known because of its frequent and high-quality publication. Also important is
the Kojima Mandala, painted ca. ooo1000 in silver line on a purple cloth.I0' The Shingon-in and the
KojimaMandalas are not true examples of the official Genzu Mandala, as their line of transmission
from Kobo Daishi is not direct. The Kojima Mandala includes a few variations in the number and
positions of the deities.I02
The Japanese Genzu Vajradhdtu Mandala is often called the Nine AssembliesMandala because it is
made up of nine sub-mandalas, which are based on the first two chapters of the first assembly of
STTS. In the central mandala, called the Vajradhdtu-mahdamandala, the central figure is Maha-
vairocana, with one head and two hands, performing the bodhyagrzmudrd.03He is surrounded in an
inner circle by a basic set of thirty-six deities; an additional twenty-four deities are in an outer circle.
Surrounding them all are the Thousand Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa. In sub-mandalas 2, 3, 4, 8, and
9, the Thousand Buddhas have been replacedby the Sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Bhadrakalpa.
In the band containing the Sixteen Bodhisattvas, there are a total of twenty-four figures alto-
gether. In the four corners are Offering Bodhisattvas, and in the cardinal directions are Bodhisattvas
of Attraction who serve as gatekeepers. The Bhadrakalpa Bodhisattvas sit two by two between these
eight directional deities. Thus on each side there are a corner deity, two Bhadrakalpa bodhisattvas, a
central deity, two more Bhadrakalpabodhisattvas, and a final corner deity. In all five of these sub-
mandalas, Jaliniprabha appears on the top side (West) as the third figure from the right, immediately
97 TOH 479; Shashibala, IO.
98
Lim, 33I.
99 Published in Chandra, EsotericIconography.
00 Published in Ishimoto, The Mandalas the Two Worlds,and in Seibu, Eros + Cosmos.
of
O' I saw the KojimaMandala in the Nara Museum in May I99I.
02
Mammitzsch, I75.
103
According to Marie-Therese de Mallmann, "Notes d'iconographie tantrique, V. A Propos de quelques mudra," part I, Arts
Asiatiques32 (1976), 178, bodhyagrzis the preferred spelling of this mudrd.She cites Tucci, Indo-TibeticaIV, vol. i, io8. This word is
spelled as bodhyangi in Gosta Liebert, IconographicDictionary of the indian Religions (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1976), 45, and in
Bhattacharyya, Iconography,53-54. Certain texts used in this study, such as NSP and SM, use the bodhyangispelling of this word.
The meaning is the "quintessence of enlightenment (bodhi)"(de Mallmann, "Notes," I78). It is often called a "wisdom fist." A fist is
made by the left hand, while the five fingers of the right hand clasp the left index finger.

359
to the viewer's right of the western Bodhisattva of Attraction, who sits in the center. Candraprabha
sits at Jalinlprabha's proper left, next to the corner Offering Bodhisattva.
The names of the Sixteen Bhadrakalpa Bodhisattvas are not identical in all texts and man.dalas.De
Mallmann 1975 has identified three different lists of the Sixteen Bodhisattvas, each associated with
specific texts.104Among the lists there are differencesin names as well as locations, although many of
the names appear on two or three of the lists. Her first list (Appendix A) is associated with the STTS
plus two other texts which we shall examine below, the Sarvadurgatiparis.odhana Tantra (SDP) and
the Krzyasamgraha(KS). Her other two lists (Appendices B and C) appear in other mandalas which we
shall also examine. To de Mallmann's lists I have added the Tibetan spellings of each name, and to
her list one, I have also added the Japanese spellings. The names on the Japanese Shingon-in Vajra-
dhdtu Mandala correspond to de Mallmann's list one, although with some minor spelling changes
and some major position changes.'05
On de Mallmann's list one, Jaliniprabhais the last of the group of four in the West, which would
place him next to the corner deity on the right end of the top row of the mandala. On the Genzu
Mandalas, however, he is the third of the group of four, having moved one place to the left, just: to
the right of the western gate keeper, who sits in the center of the West. Candraprabha has likewise
moved from just left of that gate keeper, his position as specified in de Mallmann's list one, to the
position at Jaliniprabha's left, making him the last bodhisattva in the West. These position vari-
ations are consistent for all the sub-mandalas of the Genzu Vajradhdtu Mandala in which the sixteen
bodhisattvas appear.
Some commentators on the text say that all four of the bodhisattvas in each of the four directions
should be represented with the symbol of the Tathagata of that direction, which means that the
bodhisattvas of the West, including Jaliniprabha, should be represented by lotuses, the symbol of
Amitabha.'16 However, in the Takao, Shingon-in, and Kojima Mandalas, each bodhisattva has been
given his own emblem. For Jaliniprabha, this is a jewelled net surrounded by flames. For Candra-
prabha the emblem is a crescent or circular moon. In assemblies 2 and 9 of the mandalas, these
bodhisattvas are represented by the symbol only. In assemblies 3, 4, and 8, they are in human form
holding their symbols (figs. 4, a and b).
Mandala no. 9: The Tibetan Vajradhdtu Mandala

