One of the subtle channels in the body.

“Servant Acala,” or “Immovable Servant/Helper,” seems to be an epithet of Acala/Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa; commentaries describe him as an emanation of Vairocana.

One of the five buddha families.

The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (avidyā). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote. Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Heruka.

One of the seven types of ḍākinīs.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

A deity personifying the true nature of the element fire.

In the Sampuṭodbhava, this deity is invoked to help obtain a son.

One of the eight nāga kings.

One of the seven types of ḍākinīs.

A gesture of reverence with the hands joined at the heart as if in prayer.

The symbol denoting the nasalization of a Sanskrit vowel, comprised of a dot above a crescent.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

A class of nonhuman beings believed to cause epilepsy, fits, and loss of memory. As their name suggests‍—the Skt. apasmāra literally means “without memory” and the Tib. brjed byed means “causing forgetfulness”‍—they are defined by the condition they cause in affected humans, and the term can refer to any nonhuman being that causes such conditions, whether a bhūta, a piśāca, or other.

A member of the class of celestial female beings of great beauty.

One of the four pīṭhas.

There are two versions of the ardhaparyaṅka posture‍—one sitting, the other dancing.

A Hindu god (personification of the sun).

The wish to attain awakening for the sake of all sentient beings; a luminous “seed” moving inside the channels; the Sanskrit and Tibetan terms are also used to denote semen.

A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).

One of the power places.

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

One of the five goddesses personifying the five “hooks of gnosis.”

One of the five goddesses personifying the five “hooks of gnosis.”

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

The female genital organ, in this and other tantric texts. Other meanings include “good fortune,” “happiness,” and “majesty”; the term forms the root of the word bhagavān, Blessed One; see also 1.­163 et seq.

A wrathful form of Śiva.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Heruka.

A type of ḍākinī (literally, “earth traveller”).

See “bodhisattva level.”

One of the deities invited to partake in the oblation offering.

A drop (as of liquids); a “drop” of concentrated energy in the channels of the subtle body; the shape of a drop with a small protuberance above visualized above mantric syllables as part of the anunāsika (the nasal mark).

One of the deities invited to partake in the oblation offering.

In normative Mahāyāna doctrine, bodhicitta refers to the aspiration for awakening, in both its relative and absolute aspects. In tantric thought it frequently refers to semen in the context of its generation and manipulation in sexual yogic rites.

Ground; level; also the level of realization, in particular that of a bodhisattva. Also rendered here as “bhūmi.”

A code word for the male sexual organ. Taken literally, refers to “gum myrrh.”

One of the sacrificial fires.

A holy monument enshrining relics, usually in a shape that represents the five elements.

Circle; wheel; energy center in the subtle body‍—a vortex of channels.

The name of the energy center ( cakra ) at the top of the head. Also referred to as the mahāsukha cakra .

An outcaste or a member of the lowest (and despised) castes in Indian society.

An outcaste woman; one of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra; the mystic heat below the navel, personified as a goddess; one of the five ḍākinīs visualized on the prongs of the vajra scepter.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

A Hindu deity (the moon personified).

A sign in Sanskrit indicating nasalization of the vowel it is written above; it consists of a horizontal crescent with its horns pointing up and a dot above it.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

One of the power places.

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

The body’s main subtle channel (nāḍī), running along the spinal column.

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

A sambhogakāya deity to which the practitioner has a samaya commitment, commonly known by the students of Tibetan Buddhism as yidam.

The pair of the deity or practitioner in sexual yoga. See “consort (female)” and “consort (male).”

The female element of the coupling pair in sexual yoga. In this translation the term “consort” has been used to render different terms with slighty different concepts of the female consort, the most important being mudrā, vidyā, and prajñā. Mudrā emphasizes the symbolic form of the female consort, while vidyā and prajñā emphasize the wisdom, or insight, aspect that the female principle embodies (see also “wisdom consort”).

The male element of the coupling pair in sexual yoga. See “skillful means.”

One of the seven types of ḍākinīs.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Heruka.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

One of the four guardian goddesses who can be indicated to a fellow practitioner by her pledge sign.

Covers a wide range of meanings‍—in general a male being, not necessarily benevolent, ranging from a powerful spirit to a retinue deity in a maṇḍala.

