The ''Cakrasaṃvara Tantra'' (, ''khorlo demchok,'' The "Binding of the Wheels" Tantra, ) is an influential
Buddhist Tantra. It is roughly dated to the late 8th or early 9th century by David B. Gray (with a ''
terminus ante quem'' in the late tenth century). The full title in the Sanskrit manuscript used by Gray's translation is: ''Great King of Yoginī Tantras called the Śrī Cakrasaṃvara'' (''Śrīcakrasaṃvara-nāma-mahayoginī-tantra-rāja''). The text is also called the ''Discourse of Śrī Heruka'' (''Śrīherukābhidhāna'') and the ''Samvara Light'' (''Laghusaṃvara'').
"Cakrasaṃvara" may also refer to the main deity in this tantra as well as to a collection of texts or "cycle" associated with the root Cakrasaṃvara tantra. Tsunehiko Sugiki writes that this "Cakrasaṃvara cycle", "is one of the largest collections of Buddhist Yoginītantra literature from the early medieval South Asian world."
[Sugiki, Tsunehiko. Review of ''David B. Gray, The Cakrasamvara Tantra (The Discourse of Śrī Heruka): A Study and Annotated Translation.'' JIABS Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Volume 31 Number 1–2 2008 (2010), p. 505.] As Gray notes, it seems to have been very popular in northern India "during the late tenth through late thirteenth centuries when the second transmission of Buddhism to Tibet took place."
According to the modern scholar and translator David B. Gray, "its study and practice is maintained by the
Newar Buddhist community in the
Kathmandu
Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...
valley, as well as by many Tibetan Buddhists, not only in
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
itself but in other regions influenced by
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...
, including
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, and elsewhere, as Tibetan lamas have been living and teaching in diaspora."
In the
Tibetan classification schema, this tantra is considered to be of the "mother" class of the
''Anuttarayoga'' (Unsurpassable yoga) class, also known as the ''Yoginītantras''. These tantras were known for their
sexual yogas. The text survives in several
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
and
Tibetan manuscripts
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...
. There are at least eleven surviving Sanskrit commentaries on the tantra and various Tibetan ones.
The ''Cakrasamvara'' mostly comprises rituals and yogic practices which produce mundane
siddhi
In Indian religions, (Sanskrit: '; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of Yoga, yogic advancement through sādhanās such as medit ...
s (accomplishments) – such as flight – as well as the supramundane siddhi of awakening. These are achieved through practices such as
deity yoga
The fundamental practice of Vajrayana and Tibetan tantric practice, Tibetan tantra is deity yoga (''devatayoga''), a form of Buddhist meditation centered on a chosen deity or "cherished divinity" (Skt. ''Iṣṭa-devatā,'' Tib. ''yidam''). Thi ...
(visualizing oneself as the deity) and the use of
mantras.
[Gray, David B. The Cakrasamvara Tantra: Its History, Interpretation, and Practice in India and Tibet, Santa Clara University, Religion Compass 1/6 (2007): 695–710, http://vajrayana.faithweb.com/chakrasamvara-tantra%20its%20history.pdf]
Background
According to David B. Gray, the ''Cakrasaṃvara'' "developed in a non-monastic setting, and was composed via the active appropriation of elements of both text and practice belonging to non-Buddhist groups, most notably the
Kapalikas, an extreme and quasi-heretical
Saiva
''Saiva'' is a genus of Asian planthoppers, family Fulgoridae. They are colourful insects, marked boldly in red, blue, white and black, with a prominent slender stalk like structure arising on the head that points upwards or forward. The know ...
group focusing on transgressive practices." The British Indologist
Alexis Sanderson has also written about how the ''Cakrasaṃvara'' literature appropriated numerous elements from the Shaiva ''Vidyapitha tantras'', including whole textual passages.