The Tibetan Vajradhatu Mandala is based on the first chapter of STTS plus the Tattvalokakari, a
commentary on STTS by Anandagarbha (978-1030).I07 This mandala is similar to the central
Mahdmandala of the Genzu Vajradhdtu Mandala, with some variations.18 Ngor 22, entitled the i, o37-
104 De Mallmann 1975, 175. See Appendices A-C. The Manijusrfmulakalpa(MMK), an eighth-century text, presents two additional
lists of the Sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Bhadrakalpa. See Ariane Macdonald, Le Mandala du Manijusrzmu7lakalpa (Paris: Adrien
Maisonneuve, 1962), io8-9; David Snellgrove, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: Indian Buddhists and Their Tibetan Successors(London:
Serindia Publications, 1987), I93; and Giuseppe Tucci, Gyantseand Its Monasteries(New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 1989), 149, n. I.
These two lists do not include Jaliniprabha, although Candraprabhais on both of them.
105 In the
South, the Genzu mandala lists Saurayainstead of Surangama, and the order of the bodhisattvas is rearranged in both the
West and the North. In the West, Amitaprabha is first, followed by Bhadrapala,Jalinlprabha, and Candraprabha,whereas on de
Mallmann's list one, the order is Amitaprabha, Candraprabha,Bhadrapala,and Jaliniprabha. In the North the order on the Genzu
Mandalas is Aksayamati, Pratibhanakuta, Vajragarbha, and Samantabhadra, whereas on de Mallmann's list one, the order is
Vajragarbha,Aksayamati, Pratibhanakuta, and Samantabhadra.See Snodgrass, 664.
I06
Snodgrass, 651.
107 Lokesh Chandra in Preface to
Tucci, The Templesof WesternTibet, I:xxx. Also see this work for a description of this mandala, 1:39-
42, and a sketch, I:6o. For the Tibetan text, see GDK, no. 22 (vol. IV, ff. 1-142).
I08 The variations are discussed in
Snodgrass, 568. Also see Chandra,Ninth CenturyScroll,24-25, and Lim, 335-36.

360
Fig. I Jalinzprabhakumdra. Tibeto-Chinese art, Qing dynasty. Inscribed to reign of Qianlong (I735-96). Bronze with cold-
gold painting. Height: I6.5 cm. (6 I/2 in.). Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, bequest of Joseph H. Heil [74-36/44].
Detail of inscription. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art [74-36/44].
Fig. z Jalinzprabhakumaira.
* '
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Fig. 4 GenzuVajradhatu(Kongokai)Mandala, Takao version. Details of Sub-mandala#3.
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Fig. 5 Durgatiparisodhana Mandala. Central Figure: Sikyasimha; upper row, left of right corner:Jaliniprabha;
upper row, left of center: Candraprabha.Source:NTMP 12:22.
Deity VajradhdtuMandala, is an example of this mandala. The same mandala is also published in
NTMP I3:22, and as a drawing in Chandra,A Ninth-CenturyScrollof the VajradhdtuMandala.I9 This
version of the mandala contains the full group of a Thousand Buddhas rather than the Sixteen
Bodhisattvas of the Bhadrakalpa.ThereforeJaliniprabhais not present.
Another Tibetan variation of the VajradhatuMandala does include Jaliniprabha, the Fifty-three-
Deity Vajradhatu Mandala. This mandala is identical in all respects to the i, o37-Deity Vajradhdtu
Mandala except that the Sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Bhadrakalpa have been substituted for the
Thousand Buddhas. In addition to its textual basis in STTS and in Anandagarbha's commentary, the
same mandala is described as number nineteen in the iconographic compendium, the Nispannayogd-
val (NSP).II"An example of this mandala, based on NSP, is published in NTMP 12:19. With minor
sangiti (MNS), a
changes, the same mandala is the second of the series based on the Manjusrfn-ndma
text we encountered in Part One above."'
The Sixteen Bodhisattvas of this Tibetan version are arranged according to de Mallmann's list one
(Appendix A), without the variations in position we encountered in the Japanese Genzu Vajradhdtu
Mandala. That means that Jaliniprabha sits at the end of the row in the West, just to the left of the
corner deity, and Candraprabhasits to the left of the western gatekeeper in the center of the row.
According to NSP I9, the attributes for each bodhisattva should correspondto the iconographyof the
Tathagata who rules over his quarter,"2 as some commentators of the basic text, STTS, have also
maintained. The attribute for those bodhisattvas who sit in the West should therefore be a lotus
surmounted by a vajra, as prescribed in this text for the Tathagata of the West, Amitabha. In the
illustration from NTMP, Jaliniprabhaappearsto be in dhydnamudrd,but no attribute is discernible.
Candraprabha has his right hand before his chest and his left on his hip, contrary to the NSP
instruction. Again no attribute is discernible. In the pantheon from the Baoxiang Lou, an image of
Jaliniprabha sits with his hands on his lap holding a lotus."3 Although the vajra that should be on
the lotus is missing, this image probably illustrates this Tibetan version of the Vajradhdtu
Mandala."4In the same Baoxiang Lou pantheon an image of Candraprabhasits with his hands on his
lap holding a lotus, which properly supports a vajra.II
SarvavidVairocanaMandala
Mandala no. Io: The Thirty-seven-Principal-Deity