Covers a wide range of meanings‍—in general a female being, not necessarily benevolent, ranging from a powerful spirit to a retinue deity in a maṇḍala. Also the name of the royal goddess in the east, see “ Ḍākinī .”

One of the four guardian goddesses who can be indicated to a fellow practitioner by her pledge sign.

An elaborate name of the deity Saṃvara; its meaning varies according to different interpretations.

A small hand drum.

One of the four auxiliary pīṭhas.

The term dharma conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyā­yukti. The primary meanings are as follows: the doctrine taught by the Buddha (Dharma); the ultimate reality underlying and expressed through the Buddha’s teaching (Dharma); the trainings that the Buddha’s teaching stipulates (dharmas); the various awakened qualities or attainments acquired through practicing and realizing the Buddha’s teaching (dharmas); qualities or aspects more generally, i.e., phenomena or phenomenal attributes (dharmas); and mental objects (dharmas).

The name of the energy center ( cakra ) in the heart.

The “sphere of phenomena,” a totality of things as they really are.

The “body of phenomena” as they really are; the state of complete and perfect awakening.

The deity Aralli when he is associated with the origination of phenomena.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering; one of the four guardian goddesses who can be indicated to a fellow practitioner by her pledge sign.

“Divine”; one of the subtle channels in the body.

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

992 or 993 to 1043 or 1072; Tibetan translator (of an early phase of the later translation period) and important figure in the Lamdré (lam ’bras) lineage.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

The deity personifying the true nature of the faculty of hearing.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

“Two-faced snake.”

The activity or the magical act of enthralling.

The five accoutrements worn by wrathful deities, associated with charnel grounds; they are the diadem (for some female deities this is the choker), the earrings, the necklace, the wrist bracelets and the waist chain.

The five include feces, urine, phlegm, semen, and menstrual blood; they may be substituted by other five substances representing them, e.g., the five types of rice.

Often called “four types of mindfulness”; they refer to mindfulness of the body, bodily sensations, thoughts, and phenomena.

The four are intention (chandas), diligence (vīrya), attention (citta), and discernment (mīmāṃsā).

The four right exertions (sometimes translated literally from the Tibetan as “abandonments”) aim at preventing the negative dharmas from arising, at removing those that have arisen, at producing those that have not arisen, and at maintaining those that have arisen. The Tibetan term, as exemplified in this text, may translate both the Sanskrit terms samyakprahāṇa and samyakpraṇidhiṃ.

The Sanskrit text has “gaganaṃ,” signifying this epithet of Ākāśagarbha, one of the eight great bodhisattvas, while the Tibetan uses an abbreviated form of the Tibetan translation of Ākāśagarbha, nam mkha’i snying po.

A ritual feast offered to the deities and all beings in the three realms.

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

994–1043; Indian (possibly Bengali) paṇḍita who visited Tibet three times; teacher of Drokmi Śākya Yeshé; a complex personality and a key figure in the transmission to Tibet of the Hevajra materials later incorporated in the Lamdré (lam ’bras) tradition.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering; one of the five ḍākinīs visualized on the five prongs of the vajra scepter.

One of the four auxiliary pīṭhas.

A demon that causes an eclipse; a spirit that causes possession; a planet.

One of the two melāpakas.

One of the two pīlavas.

Mythological figure of great wealth and splendor.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Heruka.

The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”

The wrathful buddha personifying the true nature of all forms and all the sensory fields and elements; a wrathful deity of the vīra type; also an epithet applied to some wrathful deities, especially Hevajra and Saṃvara.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Heruka.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

A wrathful deity of the heruka type.

One of the two auxiliary chandohas.

An oblation offered into a ritual fire; the repeated act of casting an offering into the fire, where each throw is accompanied by a single repetition of the mantra.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

The name of one of the wrathful forms of Vajrapāṇi; in the Sampuṭodbhava he is also referred to as Krodhavijaya or simply Krodha.

The lord of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven on the summit of Mount Sumeru. As one of the eight guardians of the directions, Indra guards the eastern quarter. In Buddhist sūtras, he is a disciple of the Buddha and protector of the Dharma and its practitioners. He is often referred to by the epithets Śatakratu, Śakra, and Kauśika.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

Direct cognition of reality; represented by and refers to the female consort in sexual yoga.

The deity personifying the true nature of the faculty of smell.

One of the four pīṭhas.

