Editor's note: This publication is intended for free distribution. Manuscript version 2.0. SARVA MANGALAM
༄༅། །�ེ་བ�ད་བཅོས་ཐབས་ག�བས་སངས་�ས་ཡེ་ཤེས་�ིས་མཛད་པ་བ�གས་སོ། Serkyem of the Eight Classes Arranged by Nub Sangye Yeshe
།�་མ་དམ་པ་�མས་ལ་�ག་འཚལ་ལོ། LAMA DAMPA NAM LA CHYAG TSAL LO
Praise to the Glorious Gurus! །གནས་གཙང་མར་རི་རབ་�་བཤོས། སོ་སོའི་བཤོས་�། འོ་�ད། མེ་ཏོག་�་ཚ�གས། �ི་�ན། མངར་ག�མ། ཤ་�། �ན་�། འ�་�། དར་�། ཟས་�་གང་འ�ོར་བཤམས་ལ། �བས་འ�ོ་ སེམས་བ�ེད་དང་�ན་པས་རང་ཉིད་ཡི་དམ་གང་�ེད་བ�ོམ་ལ། �ས་�མས་�གས་�ག་�ག་�ག་གི་�ིན་�ིས་བ�བས་ནས་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛ�ན་�ིས་འདི་�ད་དོ། In a clean place, prepare the sacred offerings: Mount Meru, milk, a bouquet of flowers, a medicinal elixir, three sweets (honey, molasses, sugar), pieces of meat, medicine, grain, silk, different food and other valuables. Perform the ritual of Refuge and Boddhichitta and the practice of your own yidam. Bless all offerings with the power of six mantras and mudras. Being in a state of samadhi read:
།�ྃ། �་ག�མ་བ�ད་ག�མ་�་མ་དང་། hung ku sum gyü sum la ma dang To the Lama who embodies the three kayas and three lineages,
།ཡི་དམ་ཞི་�ོའི་�་ཚ�གས་དང་། yi dam zhi trö lha tsok dang To the assembly of peaceful and wrathful Yidams,
།�བས་གནས་དཀོན་མཆོག་ག�མ་པོ་དང་། kyap né kön chok sum po dang To the objects of Refuge, The Three Precious Jewels,
།མཁའ་འ�ོ་ནོར་�་ཆོས་�ང་སོགས། kha dro nor lha chö sung sok To the Dakinis,welth deities, protectors of the Dharma,
།མཆོད་�ལ་གོང་མ་ཐམས་ཅད་ལ། chö yül gong ma tam ché la To all Exalted Recipients of offerings
།མཆོད་པ་དམ་པ་འདི་འ�ལ་ལོ། chö pa dam pa di bül lo We are offering this sacred offerings
།གསེར་�ེམས་གཙང་མ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། ser kyem tsang ma di zhé la 1
Please accept this pure Golden Drink
།བདག་གི་འདོད་དོན་བ�བ་�་གསོལ། dak gi di dön drup tu söl Please accomplish my aspirations!
།�་ཡི་དབང་པོ་བ�་�ིན་དང་། lha yi wang po gya jin dang Mighty Lord of Devas, Indra
།�་མིན་དབང་པོ་ཐགས་བཟང་རིས། lha min wang po tak zang ri Mighty Lord of Asuras, Vemacitra
།�་ཡི་དབང་པོ་དགའ་བོ་དང་། lu yi wang po gawo dang King of Nagas, Gawo 1
།མི་འམ་ཅི་�ོན་�་མགོ་ཅན། mi am chi jön ta go chen The Great horse-headed Miam Chijon
།གནོད་�ིན་གང་བ་བཟང་པོ་དང་། nö jin gang wa zang po dang Yaksha Purnabhadra (Gangwa Zangpo)
།མཁའ་�ིང་གསེར་མིག་འ�ིལ་བ་དང་། kha ding ser mig kyil wa dang Garuda Sermig Kyilwa ('scintillating golden eye')
།�ིན་པོ་ལང་ཀ་མ�ིན་བ�་དང་། sinpo lang ka drin chu dang Ravana, the King of Rakshasas, 2
།ཆོས་�ོང་མ་�་�་ལ་དང་། chö kyong ma ha ka la dang
།�ི་ཟ་�ར་�ད་�་པ་སོགས། Dri Za Zurpu Ngapa,The King of Gandharvas ('with hair tied in five knots'), and all the others,
།�ི་ཡི་�ེ་བ�ད་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ། chi yi dé gyé khor ché la To the Outer Eight Classes with their retinues
།མཆོད་པ་དམ་པ་འདི་འ�ལ་ལོ། chö pa dam pa di bül lo We are offering this sacred offerings
།གསེར་�ེམས་གཙང་མ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། ser kyem tsang ma di zhé la 2
Please accept this pure Golden Drink
།བདག་གི་འདོད་དོན་བ�བ་�་གསོལ། dak gi di dön drup tu söl Please accomplish my aspirations!