Other mandalas centering upon Vairocana are based upon the Sarvadurgati-parifodhanatantra
(SDP), "Elimination of all Evil Destinies", written at least as early as the eighth century, the date of
its first Tibetan translation."6 This text outlines thirteen mandalas altogether, all of which can be
109 P.
27.
IIO NSP, Io-II, 44-47; de Mallmann i964:222-23; 96-98; de Mallmann 1975:57-58, 124-27. Part 12 of NTMP illustrates twenty-four
of these twenty-six mandalas.
MNS 2, 29-3, 68-73.
2
NSP, 46.
"3 Clark, no. A 4 B I.
II4 This image was located in the fourth side-chapel of the Baoxiang Lou, where, according to Lokesh Chandra (Buddhist Iconography
I:i8), the images represent the Sarvavid VairocanaManidala,which will be discussed below. The main image in that chapel does
represent Sarvavid Vairocana, with four faces, and two hands in dhyanamudrd.However, the names of the various deities and the
iconography of the Sixteen BhadrakalpaBodhisattvas conform more closely with the VajradhdtuManLdalas.
15
Clark, no. A 4 B 6o
I6 Tadeusz Skorupski, ed., SarvadurgatiparisodhanaTantra: Elimination of all Evil Destinies(SDP) (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,
1983). This edition contains both the Sanskrit and Tibetan texts and an English translation. There were two Sanskrit versions of the
text, version A, translated into Tibetan by Santigarbha and Lo tsa baJayaraksita in the eighth century, revised by Rin chen mchog

365
found in the Ngor collection."7 Only four of these contain the group of Sixteen Bodhisattvas of the
Bhadrakalpa.Ii8 These four will be presented below.
The basic mandala connected with SDP is the Thirty-seven-Principal-DeitySarvavid Vairocana
Mandala.1"9At the center is the white Sarvavid Vairocana with four faces, his hands performing
dhyanamudrd.He is surroundedby four bodhisattvas in the cardinaldirections and four goddesses in
the intermediate directions. Outside these are thee sixteen Vajrasattvas, who correspond to the
Sixteen Vajra-bodhisattvas.Eight offering goddesses are in the four corners, two in each corner, and
four guardians are in the gateways. Along with the central figure, this constitutes the basic group of
thirty-seven mentioned in the title of the mandala. The Sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Bhadrakalpa are
outside the Vajrasattvas, four on each side, flanking the gates two by two, as in the Vajradhatu
Mandalas. Additional deities optionally occupy the outer regions.
Again the names of the Sixteen Bodhisattvas correspond to de Mallmann's list one (Appendix A).
They appear, however, in a completely different order.'20 Thus Jaliniprabha, who is usually located
in the West, is found in the South, and Candraprabha is in the East. Elsewhere, howeve, in the SDP
text,'2' in a discussion of the same mandala by Tucci,'22 and in the key to this mandala in Ngor 27, the
list of bodhisattvas corresponds exactly to de Mallmann's list one, placing Candraprabha to the left of
the gate in the West and Jaliniprabha at the end of the row in the West, just to the left of the corner.
This placement is identical to the positions of these two bodhisattvas in the Tibetan version of the
Vajradhdtu Mandala we examined immediately above. Jalinlprabha is not described in this text.
This Thirty-seven-Deity Sarvavid Vairocana Mand1ala has been published as Ngor 27, as NTMP
13:27, in Snellgrove and Skorupski as plate XVII, from the Lhakhang Soma at Alchi, and in Pal, A
Buddhist Paradise, no. LS24, also from the Lhakhang Soma, Alchi.I23 In all of these examples, all of
the Sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Bhadrakalpa are identical except for color. Each has his right hand
raised before his chest, probably performing the teaching gesture, and his left hand is on his hip. No
attributes are discernible.

in the ninth century, and now lost (TOH V:II6), and version B, translated into Tibetan by Chos-rje-dpal in the thirteenth century
(TOH V:II7). Skorupski used Version B for his Sanskrit edition, but with frequent notes from commentaries on Version A. His
edition includes the Tibetan texts for both versions.
17
Ngor 27-39.
8
Ngr 27, 28, 3I, 39.
"9 TOH 483; GDK, VI, ff. 134-200, 202-36. This mandalawas outlined in the missing Sanskrit Version A. Therefore it
appears in the
Skorupski edition in a long footnote based on a commentary by Vajravarman(SDP, 311-I3).This source lists I49 deities who make
up the mandala. The same list can also be found in Chandra'spreface in Tucci, Termples of WesternTibet, I:xxxi-ii. The mandala is
also discussed in David Snellgrove and Tadeusz Skorupski, The Cultural Heritageof Ladakh (Boulder: Prajna Press, 1977), vol. I,
34-38, and in Giuseppe Tucci, Gyantseand its Monasteries,3 vols. orig. Indo-TibeticaIV. I-3 (I941), trans. Uma Marina Vesci, ed.,
Lokesh Chandra, Sata-Pitaka Series, Indo-Asian Literatures, vols. 35I-353 (New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, i989), I:250-65. The
description in Snellgrove and Skorupski accounts for the varying number of deities represented in different illustrations of this
man.dala.Ngor 27, in spite of its title, actually has 209 deities. The basic group of thirty-seven deities always remains the same
except for some minor name changes.
IZO East: Suramgama, Samantabhadra, Candraprabha, Bhadrapala; South: Jaliniprabha, Gaganagainja,Vajragarbha, Amrtaprabha;

West: Sarvasokatamonirghatanamati, Jnianaketu, Aksayamati, Pratibhanakuta; North: Maitreya, Sarvapayajaha,Gandhahasti,


Amoghadarsin. SDP, 3II-13.
I2i
SDP, 29-31.
I22
Tucci, Gyantse, 250.
I23
Also see Tucci, Gyantse,III, figs. 317-38, where many of the deities of this mandalaare illustrated, but not Jalinlprabha.

