English: One Braid of Hair), also known as Māhacīna-tārā, one of the 21 Taras, is one of the most powerful and fierce goddesses of Indo-Tibetan mythology. Below this shrine room is a small room containing self-arisen (swayambhu) stupa in stone.Įkajaṭī or Ekajaṭā, (Sanskrit Tibetan: ral chig ma. In the same upper room in the upper temple is a solid bronze standing Buddha and a standing Lokeshvara. In both the upper and lower temples, Vajrayogini is flanked Baghini and Singhini, the Tiger and Lion-headed Yoginis. In the upper temple is the loom of the Nepali Princess Brhikuti, spouse of the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. In the upper temple is an identical image of Ugra-tara in bell metal, in which her left leg is outstretched. The image in the lower temple is red in colour with one face and four arms, two of which hold a skull-cup (kapala) and knife at her heart, and the remaining two hold a sword and an utpala lotus. It enshrines the main sacred representations of this site, Ugra-tara manifesting as Ekazati, which are said to give very powerful blessings, particularly the image in the upper temple. One of the caves is also said to have been the practice cave of Nagarjuna, and an image of the great master which was originally in the cave has been taken outside and placed some distance away.The present temple was built by Raja Prakas Malla in 1655. This place is also known as the Eighty Siddhas as there are four of five caves where the siddhas of India are said to have stayed. A preliminary report on these texts has been issued by Dr Ingo Strauch, with a forthcoming paper on Akshobhya texts expected soon. More conclusive radiocarbon dating is under way. Preliminary dating through palaeography suggests a late 1st century to early 2nd century AD provenance. Recently, newly discovered Gāndhārī texts from Pakistan in the Bajaur Collection have been found to contain fragments of an early Mahāyāna sutra mentioning Akshobhya. Yakushi Nyorai), Akshobhya was the subject of a minor cult in Japan as a healing buddha, though even now both are found within the Shingon school of Buddhism in Japan. Prior to the advent of Bhaisajyaguru (Jap. However, Acala is not a buddha, but one of the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm in Vajrayana. 不動明王 Fudō-myōō ?), whose name also means ‘immovable one’ in Sanskrit. He duly proved “immovable” and when he succeeded, he became the buddha Akshobhya.Īkshobhya is sometimes merged with Acala (jap. According to the scripture, a monk wished to practice the Dharma in the eastern world of delight and made a vow to think no anger or malice towards any being until enlightenment. Akshobhya appears in the “Scripture of the Buddha-land of Akshobhya” (Chinese: 阿閦佛國経 pinyin: Āchùfó Guó Jīng), which dates from 147 AD and is the oldest known Pure Land text.
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