།ཡབ་གཅིག་བ�ད་�ེ་ནག་པོ་དང་། yap chik dü jé nak po dang Yabcig Düd Je Nag Po ('the only father, the black lord of the Düd')
།བཙན་�ལ་ཡམ་�ད་དམར་པོ་དང་། tsen gyel yam shü mar po dang The King of Tsen, Yamshud Marpo ('the red Yamshud'),
།�ལ་�་�་སངས་�་�ས་དང་། yül lha cha sang lu sé dang The local deity, Cha Sang, the son of Nagas
།�ོག་བདག་�ལ་པོ་�ིང་འ�ིན་དང་། sok dak gyel po nying jin dang Sogdag Gyalpo Nying Jyin ('tearing out the hearts'),
།ཆོས་�ོང་གནོད་�ིན་དམར་པོ་དང་། chö kyong nö jin mar po dang The Dharma Protector, Nöjyin Marpo ('red Yaksha')
།�་མོ་འཇིགས་པའི་�ོག་འ�ིན་དང་། lha mo jik pé lok jin dang The Goddess Jigpe Logjyin ('throwing terryfying thunderbolts') 3
།དགེ་བ�ེན་�ོ་�ེ་ལེགས་པ་དང་། gé nyen dor jé lek pa dang The Virtuous Dorje Legpa (Vajrasadhu)
།དཀར་མོ་ཉི་�་ཐོད་�ེང་སོགས། kar mo nyi da tö treng sok Karmo Nyida Thö Treng ('white sun and moon, with the necklace of skulls'), and others
།ནང་གི་�ེ་བ�ད་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ། nang gi dé gyé khor ché la To the Inner Eight Classes with their retinues
།མཆོད་པ་དམ་པ་འདི་འ�ལ་ལོ། chö pa dam pa di bül lo We are offering this sacred offerings
།གསེར་�ེམས་གཙང་མ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། ser kyem tsang ma di zhé la Please accept this pure Golden Drink 3
།བདག་གི་འདོད་དོན་བ�བ་�་གསོལ། dak gi di dön drup tu söl Please accomplish my aspirations!
།བ�ད་པོ་ཁ་�ན་ར�ྴ་དང་། dü po kha tün raksha dang Düd, Khathun Raksha 4
།གཤིན་�ེ་གཤེད་པོ་དམར་པོ་དང་། shin jé shé pa mar po dang Yamantaka Shedpo Mar Nag ('red enemy') 5
།�་བ�ད་�་ག་�ཱ་ཛ་དང་། lu dü na ga ra dza dang Demon of Nagas, Nagaraja
།གནོད་�ིན་ཤན་པ་�ི་ཐོགས་དང་། nö jin shen pa dri tok dang Yaksha, Shenpa Dri Thog ('butcher wealding a blade')
།མ་མོ་�ིད་པ་�ོམ་འདེབས་དང་། mamo sid pa tram deb dang Mamo, Sidpa Trom Deb
།བཙན་པོ་ཡམ་�ད་�ོག་ལེན་དང་། tsen po yam shü sok len dang Tsen, Yamshud Sog Len ('taker of the lifeforce')
།བ�ད་པོ་རེ་ཏེ་འགོ་ཡག་དང་། dü po re té go yak dang Düd, Re Te Go Yag
།�ོག་བདག་�ང་གི་ཐོར་�གས་སོགས། sö dak dung gi tor tsuk sok Sogdag Dung Gi Thor Tsug ('hair tied by a conch shell'), and all the others,
།གསང་བའི་�ེ་བ�ད་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ། sang wé dé gyé khor ché la To the Secret Eight Classes with their retinues
།མཆོད་པ་དམ་པ་འདི་འ�ལ་ལོ། chö pa dam pa di bül lo We are offering this sacred offerings
།གསེར་�ེམས་གཙང་མ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། ser kyem tsang ma di zhé la Please accept this pure Golden Drink
།བདག་གི་འདོད་དོན་བ�བ་�་གསོལ། 4
dak gi di dön drup tu söl Please accomplish my aspirations!
