GSHIN RJE AND RELATED DEITIES
Yama, the judge of the dead and ruler of all beings who were reborn in one of the cold or hot hells in order to expiate the sins committed in a previous existence, is usually addressed in Tibetan as gShin rje, “lord of death” - this term is, however, also applied to denote a whole class of death-bringing demons -, further as Chos kyi rgyal po, “king of the religious law”, an expression corresponding to Skt. Dharmaraja, or, by uniting both these terms, as gShin rje chos kyi rgyal po. He is supposed to be a deity of the eighth rank:. There are various forms of Yama, the main aspects being those called phyi sgrub, nang sgrub, and gsang sgrub, or jointly as phyi nang gsang gsum.
In his phyi sgrub or “outer” form, Yama is depicted as a blue, bullheaded god, whose right hand brandishes a club with a skull on top (thod dbyug} and a snare with the left one. He stands upon a blue-col- loured bull, who is kneeling on top of a woman. Usually, the animal is depicted crushing the prostrate human figure, but sometimes paintings and images are seen which leave no doubt that the woman and Yama’s mount - in expression of tantric conceptions ~ are actually engaged in sexual intercourse. I have, however, not yet come across a Tibetan iconographic text expressly mentioning the latter particularity. To the left side of Yama stands frequently his sister Yami, who offers him a skull-cup full of blood. Klong rdol bla ma calls this form of Yama the Chos rgyal phyi sgrub ma he'i gdong can and mentions eight male and eight female gshin rje (gshin rje pho brgyad mo brgyad as his companions.’
The nang sgrub or “inner” form of Yama is dark-blue too, but in this case the ruler of the hells has the head of a fierce raksasa, and his hands hold a chopper and a skull-cup. His feet tread upon a corpse. According to Klong rdol bla ma the name of this form of Yama is Nang sgrub srin gi gdong can; in his retinue appear four other forms of this god, the Zhi ba' gshin rje, rGyas pa'i gshin rje, dBang gi gshin rje, and Drag gi gshin rje.
In the gsang sgrub or “secret” aspect the colour of the bull-headed Yama is red and he treads upon a bull of the same colour. His attributes are a jewel and a skull-cup. There is further a group of four Yamas of different colour, all of them brandishing a damaru and a divination-arrow. Each of these figures is brought into relation with one of the four cardinal points: the Yama who dwells in the eastern quarter is white, that one of the southern direction is yellow, the Yama of the West is red, and the northern one is green (or blue).
The Rin 'byung describes the following forms of Yama with their saktis and acolytes:
Chos rgyal las kyi gshin rje mthing ga (R. Vol. II, fol. 435 b)
“The Dharmaraja, the azure-blue Death-Lord of the karma", who is identical with the Las gshin dpa' gcig of the Zur kha brgya rtsa (fol. 205). The Rin 'byung describes him as a figure of “a most terrifying appearance”; he corresponds to the before-mentioned phyi sgrub form of Yama. He is dark-blue and has the face of a bull. His right hand holds the thod dbyug, which is adorned on its hilt with a thunderbolt, and the left hand - its fingers are set in the tarjani-mudra - brandishes a black snare. The deity, who is depicted naked with his penis erect, stands on the back of a buffalo.
To the left side of Yama stands the black sakti Tsamundi. Her breasts are emaciated and her hair hangs loosely in streaks. Tsamundi's dress is an ox-skin and black silks, her attributes are a trisula and a skull-cup. The Dharmaraja and his sakti are surrounded by eight divinities; the first four we mentioned already when discussing the retinue of mGon po zangs gri can lha bcu bdun ma:
Attribute
club
pointed stake for empaling criminals (gsal shing) short lance (mdung thung) iron hook
snare of the bdud
dub
flaming tooth
Las gshin dmar po ma ru rtse bzhis skor-ba (R, Vol. Il, foL 440 a)
A red, fierce Yama, armed with a sword and a “flaming wind-wheel' (rlung gi 'khor lo ’bar ba). He is dressed in the skins of a man and of a tiger, and stands on a buffalo. His sakti is the black-coloured goddess Ekajati, whose dress is a human skin. She carries an iron hook and a skull-cup*.
Four red deities, armed with knives as sharp as a razor, snares, and riding on birds of the kind called bse bya accompany this form of Yama. Each of them stands in connection with a particular class of demoniacal beings; they are distributed in the four directions in the following way: East - Srin po ma ru rtse South - gShitt rje ma ru rtse West - bDud po ma ru rtse North - gNod sbyin ma ru rtse
Las gshin dmar po khrag mdog (R, Vol. II, fol. 443 a)
As indicated by the name, the colour of this form of Yama is blood-red.
His right hand holds a five-pointed thunderbolt together with a human heart, and the left hand, which is in the tarjarii-mudra, brandishes a snare. The deity is naked except for a loin-cloth of tiger-skin. On the left side stands the sakti Dus mtshan ma of a dark-red colour; her attributes are a sword and a skull-cup. She rides a mule, treading on clouds from which red lightning issues.
Las gshin lha bcu gsum, according to a description contained in the Zur kha brgya rtsa. The chief divinity of this group of thirteen gods and goddesses is Yama, appearing in the same form as that described under the heading Chos rgyal las kyi gshin rje mthing ga, only that this time his parivara is different.
In the four main quarters reside:
These four deities are dark-blue, have one head and two arms. The objects which each of them holds with the right hand have been mentioned above, while those held in the left hand are not specified in the text.
