Buddhist Deity: Mahottara Heruka (Chemchog)
Heruka (Nyingma)Subjects, Topics & Types:
- Description (below)
- Iconographic Forms
--- One Face, two arms
--- Three Faces (various attributes, below)
--- Three Faces (holding vajra & skullcup)
--- Nine Faces
--- Twenty-one Faces
--- Colour: maroon, brown, red, blue
--- Faces: one, three, nine, twenty-one
- Masterworks
- Nyingma Main Page
- Confusions: Shri Vishuddha Heruka, Vajramrita, Lama Gongdu, Guru Dragpo
- Others...
Videos:
- Mahottara Heruka
- Nyingma Heruka Deities (Part 1)
- Nyingma Heruka Deities (Part 2)
Context & Study Topics:
- Guhyagarbha Tantra & Origin
- Eight Pronouncement Heruka & Origin Stories
- Revealed Treasure Traditions
Guhyagarbha Tantra:
Mahottara (chem chog) is the principal heruka of the wrathful sambhogakaya deities of the Nyingma tradition. He is the central wrathful deity of the One Hundred Peaceful & Wrathful Deities of the Guhyagarbha Tantra.
Eight Pronouncement Heruka:
The figure of Mahottara is included in the origin myths and group rituals of the Eight Heruka along with a large combined mandala of 725 deities.
Revealed Treasure:
Mahottara is also the central figure for many systems of the Eight Heruka (kagye) according to numerous Revealed Treasure traditions. Sometimes Vajarmrita is replaced and substituted with Mahottara and represents the qualities of enlightenment. Regardless of the origin myths the source text for the Mahottara and Eight Heruka appears to be a Revealed Treasure discovery of Nyangral Nyima Ozer (1124-1192) titled the Kagye Desheg Dupa (The Eight Great Deities: Assembly of Sugatas.' The Palchen Dupa of the Longchen Nyingtig is said to be based on the Kagye Rigdzin Yongdu revealed by Ngari Panchen Pema Wangyal of Mustang.
Hand Attributes for the Three Faced Mahottara:
- Vajra & Skullcup Mahottara: three vajras & three skullcups.
- Mahottara (below): vajra & bell, drum, katvanga, skullcup, intestine lasso.
Mahottara can be either dark brown or dark blue in appearance, wrathful, with three, nine or twenty-one faces. He has six, eighteen, or forty-two arms. He has two or eight legs standing atop the figure of Rudra. In art, both painting and sculpture, it is possible to find a simple one face and two armed form of Mahottara although this is rare. The three main forms of Mahottara are the three, nine and twenty-one faced deities. When Mahottara is included in the group of the Eight Pronouncement Heruka then he is often conflated with Vajramrita and referred to in Tibetan language as Chemchog Yontan, meaning Mahottara of Qualities (guna).
The only way that the three faced figure of Mahottara and Shri Vishuddha Heruka can be differentiated is by context or painted composition within a greater context. They can both appear as blue, wrathful in appearance holding the identical hand attributes.
There are several names, both Sanskrit and Tibetan, that are commonly used and often interchangeable which can lead to confusion in identification: Mahottara, Chemchog, Yangdag, Shri Heruka, Samputa, and possibly Buddha Heruka.
There are two different forms of the three faced Mahottara based on hand attributes. The first holds a vajra scepter in each of the three right hands. The three left hands each hold a skullcup. The second style is where the right hands hold a vajra, hand drum, and a katvanga staff. The three left hands hold a bell, lasso of intestines and skullcup. The colour of the consort can also vary.
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Jeff Watt [updated 8-2018, 3-2023]
bod brgyud nang bstan lha tshogs chen mo bzhugs so, 2001. ISBN 7-5420-0816-1. Pages 823-835.