།གཟའ་མཆོག་�ལ་པོ་�ཱ་�་ལ། za chok gyal po ra hu la The Supreme of Za, King Rahula
།�ར་མཆོག་�མ་ཤིང་ཁ་འཐོར་དང་། kar chok tram shing kha tor dang The Supereme of the Stars, Tramshing Ka Tor 6
།བ�ད་མཆོག་མ་�་ར�ྴ་དང་། dü chok ma nu raksha dang The Supreme of Düd, Ma Nu Raksha 7
།བཙན་མཆོག་�ི་བཙན་འ�མ་པོ་དང་། tsen chog dri tsen tum po dang The Supreme of Tsen, Dritsen Tumpo
།མ་མཆོག་ཅེ་�ང་མ�ང་འཛ�ན་དང་། ma chok ché chang dung dzin dang The Supreme of Mamo, Che Chyang Dung Dzin
།�་མཆོག་�་�ལ་�ང་�ོང་དང་། lu chok lu gyal dung kyong dang The Supreme of Naga, The Naga King Dung Kyong ('protector of the conch shells')
།མགོན་མཆོག་ནག་པོ་�ེ་དཀར་དང་། gön chok nak po té kar dang The Supreme of the Protectors (Mahakala), Nagpo Te Kar
།�ལ་མཆོག་ལི་�ིན་ཧ་ར་སོགས། gyal chok li jyin ha ra sog The Supreme of Gyalpo, Li Jyin Ha Ra
།མཆོག་གི་�ེ་བ�ད་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ། chok gi dé gyé khor ché la To the Supreme Eight Classes with their retinues
།མཆོད་པ་དམ་པ་འདི་འ�ལ་ལོ། chö pa dam pa di bül lo We are offering this sacred offerings
།གསེར་�ེམས་གཙང་མ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། ser kyem tsang ma di zhé la Please accept this pure Golden Drink
།བདག་གི་འདོད་དོན་བ�བ་�་གསོལ། dak gi di dön drup tu söl 5
Please accomplish my aspirations!
།ད�ང་གཡས་ད�་�ར་�ལ་པ་དང་། pung yé dra lhar trül pa dang The right shoulder - Emanations of Dra Lha (Warrior Deities)
།ད�ང་གཡོན་མ་མོར་�ལ་པ་དང་། pung yön ma mor trül pa dang Left shoulder - the Emanations of Mamo
།མ�་སོ་བ�ད་�་�ལ་པ་དང་། chu so dü du trül pa dang Mouth and teeth - the Emanations of Düd 8
།མགོ་བོ་�ིན་པོར་�ལ་པ་དང་། go wo sin po trül pa dang Head - the Emanations of Sinpo (Raksha)
།མ�ག་མ་ད�་�་�ལ་པ་དང་། jug ma mu ru trül pa dang Lower part of the spine - the Emanations of Mu
།ལག་གཡས་གཤིན་�ེར་�ལ་པ་དང་། lak yé shin jé trül pa dang Right hand - the Emanations of Shinje (Yama)
།ལག་གཡོན་�་བཙན་�ལ་པ་དང་། lak yön lu tsen trül pa dang Left hand - the Emanations of Lu (Naga) and Tsen
།མིག་དང་�ིང་དང་མཆེ་བ་ག�མ། mig dang nying dang che wa sum The three: eyes, heart and tooth 9
།གཟའ་བ�ད་ཉིད་�་�ལ་པ་སོགས། za dü nyi du trül pa sok Are the Emanations of Za and Düd, and others
།�ལ་པའི་�ེ་བ�ད་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ། trül pé dé gyé khor ché la To the Emanation Eight Classes with their retinues
།མཆོད་པ་དམ་པ་འདི་འ�ལ་ལོ། chö pa dam pa di bül lo We are offering this sacred offerings
།གསེར་�ེམས་གཙང་མ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། ser kyem tsang ma di zhé la Please accept this pure Golden Drink 6
།བདག་གི་འདོད་དོན་བ�བ་�་གསོལ། dak gi di dön drup tu söl Please accomplish my aspirations!