366
Mandala no. II: The Thirty-seven-Deity
NavosnisaSakyamuniMandala

A second mandala based on SDP is the Thirty-seven-DeityNavosnisa dakyamuni Mandala,' 4 also


called the DurgatiparisodhanaMandala,I25described in NSP 22. It is illustrated as Ngor 39, NTMP
12:22, and NTMP I3:39. The central figure is Sakyasimiha,a name for Sakyamuni, golden in color,

performing the dharmacakramudrd. He is surroundedby eight uszisa deities, eight offering goddesses
and four door guardians. In the outer gallery, flanking the gateways, are the Sixteen Bodhisattvas of
the Bhadrakalpa,who are thus included in the basic thirty-seven deities, replacing the Vajrasattvasof
the previous mandala. There is a long version of this mandala that adds many other deities in the
outer regions. The Sixteen Bodhisattvas correspondto those of de Mallmann's list one, again placing
Candraprabhato the left of the western gateway, and Jaliniprabhaat the end of the row in the West.
In SDP Jaliniprabha is described as follows: "The fourth Bodhisattva (on the west) is known as
Jaliniprabha. He is beautiful and red. He holds the vajra-net."I26 NSP 22 says that "he holds a vajra
cage, while his left hand is placed on his hip."'27The Sanskrit term which has been translated as
"vajra-net"or "vajra-cage"is vajrapanjaram.De Mallmann believed that this term may have ori-
ginally been vajrajdal, an adamantine flame, but because I and r were often confused in Buddhist
Hybrid Sanskrit manuscripts, vajrajala became transposed into vajrajdra.~8 Eventually the word
became vajrapanjara,translated by Skorupski in SDP as "vajra-net"and by Bhattacharyyain NSP as
"vajra-cage".De Mallmann illustrated an example of a vajra-cage used as a symbol for Jaliniprabha
from a Nepalese manuscript.'29It resembles a hanging bird cage. In the same Nepalese manuscript,
Candraprabhawas illustrated with a crescent moon. Vajrapanjaramthus appearsto be another word
derived from the wrongfully-translated jvali, which has resulted in great confusion in the
iconographyofJaliniprabha.
In Ngor 39 and in NTMP 13:39,Jaliniprabharaiseshis right hand out to his side, with his left hand
on his lap. No attributes are visible. In NTMP I2:22, which supposedly is an illustration of the
mandala as described in NSP, his right hand holds up a sun, while his left is on his hip (fig. 5),
although the text of NSP prescribed a vajra-cage (vajrapanjaram). The artist who drew the
illustration in NTMP 12:22perhaps had access to a different manuscript of the NSP from the one
available to Bhattacharyyafor his edition of NSP or to de Mallmann. In Ngor 39 and NTMP I3:49
Candraprabhalikewise has no attribute, but in NTMP 12:22, he holds a crescent moon.
Mandala no. I2: CakravartiGuna Mandala

A third SDP mandala containing the sixteen Bhadrakalpa bodhisattvas is the Cakravarti Guna'30
or Cakravartin Mandala.I3I Examples include Ngor 31 and NTMP 13:31. The Ngor example consists of
nine concentric circles. A central white Vajrasattvais surrounded by the four regional Tathagatas:
Vajrapani, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, and Amoghasiddhi. In the second circle are eight more
124
Ngor's terminology.
125
NSP terminology. This mandala is based on SDP, chapter I, 26-31; TOH 485; GDK VI, ff. 321-429; NSP 22, Sanskrit edition, 66-
71, summarized in de Mallmann I975, 62-64.
I26 SDP, 30. Sanskrit: caturthobodhisattvasca jalinprabhasamjinitah;raktavaraprabhadivyo
vajrapanjaradhdrinah(SDP, 170).
127
De Mallmann 1975, 194. Sanskrit: savyenavajrapanjarambibhranahkatisthavamamustih(NSP, 67, and Bhattacharyya, Iconography,
90). Also see introduction to NSP, 27.
I28 De Mallmann I975, I93.
129
Ibid., pl. XI, fig. I.
I30
Ngor'stitle.
I31 Title in SDP, 74. This mandalais described in SDP, chapter III.

367
Buddhas, and in the third circle are the sixteen Vajra-bodhisattvas. In the fourth circle are t-he
sixteen Bhadrakalpa bodhisattvas, again arranged in the order of de Mallmann's list one. Other
deities fill the remaining five circles.
The Bhadrakalpa bodhisattvas are not described in the text for this mandala. In Ngor, Jaliniprabha
sits at the right end of the western segment of the fourth circle. He holds his right hand before his
chest and his left on his lap, with no visible attributes. Candraprabha is the second to the left of
Jaliniprabha.He likewise possesses no visible attributes.

Mandala no. I3: Sakyamuni Kdya Mandala

The fourth SDP mandalais the SakyamuniI32or SdkyamuniKdyaMandala.33The central figure is a


golden Sakyamuniin dhydnamudrda.34 Eight usmsadeities surroundhim. Four offering goddesses are
in the corners and four guardians are located in the gateways. According to the text, the sixteen
Bhadrakalpa bodhisattvas are in a square surrounding the above. The examples of this mandala in
both Ngor 28 and NTMP 13:28,however, stop before the sixteen bodhisattvas. They contain only the
seventeen deities enumeratedabove.

