Hand Carved 16" Ekajati Dakini Gold Gilded Copper Statue from Patan, Nepal

Ekajati Dakini - The Dharma Protector

The name Ekajati literally means "one whose hair is arranged in single chignon." Ekajati is most often portrayed as a ferocious goddess, her awesomeness being emphasized by the pronounced and only eye in the center of the forehead. Ekajati is also known as Ugra – Tara, 'Ugra,' meaning wrathful in Sanskrit. Ekajati is believed to be the most powerful goddess in the Vajrayana pantheon, and merely listening to the chants of her mantra destroys all obstacles, brings good luck and intense religious enjoyment. Dark and menacing, flame – inhaled, and nearly naked, Ekajati's face contorts with fury. From her ugly mouth, a single fang protrudes. Ekajati has only one drooping breast hanging down chest, and her hips are covered with a tiger – skin. A long necklace of severed human heads adorns her body. In her right hand Ekajati waves an impaled and upright human corpse. With her left hand Ekajati dispatches a female wolf messenger. Ekajati stands in the 'Pratyalidha' or warrior pose.

Ekajati is the supreme protectress of the Nyingmapa practices. Ekajati also functions as guardian of mantras – preventing them from being disclosed to those unworthy to use them and ensuring that those who have been empowered to use them do so for appropriate purposes. Ekajati guards them in a more general sense as well, preventing them from losing their power and efficacy, or from being lost altogether.

Gestures and Attributes

Ekajati is of a blue skin tone, with a high, red chignon ("she who has but one chignon" is another one of her titles). She has one head, three breast, two hands and a third eye. However, she can also be depicted with more body parts; up to twelve heads and twenty-four arms, with different tantric attributes (sword, kukuri, phurba, blue lotus axe, vajra). In another form her hair is arranged in the same single bun with a turquoise forehead curl. This and her other features signify her blazing allegiance to non-dualism. Ekajati's single eye gazes into unceasing space, a single fang pierces through obstacles, a single breast "nurtures supreme practitioners as [her] children." She is naked, like awareness itself, except for a garment of white clouds and tiger skin around her waist. The tiger skin is the realized siddha's garb, which signifies fearless enlightenment. She is ornamented with snakes and a garland of human heads. In some representations, she stands on a single leg. Her body is dark in color, brown or deep blue. She stands on a flaming mandala of triangular shape. She is surrounded by a fearsome retinue of mamo demo nesses who do her bidding in support of the secret teachings, and she emanates a retinue of one hundred ferocious iron she-wolves from her left hand. For discouraged or lazy practitioners, she is committed to being "an arrow of awareness" to reawaken and refresh them. For defiant or disrespectful practitioners, she is wrathful and threatening, committed to killing their egos and leading them to dharmakaya, or the ultimate realization itself. She holds in her right hand the eviscerated, dripping red heart of those who have betrayed their Vajrayana vows.

In her most common form she holds an axe, drigug (cleaver) or Khatvanga (tantric staff) and a skull cup in her hands. In her chignon is a picture of Akshobhya. Her demeanor expresses determination. With her right foot she steps upon corpses, symbols of the ego. Her vajra laugh bares a split tongue or a forked tongue and a single tooth. She is dressed in a skull necklace and with a tiger and a human skin. She is surrounded by flames representing wisdom. When Ekajati appears to yogins in hagiographies, she is especially wrathful. She speaks in sharp piercing shrieks, her eye boils, and she gnashes her fang. At times she appears twice human size, brandishing weapons and served by witches drenched in blood.

About this Sculpture

Expertly cast from copper alloy and gilded with 24 karat gold and gold face painted, this sculpture is a profoundly wrathful representation of Ekajati Dakini. This sculpture was individually handcrafted in Patan, Nepal by master artisans of the Shakya clan who are considered among the best in the world. These craftsmen are the modern heirs to a centuries-old tradition of creating sacred art for use in temples and monasteries. The fine metalworking techniques have been passed down from generation to generation since ancient times.