།ས་བདག་ཧལ་�ི་ནག་པོ་དང་། sa dak hal kyi nak po dang Sadag Halkyi Nagpo
།�་བ�ད་གདོལ་པ་ནག་པོ་དང་། lu dü dol pa nag po dang Demon of Nagas, Dolpa Nagpo ('black outcast')10
།ས་ཡི་�་མོ་བ�ན་མ་དང་། sa yi lha mo tenma dang Tenma Sayi Lhamo ('goddesses of the earth')
།�ོགས་�ོང་�ལ་ཆེན་�ེ་བཞི་དང་། chyog kyong gyal chen dé zhi dang Four Great Kings, Guardians of the Four Directions
།མགོན་པོ་བ�ན་�་�་�་དང་། gön po dün chu tsa nga dang The 75 Protectors (75 Emanations of Mahakala)
།�ལ་འདིའི་གཞི་བདག་ཐམས་ཅད་དང་། yül dii zhi dak tam ché dang All the local deities (owners) of this area
།ཕོ་�་ད�་�་�ོག་�་དང་། po lha dra lha sok lha dang Po-lha (Male deities), Dra-Lha (Warrior deities), Sog-Lha (Life-force deities)
།མོ་�་མོ་�ན་ལ་སོགས་པ། mo lha mo men la sok pa Mo-lha (Female deities), Mo-men (Local Goddesses), and all the others
།�ང་�ིད་�ེ་བ�ད་ཐམས་ཅད་ལ། nang si dé gyé khor ché la To the Worldly Eight Classes with their retinues
།མཆོད་པ་དམ་པ་འདི་འ�ལ་ལོ། chö pa dam pa di bül lo We are offering this sacred offerings
།གསེར་�ེམས་གཙང་མ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། ser kyem tsang ma di zhé la Please accept this pure Golden Drink 7
།བདག་གི་འདོད་དོན་བ�བ་�་གསོལ། dak gi di dön drup tu söl Please accomplish my aspirations! །སེར་བ་བ�ང་བ། �ི�་གསོ་བ། མདོས་�ད་གཏང་བ། ཟོར་འཕེན་པ་ལ་སོགས་ལས་གང་�ེད་�ང་། �ོན་�་འ�ོ་བའི་�ེ་བ�ད་མཆོད་པ་འདི་མེད་ན། �ིས་པས་མཁར་ལས་�ེད་པ་ དང་འ�་ཞེས་ག�ངས། ལས་གང་གི་ཡང་�ོན་�་འ�ོ་བ་�ེ་བ�ད་བཅོས་ཐབས་ག�བས་སངས་�ས་ཡེ་ཤེས་�ིས་མཛད་པ་�ོགས་སོ།། །། This Serkyem Offering for the Eight Classes which should be performed before any ritual activity was arranged by Nub Sangye Yeshe, because any ritual action, whether it be a hail protection ritual, infant death protection ritual, a torma- throwing against obstacle makers or a cross-thread ritual is, without firtsly making the offerings to the Eight Classes, nothing more than child's play similar to building castles of sand.
Notes: 1
Omitted in most texts.
2
Omitted in some texts.
3
Some texts have ma mo (class of Mamo) instead of lha mo -goddess
4
Some texts have 'Yaksha' instead of 'Raksha'
5
Some texts have dmar nag: red-black instead of dmar po: red
6
Some texts have dkar: white, instead of skar: stars
7
some texts have 'Yaksha' instead of 'Raksha'
8
Some texts have chu so: genitals, instead of mchu so: mouth and teeth
9
Some texts have mchin pa: liver instead of mche ba: teeth, fangs
10
Some texts have Go Ra (the name of the class of Nagas) insted of gdol pa: 'outcast' 8
�ེ་བ�ད་གསེར་�ེམས༔
Serkyem of the Eight Classes (by Dudjom Rinpoche)
དཀོན་མཆོག་ག�མ་དང་�་ག�མ་ཆོས་�ོང་ཚ�གས༔ kön chok sum dang tsa sum chö kyong tsok Three Jewels and Three Roots and Gathering of Protectors,
�ི་ཡི་�ེ་བ�ད་ནང་གི་�ེ་བ�ད་དང༔ chi yi dé gyé nang gi dé gyé dang Outer Eight Classes and Inner Eight Classes,
གསང་བའི་�ེ་བ�ད་མཆོག་གི་�ེ་བ�ད་དང༔ sang wé dé gyé chok gi dé gyé dang Secret Eight Classes and Supreme Eight Classes,
�ལ་པའི་�ེ་བ�ད་�ང་�ིད་�ེ་བ�ད་སོགས༔ trül pé dé gyé nang si dé gyé sok Emanation Eight Classes and Worldly Eight Classes and others,
�ལ་པ་ཡང་�ལ་བཀའ་�ོད་�ན་གཡོག་བཅས༔ trül pa yang trül ka dö dren yok ché Emanations and re-emanations and those bound by oaths,
འདིར་གཤེགས་གསེར་�ེམས་གཏོར་མའི་མཆོད་འ�ལ་བཞེས༔ dir shek ser kyem tor mé chö bül zhé Come here and accept this offering of Golden Drink and Torma!