Mandala no. I4: 2Ig-Deity Dharmadhdtu VdgzsvaraManjufri Maandala

The sixteen Bhadrakalpa bodhisattvas can also be found in three mandalas based on the Manjusfrz-
ndma-samgiti (MNS), a text already encountered in the section on Jaliniprabha as an attendant of
Manijusri.Of these three mandalas, the first is the 2g-Deity Dharmadhdtu Vdgzsvara Manjusri
Mandala, "Speech-Lord of the Dharma-Realm,"135described in NSP 21. The central figure is
Maiijusri or Mainjughosa.'36He is white, four-headed and eight-armed, and is surrounded in the
innermost circle by an additional thirty-six deities. In a first square around the circle are fifty-two
goddesses, and sixteen more are located in a second square, two in each cardinaldirection and two in
each corner. The sixteen Bhadrakalpa bodhisattvas are arranged two by two between these gate and
corner deities in this second square. Outside all these is an outer circle that contains ninety-eight
deities, bringing the total of the mandalato 219.
In this mandala, the sixteen bodhisattvas are arranged according to de Mallmann's list three
(Appendix C). Since the individual bodhisattvas are not described in MNS, we rely on the description
in NSP 21. Jaliniprabha sits in the same position as in list one, at the end of the west side, just left of
the northwest corner of the second square. Candraprabha,however, has moved from just left of the
center gateway to the right of it, placing him to the immediate left of Jaliniprabha. NSP says that
Jaliniprabhais "rosecolored, a sword in the right hand, the sun on an abja lotus in the left hand."'37
132 SDP terminology.
I33
Ngor terminology. This mandzalais described in SDP, chapter II.
I34 SDP, 37-38.
I35
MNS, ch. 4, Wayman, 27-29, 66-67, or GDK, vol. 6, 430-630. To interpret MNS, Wayman relied on Bu-ston, vol. Pha, who in
turn had relied on a commentary on the MNS by Manijusrimitra.Wayman also used commentaries on MNS by Candrabhadraklrti
and Smrtijfinakirti and NSP no. 21 (NSP 54-65, de Mallmann I964, 82-96, 229-4I and de Mallmann 1975, 60-62). This mandala
is also described in Tucci, Gyantse, 239-42. Published examples: Ngor 40, NTMP 12:21; NTMP I3:40; Pal, Alchi, no. DI4; Tucci,
Gyantse, part 3, figs. 282-303; and Detlef-Ingo Lauf, SecretRevelationof Tibetan Thangkas(Freiburg im Breisgau: Aurum Verlag,
I976), pl. 26.
136
Wayman in MNS, 23; Tucci, Gyantse,239.
I37 De Mallmann 1975, 6i, 194; de Mallmann 1964, 88, 233; Bhattacharyya, 90. Sanskrit text: sitaraktah savyenasimi
vamenabhjasthasurya(nm) (de Mallmann I964, 233;Bhattacharyya).

368
In the examples in Ngor 40, NTMP 3:40, and Lauf 26, his attributes are indiscernible. In NTMP
I2:21 he holds a sword in his right hand and a sun on a lotus in his left, conforming to NSP.

Candraprabha's attribute is also indistinct in Ngor 40, but in NTMP 12:21, NTMP 13:40, and Lauf 26,
he holds a lunar orb on a lotus.

Mandala no. 15:Fifty-seven-DeitySamksiptakulaGuhyakaMandala

A second mandalabased on the MNS is the Fifty-seven-DeitySamksiptakulaGuhyaka Mandala,I38


also called the Vajradhdtu Mandala.I39 This mandala resembles the Tibetan Fifty-three-Deity
Vajradhatu Mandala based on the STTS and described in NSP 19 that was discussed above.140A
major difference is in the number of gatekeepers. The Fifty-seven-Deity Samksiptakula Guhyaka
Mandala added a second group of four gatekeepers to the fifty-three deities of the STTS Vajradhatu
Mandala, bringing the total to fifty-seven. MNS on the other hand subtracted four gatekeepers,
resulting in only forty-nine deities. A second difference is a matter of arrangement. In the
Samksiptakula Guhyaka Mandala, the interior thirty-six deities are arranged around the central
Vairocana in rings rather than grouped around each of the four subsidiary Tathagatas, as in the
VajradhdtuMandalas based on STTS. A third difference is that the sixteen bodhisattvas of the STTS
mandalaconform to de Mallmann's list one (Appendix A), whereas in this second MNS mandalathe
bodhisattvas follow her list two (Appendix B). The list of bodhisattvas for this mandala therefore
differs both from the STTS mandalas, based on list one, and from the MNS mandala discussed
immediately above, based on list three (Appendix C). In this mandala, the Sixteen Bodhisattvas of
the Bhadrakalpa sit in a square surrounding the inner rings. Jalinlprabha is still in the last position
in the West, but Candraprabha has now moved around the corner into thethe first position in North.
Neither Jaliniprabha nor Candraprabha is described in MNS. Wayman translated Jaliniprabha's
name as "Ensnaring Light," in accordance with the definition in the Mahavyutpatti.'4' In Ngor 41,
both of these bodhisattvas sit with the right hand over the chest, palm outward, and the left on the
lap. No attributes are discernible. NTMP 13:41 is also devoted to this mandala, but only the central
figure, Vairocana, is depicted.

