Yangdak Heruka

Yangdak Heruka from the thangka of Tendrel Nyesel

Yangdak Heruka (Wyl. yang dag heruka), Vishuddha Heruka or Shri Heruka (Skt. Viśuddhaheruka, or Śrī Heruka) is one of the eight deities of Kagyé, where he corresponds to Enlightened Mind. The wrathful manifestation of Vajrasattva, he is similar to the deity known as Chakrasamvara (Tib. Demchok), practised in the Sarma tradition. It is said that all the deities of the Mother Tantras are included in the practice of Yangdak.

The instructions related to Yangdak are based on the so-called "eight syllables of the rulu mantra".

In the Longchen Nyingtik, the Yangdak practice related to Palchen Düpa is called "Union Of The Buddhas" (yang dag sangs rgyas mnyam sbyor).

A Note on the Name

Yangdak Heruka is often translated back into Sanskrit as Vishudda Heruka. The Sanskrit term Vishudda means pure and is usually rendered by Tibetans as Namdak (Wyl. rnam dag). The Tibetan term Yangdak, however in Sanskrit usually translates: a) an upsarga like sam, b) an adverb like samyak (Eng. perfect, total, complete), or c) an adjective or an epithet, such as shri. Yangdak Heruka was the main yidam deity of both the Humkara and the Tibetan Namkhé Nyingpo. Humkara wrote three Sadhanas preserved in the Tibetan Tengyur dedicated to Shri Heruka (D 1674, D 1675 & D 1678). One of these Sadhanas (D 1678) was translated into Tibetan by Namkhe Nyingpo. The title of this Sadhana contains Yangdak, and is dedicated to Shri Heruka (Wyl. dpal khrag 'thung). Although this may not be a conclusive argument, it suggests that the name of Yangdak Heruka in Sanskrit is Shri Heruka. Another possibility, that may speak in favour for Vishuddha Heruka is that Shri just means glorious and is an epithet used for many deities. This would imply that the deity is simply referred to as Glorious Heruka, while its actual name is different.

Further Reading

• Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé, The Treasury of Knowledge: Systems of Buddhist Tantra, Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2005