མ�ན་�ེན་བསམ་དོན་བ�བ་ལ་འགལ་�ེན་�ོག༔ tün kyen sam dön drup la gel kyen dok Create favourable conditions, accomplish our wishes, and dispel negativities,
རབ་འ�མ་�ིན་ལས་མ་�ས་ཡོངས་འ�བ་མཛ�ད༔ rap jam trin lé ma lü yong drup dzö Perfectly accomplish all the infinite activities without exception!
བཀའ་དང་དམ་ལས་མ་འདའ་ས་མ་ཡ༔ ka dang dam lé ma da sa ma ya Do not transgress your oaths and commitments. Samaya.
9
General Serkyem Offering
�ཻ། �ེ་བ�ད་�ི་དང་�ོགས་འདི་�། kyé dé gyé chi dang chok di ru The General and Supreme Eight Classes come to this place!
།གནས་པའི་�ལ་�་གཞི་བདག་�མས། né pé yül lha zhi dak nam Lords of the land and gods of the land in this area,
།འདིར་གཤེགས་གསེར་�ེམས་མཆོད་པ་བཞེས། dir shek ser kyem chö pa zhé come here and receive this serkyem offering!
།གེགས་ཞི་བསམ་དོན་�ན་�བ་མཛ�ད། ། gek zhi sam dön lhün drup dzö Pacify obstructing forces and spontaneously accomlish all meaningful wishes!
10
Explanation about the Eight Classes1 chi yi de gye - Outer brgya byin:
Eight Classes
Indra
lha min dbang po thags bzang: a king of the Asuras (lha ma yin or lha min). His body is black, he has one face and four hands, in which he holds a shield, sword, jewel, and a chopper. His vehicle is a chariot. klu'i dbang po: apparently only a title; it was not possible to ascertain which deity occupies this place. In most works the klu'i dbang po is omitted from the enumeration of the phyi yi sde brgyad. mi 'am ci ljon rta mgo: a
Kimnara 3, with a green horse-head, wearing a red garment and
playing a vina 4. gnod sbyin gang ba bzang po: the mountain god, dwelling on the mountain gnod sbyin gang zang near Gyantse, the famous companion of Vaishravana rnam thos sras, the protector of the North, who guards and administers the riches from the treasury. mkha' lding gser mig 'khyil ba: a
Garuda having a body of a bird, sky-blue in colour. His horns, beak, and claws are of meteoric iron, his three eyes are fiery like the sun. He is accompanied by five Naga-subduing Garudas, a white, red, blue, yellow, and a green one. srin po lang ka mgrin bcu: Raksha
from Lanka, Ravana, King of Raksha, omitted from some
versions of the text chos skyong ma ha ka la: Glorious
Lord of Pristine Awareness, Black Neuter (not: 'eunuch', as sometimes translated! In here 'Neuter' refers to the primordial state before division into genders and duality.) with a body blue-black in colour, one face and two hands. Holding aloft in the right, pointed to the sky, a flaming lance, and in the left a poisoned heart and lasso. With three round red eyes, a curled tongue and hanging black snakes for hair. Having a crown of five dry skulls and a necklace of fifty fresh heads. Adorned with a garland of hearts and piles of snakes, dressed in silk cloaks, black and layered. Having a gold belt and a girdle of fresh human skin. From the three doors of a great stick of sandalwood, fastened at the waist, an army of snakes is dispersed. Decorated with varieties of colourful flowing streamers and all the frightful ornaments. Standing with the left leg extended atop a corpse seat..." king of the Gandharvas 5, called also 'the king of Water Spirits' or the 'Lord of the Great Eight Secret Places of Tibet'. He is described as beautiful man of white colour with five turquoise locks of hair. He wears a mantle of white silk and a shell for a hat. In his right hand he holds a reed cane, with a left he swings a short spear with a silk banner he is riding a white horse who can fly, with eves like Zi (onyx) and a turquoise mane. dri za zur phud lnga pa: the
1
nang gi sge brgyad
- Inner Eight Classes
