The fascinating story of Manjushri's fierce form, “Vajrabhairava Yamantaka."

Vajrabhairava Yamantaka​ “Destroyer of the Lord of Death” 

Yamantaka is the central yidam deity in the sect of vajrayana buddhism. He is the wrathful form of the wisdom deity Manjushri, known for the rage which can even devour him. His name comes from two words, “Yama” and “Antaka,” which directly translates to one who overcomes death, the god of death himself. From where the title “Destroyer of the Death” comes. As a result, many people confused him as the different form of Yama himself, but that's not true. Simply known, he is considered one the most potent yidam in vajrayana buddhism, mainly inside the school of Gelugpa but widely followed by all schools in buddhism. It is said that Master Je Tsongkhapa brought the practice of Vajrabhairava Yamantaka to the school of Gelugpa. Besides him Chakrasamvara and Guhyasamaja, they are other principal yidam of the Gelugpa lineage. 

How do we know if he is really the Lord Vajrabhaurava Yamantaka?

For instance, we can see him in many different forms of art, such as sculpture, thangka, ritual items, and many more, with many heads, arms, and limbs. However, to clearly differentiate him from other deities, we also have to check for these aspects in the art forms. 

The iconography of Lord Vajrabhairava in Thangka Arts

• He is always depicted in deep blue color, but rarely with gold and black, which shows his profound wrathful nature.
• So, no one can escape from his rage; he has nine faces, thirty-four arms, and sixteen legs. The top of the head is of Manjushri, below there is another face, and at the bottom, there are seven faces, one in the middle being of buffalo head and on his right and left side, three faces with three different colors. Each has three eyes and wears the five skull crowns. 
• He is mainly seen with his consort, Vajra Vetali, in yam yum form. Sometimes, he is also depicted without the consort. 
• He carries a big belly with an aroused male organ.
• His right side has eight legs stomping on different creatures like a human, buffalo, donkey, dog, bullock, camel, sheep, and fox.
• His left side has eight legs stomping on other creatures like a vulture, owl, parrot, haw, kite, mynah bird, and swan. 
• Eight celestial lords, Brahma, Vishnu, Indra, Rudra, six-headed Kumara, Ganesh, and the gods of the sun and the moon are also trampled.

The iconography of Lord Vajrabhairava in Buddhist Sculptures

• He is mostly depicted in golden form, with the whole body in gold, with some parts like the face painted with other colors for details.
• Sometimes, the statue can also be a whole chocolatey brown color because of the chemical oxidation process.
• The creatures mentioned on the feet of Yamantaka are instead shown in a round position above the moon disk lotus seat, as it is difficult to put a whole bunch of creatures under the feet in this art form. 
• Other depictions are the same as the ones on the Thangka. 

The Mythical Story of Raged Yogi and Wisdom Deity 

The climax you all have been waiting for. The story of two spiritual beings starts with some looters who had poached a buffalo and were hurrying toward a cave where they had planned to feast on the buffalo. Little did they know, a Divine yogi was in his deep meditation in that same cave. 

Looters got Sacred. Fearing that they might get caught, they decided to murder the yogi. Without a second thought, they beheaded the yogi in a single slash.

As they were feeding on the speechless creature, suddenly, the mystic Yogi returned to his consciousness. And got back into his body, but unable to sense his part above the neck, he was left raging. Then, he started searching for his head vigorously. Something head-like got onto his hands, and he started touching the object. Without a second thought, he attached that head of buffalo to his neck. Unable to find his actual head, he turned furious and started a havoc. Not leaving a single poachers alive, whom were also unable to satisfy his rage, started rampaging on whomever he met. His psychic powers were so overwhelming no one could dare wander near him. Then, he became the legend of that area, the lord of death.

Feared and worried about the rage of Yogi, the innocent villagers made prayers and offered to the wisdom deity, Manjushri. They prayed to end this Death and Destruction of the yogi with the head of a buffalo. Lord Manjushri responded to the prayer and sorrow of those villagers and manifested himself as Vajrabhairava. Later on, it became popular as Yamantaka, the one who destroyed the lord of death. Manjushri knew how to outforce this powerful entity. He himself manifested an appearance of even more wrath on the face of the buffalo. Having the top head of Manjushri, he exhibits the true enlightened nature of Yamantaka. 

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