A goddess invoked to crush wayward beings.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

One of the five buddha families.

“Wisdom Ḍākinī,” one of the five ḍākinīs associated with the five buddha families.

The deity that merges with and empowers its form, the samayasattva, visualized by the practitioner.

The first bodhisattva level.

A code word for the female genital organ. Taken literally, refers to an aromatic plant and the perfume made from it.

One of the two chandohas.

Name of a country; inhabitant of this country.

One of the two kṣetras.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering; one of the four guardian goddesses who can be indicated to a fellow practitioner by her pledge sign.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

One of the two auxiliary chandohas.

One of the pīlavas.

Literally, “to flow” or “to ooze.” Mental defilements or contaminations that “flow out” toward the objects of cyclic existence, binding us to them. Vasubandhu offers two alternative explanations of this term: “They cause beings to remain (āsayanti) within saṃsāra” and “They flow from the Summit of Existence down to the Avīci hell, out of the six wounds that are the sense fields” (Abhidharma­kośa­bhāṣya 5.40; Pradhan 1967, p. 308). The Summit of Existence (bhavāgra, srid pa’i rtse mo) is the highest point within saṃsāra, while the hell called Avīci (mnar med) is the lowest; the six sense fields (āyatana, skye mched) here refer to the five sense faculties plus the mind, i.e., the six internal sense fields.

A unit of weight equal to either 176 or 280 grains troy.

One of the two pīlavas.

One of the two auxiliary pīlavas.

A small piece of cloth covering just the genitals.

One of the seven types of ḍākinīs.

Iconographic or real implement in the form of a staff with a trident ending; it may have human skulls impaled on it.

A type of ḍākinī (literally, “sky traveller”).

One of the power places.

One of the two auxiliary kṣetras.

“Wrath,” an epithet of some wrathful male deities, such as Vajrapāṇi.

An epithet of a wrathful form of Vajrapāṇi.

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

A Hindu and Buddhist god of wealth.

One of the auxiliary charnel grounds.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

The left subtle channel (nāḍī).

A class of ḍākinīs.

One of the seven types of ḍākinīs.

One of the two chandohas.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

One of the two pīlavas.

A deity invoked in a mantra.

The male sexual organ.

The chief goddess of the jewel family, personifying the true nature of the element of earth.

“World protector,” a class of guardian deities, usually presiding over the quarters of the world.

The lotus flower or plant; metaphorically, the female genital organ.

One of the five buddha families.

One of the mantra deities.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

This appears to be an epithet of Paṇḍaravāsinī, the consort of Amitābha.

Awakened state described as the union of wisdom and means.

In the Sampuṭodbhava, this deity is invoked to help obtain a son.

One of the epithets of Saṃvara.

“Fire of Great Bliss,” a bahuvrīhi epithet addressing a heruka.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

One of the four auxiliary pīṭhas.

One of the four pīṭhas.

The chief goddess of the vajra family, personifying the true nature of the element of water.

“Holder of Jewels,” an epithet of Mahāpratisarā.

One of the peaceful forms of Mañjuśrī.

One of the epithets of Kāmadeva, the god of love.

Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra: (1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree‍—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.1‍—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.14 and 21.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputra­māra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

A deity personifying the true nature of the element of water.

One of the auxiliary charnel grounds.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

“Mother,” any of the eight Śaiva goddesses of the class bearing the same name.

A deity personifying the true nature of the faculty of touch.

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

A goddess invoked to cause delusion.

A deity personifying the true nature of the faculty of sight.

Seal; ritual hand gesture; female consort in sexual yoga.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

One of the charnel grounds.

“No-self”; Heruka’s consort personifying the absence of self.

One of the deities invited to partake in the oblation offering.

A deity personifying the true nature of the element of wind.

The energy center ( cakra ) in the navel.

A body manifested by a tathāgata perceivable by ordinary senses; one of the two “form bodies” (rūpakāya).

An offering of edibles to a deity or spirit.

One of the two kṣetras.

A class of demonic beings.

A deity personifying the true nature of the element of space.

An emanation of Avalokiteśvara usually depicted as a red, dancing figure; also the visualized deity for the semen after it enters the bhaga.

An epithet of Avalokiteśvara; also, one of the bodhisattva emanations of Avalokiteśvara.

Another name of Amitābha.