yab gcig bdud rje nag po: a
god of the rnying ma pa pantheon, dressed in black and riding a black horse. His left hand is set in the tarjani mudra (sdig 'dzub, sdigs mdzub- threatening finger, mudra like of Vajrapani) and holds a snare, the right hand brandishes a sword. The deity's long black hair hangs loosely down and it is not covered by any head-dress. btsan rgyal yam shud dmar po: He dwells at a place lying towards the West, where he resides in a red castle of copper, surrounded by red mountains, red valleys, and red rivers. yam shud dmar po rides a red horse of the kind called bse rta (also: bsve rta). He wears a red armour, a brilliant helmet of leather, and his right hand brandishes a red lance, the bse yi mdung dmar, with fluttering streamers reddened with blood, or a stick of seng ldeng wood. His left hand holds a human heart and a red btsan snare, which he thrusts against his enemies. It is his task to cut the life of men and horses. He eats human flesh and horse meat; when thirsty, he drinks the blood of horses and men. He dispatches nine naked men as his messengers. yam shud dmar po is accompanied on the left side by nine riders, on the right by nine swift red men, and in front creeps stealthily a life-destroying wolf of copper. yul lha chag sangs klu sras: no
information was available on the iconography of this deity.
srog bdag rgyal po snying sbyin: this deity is regarded
as an emanation of Pehar.
chos skyong gnod sbyin dmar po: another name for the dharmapala tsi'u dmar po. He is the chief leader of all btsan demons. This dharmapala is usually represented in the following way: Yaksha, the king of the dgra lha, fierce and horrible, produces dreadful shrieks. His
forehead is contorted in anger, his upper teeth gnaw the lower lip. He possesses all marks of a hero. With his right hand he brandishes a banner of red silk, in his left he holds the snare of the btsan demons - sparkling like the rays of the sun, which he throws with the speed of lightning at the enemies, catching with it their 'life-breath'. Also with the fourth finger of his right hand he whirls a red snare. On his right side he carries a quiver of tiger-skin and on his left side a bow-case made from the skin of a leopard, and he rides a black horse with white heels. On his head he wears a helmet of leather, adorned with an aigrette of vulture-feathers, and on his body he carries a cuirass covered with the shells of scorpions. He is surrounded by hundred thousand unvanquishable war-battalions of the btsan, by twenty thousand groups of klu, numberless the'u rang, and countless falcons and eagles, tigers, leopards, monkeys, etc. Furthermore, he is accompanied by monks wearing bse theb hats, wielding their rattlingstaffs and carrying begging-bowls; five hundred of them, saying prayers solemnly, march in front. On the right side walk five hundred magicians who pronounce horrible mantras. They wear black hats, garments with broad sleeves, and brandish demon-daggers and skull-cups. On the left side march, speaking courageous words, five hundred armed men, wielding swords and shields. In the back are walking five hundred black women, who say curses while shaking out their garments. His consort is lha mo grol mo spyan gcig ma. She is darkbrown, naked, has one face, and her two hands hold a chopper and a snare. A single eye stares in a fierce manner from the middle of her brow. ma mo 'jig pa'i glog 'byin: a mamo depicted as a black woman with long protruding teeth; her body is only partly covered by a long, loosely hanging cloak.