In the four intermediary quarters reside four ma mo, dark-red, of a frightening appearance, ugly, each of them holding a pair of dice in the left hand. Their names and the attributes they carry in the right hand are:
Attribute mirror of karma sack full of diseases magic bail of thread magic notched stick of the bdud The four gates of the mandala are guarded by four white deities addressed as the sgrol ’gying chen bzhi, of a terrifying appearance:
A form of Yama “yellow like pure gold”. Yama has in this case the head of a fierce buffalo with horns of lapis-lazuli; flames issue from their points. He has three ferocious looking eyes, his mouth is widely opened, and he bares his teeth which are sharp like icicles. A diadem of five skulls adorns his brow, and a garland of fifty blood-dripping heads hangs around his neck.
In the right hand he brandishes a club with a human skull on top and the left one, which holds a black snare, makes the tarjani-mudra. His right leg is bent - the foot treads on the head of a white lion - and the left leg is stretched out.
A few additional words should be said about the various companions of Yama. In his form known as Chos rgyal phyi sgrub he is accompanied by twelve great ma mo. The names of eleven of these have been given by Tucci: gShin rje'i pho nya mo, Dus kyi zhags pa ma, gShin rje dam sri ma nag mo, gShin rje sreg ma, Dus mtshan ma, gSod ma, Nag mo, Nam gru, Sha ga li, gShin rje phebs ma, and gShin rje mtshan mo. a When comparing this list with the names of the deities belonging to the train
2 82, fol. 7a. s Painted Scrolls, II, p. 582.
of Yama and mentioned in this chapter we find, that in six cases the appellations are nearly identical.
Two well-known acolytes of Yama are the Dur khrod bdag po (Skt. Citipali), a pair of skeletons shown in a dancing attitude. A similar figure is the deity Keng rus dkar mo, “white skeleton”, whose attributes are a pair of crossed thunderbolts and a bell Yama has also a number of stag and owl-headed spirits at his disposal, who are said to be his “emanations” and whom he dispatches as his messengers (pho nya). The various forms of Yama, the stag-headed messengers, and also the Dur khrod bdag po play an important part in the Tibetan religious dances (jcham).
After enumerating the better-known forms of Yama the Rin 'byung mentions a group of dharmapalas who are mainly worshiped by the rNying ma pa. The deities named here in the first and third places are undoubtedly forms of Yama, while the second dharmapala stands in closest relation to the Mahakala-group. Dur khrod bdag po Icam dral (R, Vol. II, fol. 446 b)
“The master of the cemetery - brother and sister”, or “the hero, the master of the cemetery - sakta and Sakti (in sexual union)”, dPa’ bo dur khrod bdag po yab yum, are the usual forms of address of this divinity and his mate. The text, however, gives a description only of the sakta, a white skeleton of “a most frightening appearance”. He has three eyes, wears a diadem of jewels, and the lower part of his body is -covered with varicoloured silks. His attributes are the skull-dub ([[thod [skam gyi dbyug pa]]) and a kapala containing blood. Both deities reside in the centre of a vehemently blazing fire and they are surrounded by countless dakinis.
Pu tra team dral (R, Vol. II, fol. 450 a)
Name and appearance of this deity suggest that he is related to the group of the Gw mgon, especially to the divinities which we discussed when speaking about the Gur gyi mgon po lha brgyad. The Pu tra Icam dral is black, and he is accordingly addressed as the rDo rje nag po. His right hand lifts a chopper, the left one holds a skull-cup in front of his breast, and across his forearms lies a magic stick ('phrul gyi gandi), which we have already mentioned as the typical emblem carried by various forms of Mahakala. The face has three eyes, the teeth are bared, the yellow hair stands on end. The dress and ornaments of Pu tra team • 6, fol. 37b.
dral are a loin-cloth of tiger-skin, a garment of varicoloured silks, a crown of skulls, a garland of fifty heads, bone-ornaments, and snakes. At his right side appears a black bird, on the left side runs a black dog, in the back follows a jackal, in front walks a black man, and above soars a khyung. The sakti of Pu tra Icam dral is the blue Ekajati, who holds with both hands a vessel full of amrta. A tiger-skin is wound around the middle of her body, and she wears a garment of white silk.
Bran bdud gshin rje nag po (R, Vol. II, fol. 456 b)
A black god, holding a black trident with four heads stuck on it and a blood-dripping heart, at which two black poisonous snakes are sucking. He stands in a dancing attitude and is dressed in a garment of black silk, held together by a girdle of snakes. On his feet he wears high boots and a khram shing is stuck into his girdle. Bran bdud gshin rje nag po is accompanied by the ash-gray Sakti IHa mo spu gri ma. She is depicted naked, without ornaments and her hair hangs loosely down. Flames issue from her mouth, her two hands are lifted upward threateningly, and from both palms issue fire-clouds. She sits in a crouching way, turning towards her mate.
dKar mo nyi zla Icam dral (R, Vol. II, fol. 460 a)
The name of this white dharmapala is derived from a necklace, consisting of a thousand suns and moons, which he wears round his neck. He lifts Mt. Sumeru with the right hand. In addition to the before- mentioned necklace, the dharmapala wears also a garland of nine hundred ninety-nine suns and moons, which are strung up in an alternating way. On his head he carries a crown of skulls with a sun and a moon on it. He is dressed in a tiger-skin and a garment of white silk, and his body is adorned with jewels and snakes.
This protector of the religious law is accompanied by a divinity called bDud rgyal dpa bo thod 'phreng can, “the king of the bdud, the hero with a rosary of skulls”, who is black and rides the black horse of the bdud. The second part of his name is derived from the main attribute, a rosary of human skulk, which he holds in his left hand.