Gray writes,
The term yogini in the name Yogini Tantra points to the unusual social context in which these texts arose. It appears almost certain that the Yogini Tantras, with their focus on sexual practices, the transgressive consumption of "polluting" substances such as bodily effluvia, female deities such as yoginis and dakinis, and fierce male deities, such as the Heruka deities—who are closely modeled on Saiva deities such as Mahakala
Mahākāla (, ) is a deity common to Hinduism and Buddhism.
In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as a ''Dharmapala, Dharmapāla'' ("Protector of the Dharma") and a Wrathful deities, wrathful manifestation of a The Buddha, Buddha, while in Hindu ...
and Bhairava
Bhairava (, ), or Kāla Bhairava, is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva.Kramrisch, Stella (1994). ''The Presence of Śiva''. Princeton, NJ: P ...
, and bear the accoutrements of charnel ground dwelling yogins—did not solely derive from a mainstream monastic Buddhist context. Instead, they seem to have developed among and/or been influenced by liminal groups of renunciant yogins and yoginis, who collectively constituted what might be called the "siddha movement." ... who chose a deliberately transgressive lifestyle, drawing their garb and, in part, sustenance from the liminal space of the charnel ground that was the privileged locus for their meditative and ritual activities. The Saiva Kapalikas constituted the best-known group in this subculture, as attested by the numerous references to them in Sanskrit literature.
These appropriated non-Buddhist elements were transformed, explained or erased over time, with more Buddhist elements being added as the ''Cakrasaṃvara'' tradition developed and was adopted in major Buddhist institutions like
Vikramashila (from about the 9th century onwards). A myth also developed in order to explain the appropriation (depicted as the subjugation of Shiva by Saṃvara). This both reduced
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
(
Rudra
Rudra (/ ɾud̪ɾə/; ) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the ''Rigveda'', Rudra is praised as the "mightiest of the mighty". Rudra ...
) and other Shaiva deities to a subordinate position under the Buddhist deities (which took their form) and explained the usage of Shaiva elements by Buddhists. In other cases, the presence of Saiva deities like Mahabhairava are explained referring to Buddhas (as stated in Jayabhadra's commentary).
Deity, myth and mandala

The Cakrasaṃvara commentators consider the tantra to be a timeless divine revelation of either the
Dharmakāya Buddha Mahāvajradhara or of the goddess
Vajravārāhī.
The central deity of the tradition is called Samvara, Śamvara, Śrī Heruka'','' or simply
Heruka. This figure became popular in Buddhist circles around the 8th century. The noun ''samvara'' derives from a verb which means to "bind," "enclose," or "conceal," and ''samvara'' commonly means "vow" and sometimes "sanctuary". In the tantra it appears in various compounds, such as "the binding of the dakini net" (''ḍākinījālasamvara''), which is associated with the term "union with Śrī Heruka." In this sense, ''samvara'' can also refer to "union", which is supreme bliss and supreme awakening. According to Gray, the "dakini net" is the Cakrasaṃvara mandala, dominated by the three wheels of the dakinis and their consorts. Furthermore, "its 'binding' is the process of union or mystical identification in which the adept engages via creative visualization, thereby achieving "union with Sri Heruka." This term thus refers to the "body mandala" practice in which the adept visualizes the three wheels of the mandala within his/her own body."
Gray writes that the name of Samvara has an ancient lineage. A figure called Śamvara can be found in the
Rig Veda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
, as an enemy of
Indra
Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes
Indra is the m ...
and as a kind of
asura
Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...
. Asko Parpola has argued that Samvara and other similar deities which are associated with the power of illusion (''maya'') are remnants of pre-Aryan cults. Gray writes that there may have been an asura cult that the Buddhists drew from in their development of "new cults of deities who were viewed as manifesting hostility to the classical Hindu deities such as
Maheśvara and
Narayana, just as the asura were the perpetual foes of the older vedic deities such as Indra." In this, they may have also been influenced by
sources which portrayed the Buddhist "heresy" as a trick meant to deceive the asuras.