Mandala no. 16: Vddisimha ManljusfrMandala

A third mandala based on MNS is the Mandala of Vddisimha Manjusrzi,with a red Maiijusri as the
main figure, accompanied by a blue Sarasvati.'42The pair is surrounded by four other Buddhas and
the sixteen Bhadrakalpa bodhisattvas, who sit in the order of de Mallmann's list two (Appendix B).
According to Wayman,143 Jaliniprabha is again the last figure in the West and holds a palace (g'yun
drun 'khyil pa).'44 Candraprabha occupies the first position in the North, and holds an umbrella
marked with a moon. I have not located an example of this mandala.
I38
Ngor title.
139 Title according to MNS 2, chapter 54, 68-73. Also see ibid., 29-30. Wayman's translation of this chapter has relied on notes from
commentaries by SmrtijijanakIrti and Candrabhadrakirti,and on NSP 19. The text for this mandala is located in GDK VI: ff. 631-
703. Examples are found in Ngor 4iA & B. Only its central figure is depicted in NTMP 13:41.
I40 Tucci, Gyantse,239, claims that MNS has derived from the STTS.
141 MNS
2, 73.
142 MNS, chapter VIII (MNS 2, 33-34, 86-98).
I43 MNS 2, 90, quoting the commentator Candrabhadrakirti(Arya-maniju,srz-samgiti-naniavrtti,
Tibetan translation in Peking Tanjur,
vol. 75, I-I-I to 15-2-I). The Sixteen Bodhisattvas are discussed in 9-3-I to 9-3-8.
I44
MNS2,9o.

369
Mandala no. 17: The Forty-three-FoldManijuvajraMandala

Another mandalawhich includes the sixteen Bhadrakalpabodhisattvas, but based on an unknown


text, is the Mandala of Manjuvajrain Forty-threePersonifications45 or the Mandala of the Forty-three-
Fold (Vairocana)Manjuvajra.I 6 This mandalais described in NSP 20,147 and an example is included
in NTMP (12:20). Manjuvajrais in the center, surroundedby the four Tathagatasand four goddesses.
Eight more goddesses are in a second circle. In the third circle are the sixteen Bhadrakalpa
bodhisattvas, arrangedin accordancewith de Mallmann's list two. Thus Jaliniprabha is again at the
end of the West side, and Candraprabhais the first one in the North. In this mandala all of these
bodhisattvas have three faces and six hands, except for Maitreya, who has only four hands.
Jalinlprabhahas one pair of hands in dhydnamudrd,the second pair holds a bow and arrow, the third
right performs abhaya-or varadamudrdand the left carriesa solar disk on a blue lotus.'48In NTAIP
12:20, Jalinlprabha conforms to this description, except the solar disk is held directly in his hand
rather than on a lotus. Candraprabha'stextual description resembles Jaliniprabha's except that he
should hold a lunar circle on a blue lotus in his third left hand. On the illustration in NTMP I2:20,
he holds no attributes in his third pair of hands.

MandalasI8 and 19:MahdvairocanaKdyamandalaand MahavairocanaCittamandala

A final pair of mandalas including the sixteen Bhadrakalpa bodhisattvas is based on the
Kriydsamgraha(KS) by Kuladatta, whose dates are unknown. The earliest extant manuscript of this
text dates to the thirteenth to the fourteenth century. The text was translated into Tibetan by
Kirticandra and Yar-luns-pa Grags-pa-rgyal-msthan, a Sakya abbot, who died about 1226 A.D.149
The two mandalasare really two versions of the same one: a kdyamandala,'50with anthropomorphic
figures, and a cittamandala,I with symbols only. Both feature Mahavairocanaas the central figure.
The sixteen Bhadrakalpabodhisattvas are located in the fourth circle surrounding Mahavairocana
along with four outer offerings bodhisattvasand four gate guardians, arrangedin accordancewith de
Mallmann's list one. Jaliniprabhais again the last one in the West, and Candraprabhahas the second
position in the West. According to the text for the kdyamandala,Jalinlprabha carriesa jdla, which
can be translatedas either a light or a net.152In the cittamandalahis symbol is the vajra cage,153which
we encountered in the Thirty-seven-DeityNavosnisaSdkyamuniMandala discussed above. I have seen
no examples of these two mandalas.

145 De Mallmann 1964 terminology.


I46 NTMP terminology.
147
NSP, 48-53 (Sanskrit, devanagari);de Mallmann 1964, 223-29 (Romanized Sanskrit); ibid., 74-81 (French);de Mallmann I975, 58-
60o(French summary). Example: NTMP, I2:20.
148Jaliniprabhoraktovdmenotpalasthasuryamandaladhdarz savyenavaradah,NSP in de Mallmann 1964, 225; Bhattacharyya, 90.
149 Tibetan translation: TOH 2531 (Derge, Rgyud KU 227bI-362a7).
150
KS, chap. 2, summarized in de Mallmann 1975, 79-81.
I5'
KS, chap. 3, summarized in de Mallmann I975, 8I-82.
I52 De Mallmann 1975, 193-94.
I53
Vajrapaiijaramin the Sanskrit manuscript no. 31 of KS in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, and vajrapamnjalam
in ms. no. 32.