A unit of weight equal to four karṣa.

The chief goddess of the lotus family, personifying the true nature of the element of fire.

One of the seven types of ḍākinīs.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Heruka.

A deity personifying the true nature of the element of earth; a goddess invoked to cause downfall.

One of the three vehicles of Buddhism.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

One of the six perfections (generosity, morality, and so forth). For the deity, see “Prajñāpāramitā.”

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

See “consort (female).”

One of the five goddesses personifying the five “hooks of gnosis.”

“Perfection of Wisdom,” one of the six perfections personified.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

Standing posture with the left leg outstretched and the right slightly bent.

One of the five goddesses personifying the five “hooks of gnosis.”

One of the subtle channels in the body.

One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance. Detailed descriptions of their realm and experience, including a list of the thirty-six classes of pretas, can be found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, 2.­1281– 2.1482.

One of the two melāpakas.

One of the charnel grounds.

Literally “thatness”‍—in the general sense it is the true nature or reality of things; in a ritual sense (as, for example, “the principle of the bell”), it is the principle (in this case wisdom) that has become in the ritual the nature of the bell.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

The pure aspect (usually a particular Buddhist category) of a ritual implement or any ordinary entity.

One of the four pīṭhas.

In Tibetan, btsun mo is an honorific term for a woman of rank, also understood to mean lady, queen, or consort.

A deity personifying the true nature of the faculty of taste.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

One of the three principles or forces of nature, as known in the Sāṃkhya philosophy, characterized by energy and movement.

One of the apsarases.

One of the four auxiliary pīṭhas.

The right subtle channel (nāḍī).

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

A Hindu deity.

These seeds are commonly used as rosary beads.

One of the seven types of ḍākinīs.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

Sage, seer; it seems that this word can also denote a class of semi-divine beings.

The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati. See also “Indra.”

One of the seven types of ḍākinīs..

One of the subtle channels in the body.

The bond between the practitioner and the deity, and also between the master and the pupil, forged at the time of an initiation.

The form of the deity generated and visualized by the practitioner.

The name of the energy center ( cakra ) in the throat.

“Body of bliss,” one of the three bodies of the Buddha.

One of the three great divisions of Hindu philosophy.

Sexual union perceived as the union of wisdom and skillful means; space between two concave surfaces; the principle of sampuṭa personified; an epithet of Vajrasattva/Saṃvara.See also i.­10.

A wrathful deity of the heruka type.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Heruka.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

One of the three principles or forces of nature, as known in the Sāṃkhya philosophy, characterized by lightness.

Sitting posture with the left foot drawn to one’s perineum and the other one extended slightly (typically, the posture of Tārā).

One of the two auxiliary melāpakas.

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

A particular gesture of the hands.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

This is a consecration of oneself (in the Sanskrit compound, the word “self” is in a genitive case relationship with “consecration”).

One of the eight nāga kings.

Literally “olibanum,” this is the code word for the five types of enjoyment derived from the lotus of the female consort.

An accomplished being; a class of semi-divine beings.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

Accomplishment in general; supernatural power, especially, one of the eight magical powers.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Heruka.

A lion-faced goddess in the retinue of Jñānaḍākinī.

One of the charnel grounds.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

A Hindu deity.

Means and methods available to realized beings; represented by and refers to the male consort in sexual yoga.

The vault or calvaria of a human skull used as a cup held by some wrathful deities, often filled with blood; or a skull cup used as a ritual implement.

One of the four retinue goddesses of Mahāsukhavajra.

The universal matrix represented as a triangle or two interlocking triangles; in the tantric viśuddhi (pure correspondences) system, it corresponds to the triangular area between a woman’s legs.

See “dharmadhātu.”

Sacrificial wooden ladle with a long arm.

Small sacrificial wooden ladle with two collateral cavities.

A goddess invoked to immobilize wayward beings.

Apart from a Buddhist monument enshrining relics, it can also mean the central bead of a rosary.

A channel in the subtle body conducting prāṇa.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Heruka.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

One of the yoginīs invited to partake in the oblation offering.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

The magical act of bringing a person or a being into one’s presence; it is related to the activity of enthralling.

One of the two auxiliary melāpakas.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Heruka.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

One of the three principles or forces of nature, as known in the Sāṃkhya philosophy, characterized by heaviness and inertia.