Regarding the name Heruka, it first appears as a name for a class of fierce demon like beings. Heruka also appears as a charnel ground deity which is said to be "the guise assumed by the Buddha Vajradhara in his effort to subdue evil doers," in the ''Samayoga Tantra.'' In the ''Samayoga'', the universe is being destroyed by evil beings (stirred up by Mara), and all the Hindu deities in the universe seek refuge in Supreme Buddha
Vajradhara, who assembles all the Buddhas. Since these evil beings are not able to be subdued by peaceful means, the Buddhas must manifest ferocious appearances. Heruka is born from Vajradhara Buddha's transcendent power and he burns up the entire universe, purifying it in the process.
Gray writes that eventually this earlier myth of Heruka's origin evolved into a more polemical version, in which Heruka is born to subdue Shaiva deities, like
Rudra
Rudra (/ ɾud̪ɾə/; ) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the ''Rigveda'', Rudra is praised as the "mightiest of the mighty". Rudra ...
and
Mahabhairava, which are here seen as the source of the cosmic disorder. This was probably influenced by another myth in which Shiva is subdued by
Vajrapāṇi in the ''Tattvasaṃgraha'' An Indian version of this myth can be found in Indrabhuti's commentary and is cited by Gray. In it, Vajrapāṇi forces Mahadeva, i.e. Shiva (along with a host of deities) to appear in
Akanishtha ( Highest Realm of Rūpadhātu lokas), whereupon he is annihilated when he refuses to turn from his evil ways. Then Vajrapāṇi revives Mahadeva with his mantric power, and
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
then becomes a Buddha in the Future, known as "Bhasmeśvara", included in
Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra
The ''Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra'' ("''The Basket's Display''", Full Sanskrit: ''Āryakāraṇḍavyūhanāmamahāyānasūtra'', Tibetan: phags paza ma tog bkod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo; zh, t=佛說大乘莊嚴寶王經, p=Fó s ...
. 47-48 Then the myth also tells of how Vajradhara Buddha created body known as Śrī Heruka in order to subdue Bhairava and Kalaratri who had taken over the world with their hateful and lustful ways. Heruka takes Bhairava's form and sends out various deities to subdue and destroy Bhairava and his associated deities. These Buddhist deities then take the form of the Bhairava deities as a skillful means (upaya).
According to David Gray,
This myth represents the adoption of non-Buddhist elements while at the same time representing the subordination of these elements within a Buddhist cosmic hierarchy, graphically represented by the placement of the Saiva deities under the feet of their Buddhist vanquisher. The myth provides an elaborate fourfold scheme for this process of the appropriation and subordination of a non-Buddhist tradition.
Samvara is one of the principal
yidam or meditational deities of the
Sarma schools of
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...
. Samvara is typically depicted with a blue-coloured body, four faces, and twelve arms, and embracing his consort, the wisdom
dakini Vajravārāhī (a.k.a.
Vajrayoginī) in
Yab-Yum (sexual union). Other forms of the deities are also known with varying numbers of limbs and features, such as a two armed version. According to the Buddhist Tantric scholar
Abhayakaragupta, the deity's mandala is described thus:
In the Samvara mandala there is a variegated lotus atop Mount Sumeru within an adamantine tent (''vajrapañjara''). Placed on it is a double vajra, which sits as the base of a court in the middle of which is the Blessed Lord. He stands in the archer (''alidha'') stance on Bhairava
Bhairava (, ), or Kāla Bhairava, is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva.Kramrisch, Stella (1994). ''The Presence of Śiva''. Princeton, NJ: P ...
and Kalaratri who lie on a solar disk atop the pericarp of the lotus. He is black and has four faces which are, beginning with the front nd continuing around counter-clockwise black, green, red, and yellow, each of which has three eyes. He has a tiger skin and has twelve arms. Two arms holding a vajra
The Vajra (, , ), is a legendary and ritualistic tool, symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). It is also described as a "ritual weapon". The use of the bell and vajra together as s ...