3 .32.37
370
To summarize, Jaliniprabha as one of the Sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Bhadrakalpa appears in
twelve mandalas: two based on STTS, four on SDP, three on MNS, two on KS, and one from an
unknown text described in NSP. In the Japanese VajradhatuMandala based on STTS, Jaliniprabha
holds a jewelled net, but in the Tibetan version, he holds a vajra on a lotus in common with all four
bodhisattvas of the Western quarter. In three of the mandalas based on SDP, the Thirty-seven-Principal
Deity Sarvavid Vairocana Mandala, the Cakravarti Gua Mandala, and the Sakyamuni Gdya Mandala,
he holds no attribute, it is indecipherable, or I have not located an illustration. In the Thirty-seven-
Deity NavosnmsaSakyamuniMandala, he is assigned a vajra cage (SDP) or a vajra net (NSP). However,
in the example illustrated in NTMP I2:22, he actually holds a sun. Of the three mandalasbased on
MNS, he holds a sun on a lotus in the 219-Deity Dharmadhdtu Vdgisvara ManjusrZ Mandala, an
indiscernible attribute in the Fifty-seven-DeitySamksiptakulaGuhyakaMandala, and a "palace"in the
VadisirhhaMafijusriMandala. In the Mandala of Manjuvajrain Forty-threePersonifications from NSP
20, he holds a sun. In the Kdyamandala derived from KS, Jaliniprabha holds a jdla, which has been
translated as either a light or a net. In the Cittamandala, his attribute is the vajra-cage, the panj'aram.
If we combine our findings from both functional categories of this bodhisattva, we have located
him in a total of nineteen mandalas.In four of these,I54 either in the text or in the example, he holds a
jewelled net (jdla) and in twoI55he holds a vajra-cage(panjaram).Both of these attributes derive from
the faulty translation of this bodhisattva's name. The textual basis for the mandalaswhich assign him
a net are the MVS, at least in its Japanese interpretation, the Japanese version of STTS, and in the
Kdyamandala based on the KS. The vajra-cage vajrapanjaram, appears as his attribute in the Thirty-
seven-Deity Navosnzsa Sakyamuni Mandala based on SDP and in the Cittamandala of the KS. We can
conclude that the faulty notion of the meaning ofJaliniprabha's name has crept into these four texts.
In only four of the nineteen mandalas does Jaliniprabha hold a sun or a symbol of the sun. Three of
these are linked to NSP and to the drawings in NTMP. Inasmuch as volume 12 of NTMP illustrates
the mandalas of the NSP, it is not surprising that these two go hand-in-hand. The 2I1-Deity
Dharmadhdtu Vdgisvara Man~jusnrz Mandala is ultimately based on MNS and its commentaries, but it
was NSP 21 that specified the sun as Jaliniprabha's attribute, and the sun is clearly depicted on the
illustration of this mandala in NTMP 12:21. For the Forty-three-Fold Manijuvajra Mandala, known to
us only through NSP 20, both the text and its illustration in NTMP present this bodhisattva holding
a sun. Both the original text (SDP) for the Thirty-seven-Deity Navosnzsa Sdkyazni Mandala and NSP
22 assign the vajrapanjaram to Jaliniprabha. However, in the example of this mandala in NTMP
12:22, the bodhisattva actually holds a sun and not the vajrapanjaram. It would appearthat the artist
who drew this mandala for the NTMP collection had a different manuscript or edition of NSP than
the one used by Bhattacharyya and de Mallmann in their edition of this compendium.
The fourth mandala that illustrates Jaliniprabha with the proper attribute is the Tibetan
Abhisambodhi Vairocana Mandala, based on the Vairocanabhisambodhitantra,the Tibetan translation of
the MahdvairocanasuZtra (MVS). This text states that Jaliniprabha holds "many precious nets." Yet in a
group of images in the Baoxiang Lou which illustrates the Vairocanabhisambodhitantra, an image of
Jaliniprabha holds a symbol for the sun, a mask. Again, the artist who created this image must have
had a text or an iconographic compendium which imparted the correct iconography for Jaliniprabha.
Could it be that the original connotation of Jaliniprabha, in Tibet, rendered into Tibetan in the
154 Nos. i,
2, 8, and i8.
s15 Nos. ii and 19.