The wild dance of wrathful male deities associated with the charnel ground.

Female bodhisattva of compassion; the chief goddess of the activity family, personifying the true nature of the element wind; one of the five goddesses personifying the five “hooks of gnosis.”

“One gone into thatness” or “one come from thatness,” “thatness” being the nature of dharmadhātu, the empty essence imbued with wisdom and compassion; the term may refer to any tathāgata (either human or the celestial sambhogakāya), or to Buddha Śākyamuni, in which case it is capitalized (the Tathāgata).

One of the five buddha families, the one in the center, also called the buddha family.

A mark between the eyebrows, usually made with auspicious substances.

A particular form of Nairātmyā.

One of the apsarases.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

One of the two auxiliary kṣetras.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

A mudrā gesture formed with both hands, representing male and female sexual organs in the state of arousal.

One of the charnel grounds.

One of the four pīṭhas.

One of the auxiliary charnel grounds.

Another name of Umā, one of Śiva’s wives.

A Hindu deity.

An auspicious curl or tuft of hair between the eyebrows.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

“Mare’s fire,” a subterranean mythical fire.

An epithet of Mārīcī.

One of the four winds.

A sambhogakāya buddha personifying (in the systems taught in the Sampuṭodbhava) the true nature of the aggregate of form.

Diamond; thunderbolt; scepter used in tantric rituals; non-duality; male sexual organ.

Bell with a handle in the shape of a vajra scepter.

One of the five buddha families.

Urine; it is referred to as “vajra water” when used in rituals.

One of the goddesses from the retinue of Jñānaḍākinī.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Jñānaḍākinī.

A wrathful deity.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva; one of the five ḍākinīs visualized on the five prongs of the vajra scepter.

Intrinsically pure reality experienced through non-dual cognition.

One of the goddesses from the retinue of Jñānaḍākinī.

A bodhisattva; in some parts of the Sampuṭa Tantra, he is the interlocutor of the Blessed One.

One of the four retinue goddesses of Mahāsukhavajra.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Jñānaḍākinī.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Jñānaḍākinī.

A wrathful emanation of Hevajra(?).

One of the four retinue goddesses of Mahāsukhavajra.

An epithet of Cakrasaṃvara.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

In the Vajrāmṛta Tantra he is an emanation of Ratnasambhava; in the Sampuṭodbhava Tantra this name seems to be an epithet of Vajrasattva.

One of the eight goddesses visualized on the petals of a lotus in a ritual associated with the vajra scepter.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

A sambhogakāya buddha personifying the true nature of the aggregate of mental formations.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Jñānaḍākinī.

This seems to be the Buddhist (Vajrayāna) name of the male deity, Aralli, in the centre of the dharmodaya.

The sambhogakāya buddha who delivers the Sampuṭodbhava; he also represents the aggregate of consciousness.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

One of the goddesses in the retinue of Jñānaḍākinī.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

One of the four retinue goddesses of Mahāsukhavajra.

A sambhogakāya buddha personifying the true nature of the aggregate of sensation.

A Buddhist goddess related to Vajrayoginī.

One of the goddesses from the retinue of Jñānaḍākinī.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

“Possessor of vajra”; an epithet of male sambhogakāya deities embodying the adamantine non-duality; a follower of the Vajrayāna; an epithet for anyone abiding in non-duality.

An epithet of Mahāpratisarā.

“Valiant, heroic, manly”; an epithet applied to male deities of wrathful aspect.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

One of the auxiliary charnel grounds.

An epithet of Mārīcī.

A particular form of Heruka; personification and the god of spring; name of an attendant on Kāmadeva.

An epithet of Mārīcī.

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

One of the five ḍākinīs visualized on the five prongs of the vajra scepter.

Knowledge; the power of mantra (of a female deity); female mantra deity; female consort in sexual yoga.

“Knowledge holder”; one possessed of magical powers; a class of semi-divine beings.

A deity invoked in the rite of vanquishing enemies and accomplishing all actions.

One of the goddesses invited to partake in the oblation offering.

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

“Remover of Obstacles”; the Buddhist version of Gaṇeśa.

One of the two auxiliary pīlavas.

One of the power places.

A Hindu deity.

One of the subtle channels in the body.

See “consort (female).”

A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa. Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.

The Hindu and Buddhist god of death.