and a vajra-bell embrace Vajravarahi. Two of his hands hold up over his back a white elephant hide dripping with blood. His other ight hands holda damaru
A damaru (, ; Tibetan languages, Tibetan ཌ་མ་རུ་ or རྔ་ཆུང) is a small two-headed drum, used in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. In Hinduism, the damaru is known as the instrument of the Hindu deity Shiva, associated wi ...
drum, an axe, a flaying knife ( kartri), and a trident. His remaining left ands holda khatvanga staff marked with a vajra, a skull-bowl filled with blood, a vajra noose, and the head of Brahma. A garland of fifty moist human heads hangs about his neck. He has the six insignia, and a sacred thread made of human sinew. He has a row of five skulls above his forehead, and a crest of black dreadlocks topped by a left-oriented crescent moon and a double vajra. He is endowed with a fierce meditative state (''vikrtadhyana'') and bears his fangs. He brings together in one the nine dramatic sentiments (''navarasa'').
Practices
As Gray writes, the tantra's cryptic and obscure chapters mostly focus on "the description of rites such as the production of the mandala, the consecration ceremonies performed within it, as well as various other ritual actions such as homa fire sacrifices, enchantment with mantras, and so forth. Moreover, like many tantras, and perhaps more than most, it omits information necessary for the performance of these rituals. It also often obscures crucial elements, particularly the mantras, which the text typically presents in reverse order, or which it codes via an elaborate scheme in which both the vowels and consonants are coded by number."
The reason for the text's obscurity is mostly likely that these rites were considered secret and one was supposed to receive instructions on them from one's guru after initiation. It is therefore difficult to understand the tantra's practices without relying on a commentary and/or a teacher.
The Cakrasaṃvara literature
There are three genres of Cakrasaṃvara literature: "explanatory tantras" (''vyakhyatantra''); commentaries; and ritual literature (sadhanas, mandala manuals, initiation manuals). The explanatory tantras refers to independent tantras that are seen as being part of the Cakrasaṃvara cycle.
The main explanatory tantras (given by
Buton Rinchen Drub) are: the ''Abhidhānottara,'' the ''Vajradāka''; ''Ḍākārṇava'', ''Herukābhyudaya,'' ''Yoginīsaṃcāra'', ''Samvarodaya, Caturyoginīsaṃpuṭa''; ''Vārāhī-abhisambodhi'', and the ''Sampuṭa Tantra''. Most of these texts show no internal evidence they consider themselves as subsidiary to the root ''Cakrasaṃvara Tantra'', and it is likely they were grouped into this category by the later tradition. Furthermore, it seems the root ''Cakrasaṃvara Tantra'' is not as important in the Newari tradition, which instead privileges the ''Samvarodaya.''
The main Indian commentaries to the root tantra are:
* Jayabhadra of
Laṅka (early to mid 9th century scholar at
Vikramashila), ''Śrī-cakrasaṃvara-mūla-tantra-pañjikā''. The oldest, word-for-word commentary. It survives in two Sanskrit manuscripts and Tibetan translation.
* Kambala (possibly 9th century), ''Sādhana-nidāna-nāma-śrī-cakrasaṃvara-pañjikā.'' This is another early commentary that was very influential and relied upon by various later authors.
* Bhavabhaṭṭa (late 9th century scholar at Vikramashila), ''Śrī-cakrasaṃvara-pañjikā-nāma''. This is a larger work which relies on Jayabhadra but also sometimes contradicts him. It also replies older Shaiva readings with more Buddhist oriented ones.
* Devagupta's Commentary which is basically an expansion of Kambala's
* Bhavyakīrti (early 10th century scholar at Vikramashila), ''Śrī-cakrasaṃvarasya-pañjikā-śūramanojñā-nāma.'' This is a shorter and more conservative commentary which stays closer to the Jayabhadra commentary.