37I
Mahavyutpatti as Dra ba can gyi 'od,did imply the "light of the sun" ratherthan a "net of lights" or
"jewelled net" or "ensnaring light?" Perhaps these latter definitions are modern readings, incon-
sistent with the thinking of the scholarsof the ninth century.
Of all the texts reviewed in this paper, the Ni4pannayogdvali (NSP) is the only one that specifies
the sun as an attribute of Jaliniprabha. This text was written in Vikramasila Monastery in North
India by Abhayakaragupta in the late eleventh to the early twelfth century, considerably later than
most of the texts we have been examining. Abhayakaragupta first wrote a general manual of tantric
liturgy called the VajrdvalZ,in which he referred to twenty-six main mandalas. In the Nispanna-
yogavali, he set forth the details of these mandalas.56As source material, he must have had access to
traditions in India that had not yet been tainted by the spelling error or by the faulty translation
which so severely affected the iconography of Jaliniprabha. As for illustrations, with the correct
interpretation, we have located two sources, one in North China, probably Beijing, and one in
Mongolia. The workshop in North China produced the many pantheons of bronze images for the
Qianlong Emperor in the eighteenth century including the two images which hold a mask, one
located in the Baoxiang Lou, and the other in the collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Lokesh Chandra, in the introduction to his edition of NSP, noted the close relationship between the
Tibeto-Chinese images of North China, including those in the Baoxiang Lou pantheons, with the
Nispannayogdval.157 The other source for images of Jaliniprabha holding a sun is A New Tibeto-
Mongol Pantheon(NTMP), originating in Mongolia. It is proper to conclude that the Tibetan
Buddhist circles of North Asia retained (or returned in the eighteenth century to) the proper
interpretationofJaliniprabhaas a sun bodhisattva.
This sound scholarship in North Asia in the eighteenth century may have been due to Rolpay
Dorje, the second Jangkya Hutuktu (177-86). The Jangkya Hutuktus were the link between the
Qing court and the Mongolian principalities. Rolpay Dorje in particular was a longtime acquaint-
ance of Emperor Qianlong, enabling him to make Beijing a center of Buddhist learning. The many
activities of this scholar included the supervision of a new Beijing edition of the Tibetan Tanjur and
Kanjur, their translation into Mongolian and Manchu, a series of Buddhist dictionaries based on the
work of Gelukpa scholars, the establishment of a school of tangka painting in Beijing, and, most
important for our purposes, the compilation of several iconographical pantheons, including those
illustrated by the bronze images of the Baoxiang Lou of Beijing.'58 Perhaps we owe to this great
scholarthe proper interpretationof this Buddhist sun bodhisattva,Jaliniprabhakumara.

156
NTMP, XII, introduction.
157
NSP, I3-I4.
I58 Chandra, Buddhist Iconography,I:i8; Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman, Wisdomand Compassion:the SacredArt of Tibet
(New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc./Asian Art Museum of San Francisco/Tibet House, 1991),no. Ioo, p. 276.

372
APPENDIX A

The Sixteen Bodhisattvasof the Bhadrakalpa,List One*

Sanskrit Tibetant Japaneset

EAST
Maitreya Byams pa Jishi
Amoghadarsin mThong ba don yod Fukuken
Sarvapayafijaha Ngan song kun 'dren Mettakushu
Sarvasokatamonirghatamati Mya ngan dang mon pa Joyumyo
thams can nges par
'joms pa'i blo gros

SOUTH
Gandhahastin sPos kyi glang po Kozo
Surafngama dPa' bar 'gro ba Daishijin
Gaganagafija Nam mkha mdzod Kokizo
Jfanaketu Ye shes tog Chid6

WEST
Amitaprabha 'Od dpag med Muryoko
Candraprabha Zla 'od Gakko
Bhadrapala bZang skyong Kengo
Jaliniprabha Dra ba can gyi 'od Komo

NORTH
Vajragarbha 'Dorje snying po Kongozo
Aksayamati bLo gros mi zad pa Mujinni
Pratibhanakuta sPobs pa brtsegs pa Benshaku
Samantabhadra Kun tu bzang po Fugen

De MallmannI975, I25. This list is the basicone forthe mandalasderivedfromSTTS, SDP, andKS 2 and3.
This list originated in Ngor 27.
FromSnodgrass,664.

373
APPENDIX B

The Sixteen Bodhisattvasof the Bhadrakalpa,List Two*

Sanskrit Tibetant

EAST
Maitreya Byams pa
Mafijusri 'Jamdpal
Gandhahastin sPos glang
Jfianaketu Ye shes tog

SOUTH
Bhadrapala bZang skyong
Sagaramati bLo gros rgya mtsho
Aksayamati bLo gros mi zad pa
Pratibhanakuta sPobs pa brtsegs pa

WEST
Mahasthamaprapta mThu chen thob
Sarvapayafijaha Ngan song kun 'dren
Sarvasokatamonirghatamati Mya ngan 'joms
Jaliniprabha Dra ba can gyi 'od

NORTH
Candraprabha Zla 'od
Amitaprabha 'Od dpag med
Gaganagafija Nam mkha' mdzod
Sarvanivaranaviskambhin sGrib pa rnam sel

De Mallmann I975, 125. This list is encountered in the Mandala of the Forty-three-Fold Majuzvajra, the
Fifty-seven-Deity
SamksiptakulaGuhyaka Man~jusrz Mandala, which is the same as the VajradhatuMandala described in MNS, and in the Madnala of
Vadisimnha Manijusr.
This list is taken from Ngor 41.

374
APPENDIX C

The Sixteen Bodhisattvasof the Bhadrakalpa,List Three*

Sanskrit Tibetan'

EAST
Samantabhadra Kun tu bzang po
Aksayamati bLo gros mi zad pa
Ksitigarbha Sa'i snying po
Akasagarbha Nam mkha'i snying po

SOUTH
Gaganagafija Nam mkha' mdzod
Ratnapani Phyag na rin chen
Sagaramati rGya mtsho'i blo gros
Vajragarbha rDo rje snying po

WEST
Avalokitesvara sPyan rasgzigs
Mahasthamaprapta mThu chen thob
Candraprabha Zla ba'i 'od
Jaliniprabha Dra ban can gyi 'od

NORTH
Amitaprabha 'Od dpag med
Pratibhanakuta sPobs pa brtsegs pa
Sarvasokatamonirghatamati Mya ngan dang mun pa
thams cad nges par
jom pa'i blo gros
Sarvanivaranaviskhambhin sGrib pa rnam sel

De Mallmann I975, 125.This is the list for the Mandala of DharmadhatuVagi/vara Manjusrz.
From Ngor 40.

375

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