Daka
Daka (Skt. ḍāka; Tib. དཔའ་བོ་, pawo[1] ; Wyl. dpa' bo), literally 'hero' — the tantric equivalent of a bodhisattva and the male equivalent of a dakini.
Footnotes
Source
Daka (dpa' bo).
1) Emanation of the chief figure in the mandala to fulfill the four activities; male counterpart of dakinis.
2) Male enlightened practitioner of Vajrayana.
There is some disagreement amongst Western scholars as to the meaning of the term daka. Some see it as the same as a dakini but in its male embodiment, and thus to be the partner of a female practitioner or yogini, or to identify a daka as the consort of a dakini. However in consort yoga, the consort of a dakini is a yogi.
For example, Padma Sambhava was known as a yogi and Yeshe Tsogyal as a dakini. Miranda Shaw in an interview in 1995: “In Sanskrit there is only one word, Dakini. There are only female Dakinis… there is no male Dakini. It is an impossibility and a contradiction in terms.” Whereas Jan Willis in the chapter Ḑākinī; Some Comments on Its Nature and Meaning points out that “”she” is not “female”. Though the ḍākinī assuredly most often appears in female form… this is but one of the myriad of ways Absolute Insight chooses to make manifest its facticity”.
However, Tibetan Lamas trained in the Gelug school, such as Sermey Khensur Lobsang Tharchin and Kelsang Gyatso, and those of the Karma Kagyu school such as Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, write freely of “dakas and dakinis”. Thubten Yeshe clarifies their meaning: “what are dakas and dakinis? Simply speaking they are males and females who possess advanced experiences of tantric transformation and control and are therefore able to increase the blissful wisdom of a highly qualified practioner”.
The expression daka is not much used in the sense of a celestial visitor today. Rather, the term is used in reference to a yaksha or earth spirit (properly in Tib. yidak) that "is a dwarf who moves on his stomach like a reptile."
While the word dakini refers to enlightened compassionate activity embodied as a spirit in female form there is also the daka, designating a male sky-goer.
Vajradaka (Tib. Dorje Khadro) is a fierce and wrathful deity invoked in a ritual for purifying negative actions.
VAJRADHAKA (Tib. Dorje Khadro)
One of the preliminary practices to Highest Yoga Tantra in the Geluk tradition are fire burning offerings (fire pujas) to Vajradhaka. By offering sesame seeds into the fire, one visualizes negativities, diseases and hindrances disappear into the deity’s mouth. Just remembering his name is meant to be protection against demons and delusions.
The 25th day of the lunar cycle is dakini day, while on the 10th the daka is celebrated.