* Durjayacandra (late 10th century scholar at Vikramashila), ''Ratnagaṇa-nāma-pañjikā.'' This commentary is particularly important for the Sakya school since it was used by
Rinchen Zangpo.
* Tathāgatarakṣita (scholar at Vikramashila), ''Ubhayanibandha-nāma''
* Indrabuti's Commentary which relies on Kambala's
* Vīravajra's two 11th century commentaries. Gray states that "They are very sophisticated works, and represent a high point of Indian tantric Buddhist scholarship. His commentaries are also among the most thorough. He relies both upon Jayabhadra and Kambala, as well as Bhavabhaṭṭa and Durjayacandra, and he is also quite erudite, quoting from a number of other sources, including
Yogacara
Yogachara (, IAST: ') is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through the interior lens of meditation, as well as philosophical reasoning (hetuvidyā). ...
texts and a number of other tantras."
* *Śāśvatavajra (''rtag pa'i rdo rje'')'s ''śrī-tattvaviśadā-nāma-śrīsaṃvara-vṛitti'', translated in the 14th century by Buton.
There are also several Tibetan commentaries, including those of
Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092-1158), Buton (1290-1364), and
Tsongkhapa
Tsongkhapa ( Tibetan: ཙོང་ཁ་པ་, '','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the format ...
(1357-1419).
Gallery
020_Samvara_10c_Ratnagiri_(9221447100).jpg, Saṃvara 10th century, Ratnagiri
Ratnagiri (IAST:Ratnāgirī ; �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri District in southwestern Maharashtra, India. The district is part of Konkan division of Maharashtra. The city is known for the Hapus or ...
, at the Patna Museum, Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
MET 39 DP310521R1 61D.jpg, Statue of Saṃvara, 12th century, Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
Statue Deities Stakrimo Zanskar Jun24 A7CR 01100.jpg, Cakrasaṃvara statue, Stakrimo Gompa, Padum, Zanskar
Le dieu tutélaire Samvara et sa parèdre Vajravarahi (14314794441).jpg, Closeup of a statue of the deities, Musée Guimet
The Guimet Museum (full name in ; ''MNAAG''; ) is a Parisian art museum with one of the largest collections of Asian art outside of Asia that includes items from Cambodia, Thailand, Viet Nam, Tibet, India, and Nepal, among other countries.
Foun ...
Chakrasamvara_02.jpg, Cakrasaṃvara, Western Tibet, late 19th century or earlier, copper alloy with inlay of silver and copper, and applied gold paint.
Samvara BM OA 1976.9-27.1.jpg, 12th century Cakrasaṃvara statue, bronze and silver and copper inlay
'Paramasukha_Cakrasamvara'_from_Central_Tibet_circa_1400%2C_distemper_on_cloth_(cropped).jpg, Saṃvara, Central Tibet circa 1400
Chakrasamvara Vajravarahi.jpg, Cakrasaṃvara painting
Chakrasamvara - Google Art Project.jpg, Cakrasaṃvara, 18th-century painting, Rubin Museum of Art
Mandala of the Buddhist Deity Chakrasamvara LACMA M.73.2.1.jpg , Cakrasaṃvara mandala
A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...
, Nepalese painting from 1490
BochumJahrhunderthalle ChakrasamvaraMandala 03.JPG, Cakrasaṃvara sand mandala, Bochum
Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...
, 2011
See also
*
Guhyagarbha Tantra
*
Guhyasamāja Tantra
*
Hevajra Tantra
*
Kashmir Shaivism
Kashmir Shaivism tradition is a 20th century umbrella-term for a body of Sanskrit learning, Sanskrit exegetical literature from several Nondualism, non-dualist Shaivism, Shaiva-Shaktism, Shakta Tantra, tantric and Monism, monistic religious t ...
Notes
References
*
*
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Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Cakrasaṃvara Tantra (see index)
*
*
{{Authority control
Buddhist tantras
Tibetan Buddhist practices