Topic: Ushnishavijaya

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The eight-armed Indian goddess Ushnishavijaya is one of three deities associated with longevity and the fulfillment of earthly desires. The other two are the White Tara and Amitayus. Ushnishavijaya combines aspects of three goddesses (hence her three heads), each associated with a sadhana (wish). Here she sits on a single lotus seat in front of, but metaphorically within, a stupa (reliquary mound), which is dictated by her iconography. Poised in the clouds at the top corners of the thanka are vidyadharas (garland bearers) holding pots of vegetation (the one on the upper left may hold durva grass, whose exceptional durability is associated with aspirations for a long life). The sky is filled with gently tumbling flowers. In many respects the image follows the basic canon for the depiction of the goddess and her entourage. Her mudras and attributes are all present in the standard order, and she is flanked by the bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara, to her right, and Vajrapani, to her left. However, her left head is usually horrific rather than pacific, and her lotus seat should rest on a moon. The four deities of the cardinal directions, who should be guarding the four quadrants over which they preside, are instead assembled below: Achala (east), Takkiraja (south), Niladanda (west), and Mahabala (north).

The stupa, with its low dome and multistoried base, compares generally with stupas portrayed on Pala stelae and manuscripts of the eleventh century and on tenth-eleventh-century miniature clay votive tablets. The antefix at the corner of the building is a feature commonly seen in thankas. In most eastern Indian manuscripts antefixes represent small flags placed at the corners of buildings (often against a curved molding which, in the Tibetan versions, seems to assimilate them.) However, there are instances, in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts covers and in Bengali sculptures (for example, an Avalokiteshvara from Tapandighi), where such antefixes occur.

On the reverse of the thanka is a long umey (Tibetan cursive script) inscription in red ink in the shape of a stupa. The head of the deity is centered under the harmika (the section above the dome), and the body is enclosed within the main mass of the stupa. Superimposed in black script are mantras that consecrate each of the deities in the painting, including the vidyadharas.

The composition and overall feeling of this small thanka relate it most closely to the Kronos Amoghasiddhi. There is a similar sense of the monumentality of the central figure in relation to the auxiliary ones and of a continuous space throughout the whole picture. The four guardian figures (although theoretically iconographically distinct) are mere images of each other, exactly as in the Amoghasiddhi. The artist's drawing is skillful in the use of details to define the forms they adorn. Some of these, for example, the subtleties of the tribhanga, are not as successfully conveyed as in the Amoghasiddhi, perhaps because of the great difference in scale. Other details, such as the scarves fluttering from the top of the stupa, the flowers twisting in the breeze, and the flowing volumes of the principal figure, are beautifully rendered. Some of the goddess's jewelry, particularly her crown with three large spearlike elements and the wide bracelets with raised borders, are similar to those seen in the Ford Tara. As noted earlier, pacific deities dominate in the group of early thankas, and representations of Ushnishavijaya are not found again until the fifteenth century. This is the earliest painting on silk in the Bengali style that we know of. The golden color of the fabric might have been meant to mimic that precious material.

Once again we are dealing with a picture that has extremely close ties to Pala styles and that, apart from its Tibetan inscription on the reverse, has no clearly definable Tibetan pictorial elements. The drawing of the central deity is less suave and fluent than that of the finest Pala examples, but this does not rule out an Indian origin. Our knowledge is insufficient to determine absolutely where it was painted.     SMK

http://www.asianart.com/exhibitions/svision/i6.html


*Ushnisha Vijaya's practice is considered to be extremely effective not only for eliminating obstacles to long life but also for purifying the negative results of unwholesome actions of body, speech and mind motivated by the poisonous delusions.

