Buddhist Deity: Bhrikuti Main Page
Minor Female Deities Subjects, Topics & Types:
- Description (below)
- One Face, Two Arms
- One Face, Four Arms
- Secondary Figure:
--- Amoghapasha Five Deity Mandala
--- Amoghapasha Sixteen Deity Mandala
--- Abhisambodhi Vairochana Mandala (Inner House)
--- Twenty-one Taras (Longchen Nyingtig)
- Masterworks
- Female Deities Index
- Confusions
- Others...
Video: Bhrikuti, The Frowning Goddess
Study Topics:
- Iconography & Name
- Amoghapasha
- Mani Kabum
- Tara Mulakalpa Tantra
Bhrikuti (frowning, furrowed brow) is a peaceful goddess closely associated with both Avalokiteshvara and Tara. Bhrikuti should not be confused with the male deity Bhrikuta found as a secondary figure in some mandala configurations.
In a short narrative from the 'Mani Kabum' text Bhrikuti is said to have appeared from a tear of Avalokiteshvara. In modern narrative Bhrikuti is often substituted with White Tara. The solitary form of Bhrikuti can be found in the collections of the Nartang Gyatsa, Drub Thab Gyatso and the Sadhanamala. In the various texts of the Five Deity Amoghapasha the figure of Bhrikuti can appear as white, red, or blue/green in colour. In the Suryagupta tradition of the Twenty-one Taras there is a figure named Agitated Frowning Tara who might also be considered a form of Bhrikuti. The Suryagupta naming system does not appear to be focused on incorporating all of the miscellaneous Buddhists goddesses under one conflated system as does the Longchen Nyingtig system.
[Bari Gyatsa #38] Arya Bhrikuti.
Bhrikuti, [with] a body yellow in colour, one face and four hands. The right [two hold the gesture of] supreme generosity and a garland. The left, a stick and water pot. Wearing the hair as a crown. Slightly wrathful and [slightly] peaceful. Seated in the vajrasattva posture. (Konchog Lhundrub, 1497-1557).
Drub Thab Gyatso:
88. Bhrikuti, Yellow with One Face and Four Hands
Database Search: All Images
Jeff Watt 6-2006 [4-2015, 7-2018]