2
dge bsnyen rdo tje legs pa:
Dorje Legpa. Surrounded by the wild sea of blood lies a castle built of bat-bone, from which a five-coloured rainbow emanates. Up in the sky, poisonous clouds gather and a terrific storm, accompanied by fiercely rolling thunder and flashing of meteors and lightning, rages there. Around this abode - on whose perimeter lies a circle of black iron hills - blows a black storm, and in the centre of this place comes forth on a "sun-lotus", riding either on a light-brown billy-goat or on a brilliantly white lion, the nobly-born rdo rje legs pa of a dark-red colour, with One face and three eyes, with a gaping mouth and bared teeth, exhaling poisonous vapours. The hair which covers his head, his eyebrows and the hair of his face blaze like fire. His right hand brandishes a nine-pointed thunderbolt of meteoric iron, crushing with it 'he heads of the enemies of religion, with his left he clutches a heart, still warm and dripping with blood, which he lifts to his mouth. His body is covered with a voluminous garment of red silk, and he wears a purple-brown hat. On his right side hangs a quiver made of tiger-skin, and on his left side a bow-case made from the skin of a leopard. His attire is full of splendour, and he is of an overpoweringly horrible appearance. dkar mo'i nyi zla'i thod 'phreng: The
hair of this divinity is done in the fashion of the Indian yogis, with the sun and moon fastened at the sides of the central hair-tuft. In another form, the deity has the sun resting on her open right hand, while on the palm of the left hand lies the moon. dkar mo'i nyi zla'i thod 'phreng is represented either as having a white face and body, or with a white body and a red face. gsang ba'i sde brgyad
- Secret Eight Classes
bdud po kha mthun raksa: no
information was available on the iconography of this deity.
gshin rje gshed pa dmar po: a
red form of Yamantaka represented as the figure of a man dancing on a prostrate corpse; his right hand, which is stretched sideways, holds a chopper, and the left one carries a kapala. klu bdud nagaraja: a
general term; it was not possible to ascertain which deity is exactly
meant. Yaksha 6, represented on paintings with either a red or black body, and brandishing a sword. gnod sbyin shan pa gri thogs:
ma mo srin po'i khram 'debs: a
red goddess, wearing an open cloak, one hand brandishes a khram shing (a baton with carved magical symbols), the other holds a sack full of diseases.
btsan po yam shud srog len: no
information was available on the iconography of this deity.
bdud pho re ti 'gong yag: a black figure dressed in black silks and riding on a ferocious black otter. His right hand lifts a sta mo (axe) made of meteoric iron, with which he kills quickly all enemies and obstacle-creating demons, his left hand brandishes a battle-lance with a pendant of black silk. His companions are a multitude of bdud and btsan. srog bdag dung gi thor tshugs: the
lord of life-force, with the shell protruding from his hair, that are tied together with two wide pieces of fabric which cross on top of his head 3
mchog gi sde brgyad
- Supreme Eight Classes
gza' mchog rgyal po rahula: the
chief of all planetary gods (gza') Rahu or Rahula. He has nine heads, a raven's head on top, and his body is covered by a thousand eyes. He bares his teeth, and a mist of illnesses issues from his mouth. The right hand holds a makara-banner, and the left one clutches a bow and an arrow, the latter being shot into the heart of those who break their religious vows. The lower part of his body is the coiled tail of a snake. Rahu dispatches the klu bdud - beings which originated out of the union of a klu with a bdud - as his messengers.
skar mchog khram shing kha 'thor: a
god of the stars, whose chief attribute is a baton carved
with magical symbols. bdud mchog ma nu yaksha: no
information was available on the iconography of this deity.
btsan mchog gri btsan 'thu bo: a btsan ma mchog lce spyang mdung 'dzin: a
whose main attribute is a sword.
ma mo who is armed with a lance which carries the head of a
wolf on top klu mchog klu rgyal dung skyong: represented as
a divinity holding a vessel full of jewels in the
right hand and a conch-shell in the left one mgon mchog nag po lte dkar: it
was not possible to ascertain which particular form of mgon po
(Mahakala) is meant. rgyal mchog li byin ha ra: this is one of the companions of the three-headed and six armed Hayagriva (rta mgrin), he jumps in front of Hayagriva amidst the horde of the demons btsan,
swinging their lassos, his hair tied in a knob, from which a shell sticks out. He holds a crystal sword, a lasso made of rays, spear and a bowl of treasures. He wears leather armour and leather helmet. sprul pa sde brgyad
- Emanation Eight Classes
dpung g.yas dgra lhar sprul pa- right dpung g.yon ma mor sprul pa- left mchu so bdud du sprul pa- left
shoulder - Dra Lha emanation
shoulder - Mamo emanation
shoulder - Düd emanation
mgo bo srin por sprul pa - head
- Raksha emanation
mjug ma dmu ru sprul pa- back
- Mu emanation
lag g.yas gshin rje sprul pa
- right hand - Yama emanation
lag g.yon klu btsan sprul pa- left
hand - Lu and Tsen emanation 4
mig dang snying dang mche ba
- eyes, heart and liver - Za and Düd emanation
This list reminds somewhat of the distribution of the so-called 'Go ba'i lha lnga, the five guardian-deities of each person, who have their seats within five parts or areas of the human body, from where they are exercise their protective influence. Their usual way of distribution has been listed by Klong rdol bla ma: crown of the head - yul lha right shoulder - dgra Iha right armpit - pho lho left armpit - mo lho heart - srog lha
snang srid sde brgyad
- Eight Worldly Classes
sa bdag hal khyi nag po: he
is represented as a creature with a black human trunk which bear the head of a dog, wings of iron, the tail of a snake, and instead of hands, bird's claws, which clutch a lance with a banner. klu bdud sgo ra nag po: no
information was available on the iconography of this deity.