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* USHNISHA VIJAYA DHARANI *

  OM NAMO BHAGAVATE SARVA TRAI LOKYA PRATIVISISTAYA BUDDHA YATE
- NAMAH TADYATHA -OM BHRUM BHRUM BHRUM -SHODHAYA SHODHAYA
- ASMA SAMANTA AVA BHASA SPHRANA GARI -GANA SVABHAVA VISHUDDHE
- ABHISHINCAN TUMAM -SARVA TATHGATA -SUGATA VARA VACANA
- AMRITA ABHI SHEKARA -MAHAMUDRA MANTRA PAPAIH - AHARA AHARA
- MAMA AYUSSAM DHARANI -SHODHAYA SHODHAYA -VISHODHAYA VUSGIDGATA
- GAGANA SVABHAVA VISHUDDHE -USHNISHA VIJAYA PARI SHUDDHE
- SAHA-SARA RASMI SANT SODITE -SARVA TATHAGATA AVALOKINI
- SATRA PARAMITA PARI PURANI -SARVA TATHAGATA MATE DASA BHUMI PRATISHITE
- SARVA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA ADHISHTANA ADHISHITITE
- MUDRE MUDRE MAHA MUDRE -VAJRAKA SAMHATANA PARI SHUDDHE
- SARVA KARMA AVARANA VISHUDDHE -PRATINI VARTAYA MAMA AYURA
- VISHUDDHE SARVA TATHAGATA -SAMAYA ADHISTANA ADHISHTITE
- OM MUNI MUNI MAHA MUNI -VIMUNI VIMUNI MAHA VIMU NI
- MATI MATI MAHA MATI - MAMATI SUMATI TATHATA -BHUTAKOTI PARISHUDDHE
- VISAPHUTA BHUDHI SHUD DHE -HE HE JAYA JA YA -VIJAYA VIJAYA
- SMARA SMARA -SPHARA SPHARA -SPHARA YA SPHARA YA
- SARVA BUDDHA ADHISHTANA ADHISHTITE -SHUDDHE SHUDDHE
- BUDDHE BUDDHE -VAJRE VAJRE MAHA VAJRE -SU VAJRE VAJRA GARBHE
- JAYA GARBHE VIJAYA GARBHE -JAYA ZVALA GARBHE -VAJRA BHAVE VAHRA SAMBHAVE
- VAJRA VAZRINI -VAHRA SAMBHAVANTU
- MAMA SHARIRAM SARVA SATVA NANT-SAKAYA PARI-SHUDHE BHAVANTU
- MESADA SARVAGATE PARI-SHUDDHI SCA - SARVA TATHAGARA SCA
- MAM SARVA SATVAM SCA -SAMA SHASA YANTU -BUDHYA BUDHYA
- SIDDHYA SIDDHYA -BODHAYA BODHAYA -VIBODHAYA VIBODHAYA
- MOCAYA MOCAYA -VIMOCAYA VIMOCAYA -SHODHAYA SHODHAYA
- VISHODHAYA VISHODHAYA -SSAMANTA MOCAYA MOCAYA
- SAMANTA MOCAYA MOCAYA -SAMANTA RASMI PARI-SHUDDHE
- SARVA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA ADHISTANA ADHISHTITE
- MUDDRE MUDRE MAHA MUDRE -MAHA MUDRA MATRA PADIAH SVAHA
- OM BHRUM SVAH -OM AMITA AYUR DADE SVAHA -OM AMITE
- AMITOBHAVE -AMITA VIKRANTE -AMITA GATE -AMITA GAMINI
- AMITA AYUR DADE -GAGANA KRITI KARE
- SARVA KLESA KSHAYAM KARIYE SVAHA
 
Ushinisa Vijaya Short Saddhana

REFUGE

In the Palace of Ogmin Dharmadatu
The essence of all buddhas of the three times
The one who shows clearly the dharmakaya of my own mind,
We pray to the precious root guru

Bodhichitta

I go for refuge in the lama, yidams, dakinis and protectors
I generate the noble aspiration of enlightenment of the sake of myself and others equally.

Ushinisa Vijaya Short saddhana

Glorious Goddess white like the autumn moon with 3 heads and 8 arms,  your body of peace is exceedingly beautiful. You bestow the supreme life of limitless primordial Wisdom.
I prostrate and pay homage to the feet of the all victorious Vijaya.

Matra Recitation

1) Om Sara Tatagatha Ushnisa Vijaya Sarva Siddhi Hung
2) Om Bhurm Svaha
3) Om Amrita Ayudatay Svaha

At the end of the session in order not to lose the roots of virtue, seal the end of the practise
With dedication of prayers for the benefits of all beings

Dedication

By having invoked the Noble Lady to Fulfil my wishes, may she recollect Her previous commitments and swiftly show the kindness of bestowing Long Life, Power, Wealth and fulfillment of all wishes.

Prayer For Auspiciousness

In the endless lotus garden of the blessing of the victorious ones is the one with loverly eyes like the fully bloomed lotus petal whose perfuming agent brings joy everywhere and at all times.
May there be the auspiciousness of the exceedingly beautiful Conqueror Vijaya.

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