BIBFRAME Work

Title

The Vajrabhairava Tantra

Type

  • Text
  • Monograph

Contribution

Subject

  • Tripiṭaka. Sūtrapiṭaka. Tantra. Vajrabhairavatantra.--Criticism, interpretation, etc. (LCSH)
  • Vajrabhairava (Buddhist deity) (LCSH)

Language

Classification

Content

Supplementary content

Summary

"This book is a study and translation of the Vajrabhairava Tantra (henceforth, VBhT), a Buddhist tantric text in seven chapters that focuses on the means of attainment (sādhana) centered upon the wrathful tantric deity Vajrabhairava. The VBhT, composed in India in the eighth century and written in Sanskrit, is attributed to Lalitavajra (a.k.a. Līlāvajra), a Buddhist master (ācārya) at Nālandā Monastery, who is said to have retrieved it from the land of Oḍḍiyāna. It is a work of great importance to the development of tantric Buddhism in India as well as to the understanding of Tibetan Buddhist history more generally. Like most tantras, it is a ritual text, dedicated in all of its seven chapters to the description of rites, such as the drawing of the sacred diagram (maṇḍala), the ceremonies performed within it, as well as the performance of various rituals, such as magical rituals (karmas), fire offerings (homa), recitation of sacred spells (mantras), and so on. The VBhT deals with what might have been the earliest form of Vajrabhairava, the Solitary Hero (ekavīra), in the charnel ground surrounded by various mortuary objects, weapons, and eight zombies. All of these gruesome symbols clearly reflect the transgressive character of the tantra, associated with the tantric cult of the cremation ground and antinomian practices involving contact with impure places and substances as a means of attaining power. In the subsequent centuries, the pantheon of the Vajrabhairava maṇḍala grew, giving rise to the Seventeen-and the Thirteen-Deity maṇḍalas. The latter was directly influenced by the pantheon of the Guhyasamāja Tantra, and could be seen as its direct evolution (Tanaka 2018, 323). Indeed, Thirteen-Deity Vajrabhairava gained widespread popularity also outside India-in Tibet, Mongolia, and China"-- Provided by publisher.

Authorized Access Point

Wenta, Aleksandra. The Vajrabhairava Tantra

Admin Metadata

  • Date: 2026-09-30T17:49:49.883267+00:00
  • Agent: cbc
  • Status: c
  • Derived from: 24050319

Admin Metadata

  • Date: 2026-09-30
  • Cataloger id: Unknown
  • Description level: http://id.loc.gov/ontologies/bibframe-2-6-0/
  • Description language: eng
  • Description authentication: pcc

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