sa yi lha mo bslan ma (or brtan ma): she
belongs to the class of the sa bdag. She is yellow in colour and holds a vessel in front of her heart.
phyogs skyong rgyal chen sde bzhi
- the Four Directional Guardians:
Dhritarashtra, Yulkhor Sung; (yul 'khor srung; 'Defender of the Area') is the Guardian King of the East and chief of the Gandharvas. Virudhaka, Pak Kyepo; ('phags skyes po; 'Noble Birth') is the Guardian King of the South and leader of the Kumbhandas, fierce beings who reside in the desire realms of the heavens. Virupaksha, Chen Mi Zang; (spyan mi bzang; 'Ugly Eyes') is the Guardian King of the West and leader of the Nagas. Vaishravana, Namtsé; (rnam thos sras; 'Son of He who has Heard Many Things') is the Guardian King of the North and leader of the Yakshas. mgon po bdun cu rtsa .lnga
- the Seventy-Five emanations of Mahakala
yul 'di'i gzhi bdag than cad
: the local protectors and guardians.2
pho lha dgra lha srog lha: pho lha: 'male deity', white, young, dressed in white silk clothes, blue cape and boots. His hair is tightened with silk ribbon into a knot. In his right hand he holds a wish-fulfilling
5
jewel and in left he raises a platter, full of precious stones. Pho Lha is also an important personal protective deity, and is located in the right armpit. dra lha: 'the enemy deity' appears as smiling young man wearing a turban of white silk and white raincoat and boots, riding on white horse. On his belt hangs a case for the bow and quiver. With right hand he is waving a spear with a banner, and in left he holds a lasso. Dra lha is also an important personal protective deity, which dwells in the right shoulder. Dra Lha protects the live of those who worship him, helps to overcome obstacles, destroy the enemies, and also to achieve high social rank. sog lha- 'deity of life-force', appears as a man of strong physique, white skin, on a black horse with white hoofs, wearing helmet and armor of gold, on the side hangs bow and a quiver, in his right hand a spear with silk banner, in his left hand a lasso. mo lha: the
female deity, this is the white goddess Machig Palgyi Lhamo, ma gcig dpal gyi lha mo, riding on a deer, she is young and beautiful, clothed in white silk and wearing a mantle of black silk, wearing a diadem, and jewellery, in the right hand she hold divination arrow, in the left a mirror. mo sman;
the word mo sman consists of two meanings: a woman and a medicine. In general Men Mo can live in different environments. Some live in the sky, some in great quiet lakes, some on green meadows, some in forests, or in the earth.
Notes: 1
Based on: Rene De Nebesky- Wojkowitz 'Oracles and Demons of Tibet', Chögyal Namkhai Norbu 'Serkyem of the Eight Classess Arranged by Nubchen Sangye Yeshe' (Russian Edition, 2001) and some online sources. 2
There are many different kinds of gzhi bdag: sa bdag, Sadag, who dwell in the earth, the Lu who dwell in the water, the btsan, Tsan who reside in the rocks, the gnyan, Nyen who stay in the intermediary space (between heaven and Earth), the gzhi bdag who live on passes, the gzhi bdag who stay on narrow ledges, others who live on boats and bridges, others who dwell on roads (those are called lam lha - 'the road gods'). klu,
3
Kimnara: mi am ci: heavenly musicians, another name for Gandharva, creatures with horseheads and human bodies. 4
vina - instument similiar to guitar
5
Gandharvas: dri za - a class of beings 'feeding on smells', dwelling in space, also called 'heavenly musicians'. 6 Yaksha: snod sbyin, 'the evil-doer', the class of demons living in the mountains, in particular in the higher parts, who can, if not pleased, eat the travellers, they are the servants of Kuvera and guardians of his treasures. 6
