Mahapratisara, Mahāpratisarā: 4 definitions

Introduction:

Mahapratisara means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

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In Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Source: archive.org: The Indian Buddhist Iconography

1) Mahāpratisarā (महाप्रतिसरा) refers to one of the various emanations of Ratnasambhava, as mentioned in the 5th-century Sādhanamālā (a collection of sādhana texts that contain detailed instructions for rituals).—Mahāpratisarā is the principal goddess in the Pañcarakṣā group, and her worship is widely prevalent amongst the Tantric Buddhists. She is represented either singly or in a maṇḍala in the company of four other Pañcarakṣā deities. She is generally yellow when worshipped independently, and white when worshipped in the maṇḍala of the five goddesses.

The Dhyāna (meditation instructions) of Mahāpratisarā described in the Sādhanamālā as follows:—

“Mahāpratisarā has yellow complexion, three faces, each with three eyes, and ten arms; her right and left faces are of blue and white colour respectively. She carries in her five light hands the sword the vajra, the arrow, the varada-mudrā and the parasol held against her chest, and her five left hands similarly hold the bow, the banner, the jewel, the paraśu and the conch. She bears the image of Ratnasambhava on the crown, has a blue jacket and a red scarf, sits on the ardhaparyaṅka in the lalita attitude, and wears celestial ornaments and garments.”.

[The form with four faces and eight arms is described under the five Rakṣā deities. But there is another form which is worshipped independently, and which is almost identical with the preceeding one, except that here she is endowed with four faces and eight arms. The principal face is yellow, the right white, the left red, and the face behind blue. She carries in her four right hands the sword, the cakra, the triśūla and the arrow, and in the four left the paraśu, the bow, the noose and the vajra.]

2) Mahāpratisarā (महाप्रतिसरा) refers to one of the five Protector Goddesses (Rakṣa or Pañcarakṣa), commonly depicted in Buddhist Iconography, and mentioned in the 11th-century Niṣpannayogāvalī of Mahāpaṇḍita Abhayākara.—Her Colour is yellow her Symbol is the jewel; she has four faces and twelve arms.

Mahāpratisarā is described in Niṣpannayogāvalī as follows:—

“Mahāpratisarā has a yellowish red halo and is four-faced. The first face is yellow, the right is white, the face behind is blue and the left is of red colour. In her six right hands she holds: 1. the jewel, 2. the discus, 3. the vajra, 4 the arrow, 5. the sword and 6. the varada-mudrā. In the six left hands she displays: 1. the vajra. 2. the noose, 3. the trident, 4. the bow, 5. the axe and 6, the conch. Thus the deity is twelve-armed. Her head is beautified with a caitya, and she sits in the vajraparyaṅka attitude”

The Sādhanamālā describes Mahāpratisarā somewhat differently. In this work she has only eight arms instead of twelve.

Source: OSU Press: Cakrasamvara Samadhi

Mahāpratisarā (महाप्रतिसरा) is the name of a deity, according to the Guru Mandala Worship (maṇḍalārcana) ritual often performed in combination with the Cakrasaṃvara Samādhi, which refers to the primary pūjā and sādhanā practice of Newah Mahāyāna-Vajrayāna Buddhists in Nepal.—Accordingly, “Oṃ holder of the jewel and vajra, Mahāpratisarā, protect protect me, and all beings, Hūṃ Phaṭ Svāhā!”.

Tibetan Buddhism book cover
context information

Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.

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General definition (in Buddhism)

[«previous next»] — Mahapratisara in Buddhism glossary
Source: Cambridge Digital Library: Pañcarakṣā, Saptavāra

Mahāpratisarā (महाप्रतिसरा) refers to the first of “five protections” (pañcarākṣa) classified as a dhāraṇī according to a 17th-century Sanskrit manuscript from Nepal.—The earliest evidence for texts grouped together as the “five great dhāraṇīs” comes from Tibetan catalogues around 800 CE. These scriptures include spells, enumerations of benefits and ritual instructions for use.

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

[«previous next»] — Mahapratisara in Sanskrit glossary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Mahāpratisarā (महाप्रतिसरा).—name of a rakṣā, q.v.: Sādhanamālā 396.4 etc., 401.11 etc. Also Pratisarā.

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

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