Dorje Phagmo, in Sanskrit Vajravarahi, "the vajra sow", is a female Buddha and meditation deity of Tibetan Buddhism. She is the consort of Chakrasamvara and is closely related to Vajrayogini, of whom she is often treated as a form. She is known by the small sow's head in her hair, a sign of victory over ignorance, and she is practised in all the Tibetan schools, especially the Kagyu.
How she is shown
- Red, dancing on one leg with the other drawn up, on a lotus and often on a prone figure that stands for the ego, in a blaze of wisdom fire.
- A small sow's head in her hair, usually above her right ear; in some traditions it sits on top of her head. The pig stands for ignorance, as it does at the centre of the Wheel of Life, and here it shows ignorance overcome.
- Her right hand raises a curved knife, which cuts through the mental afflictions.
- Her left hand holds a skull cup at her heart.
- A khatvanga, a long staff topped with a vajra and skulls, rests against her left shoulder in the crook of her arm.
- One face with three eyes, a crown of five skulls, a long garland of heads and bone ornaments.
Vajravarahi and Vajrayogini
The two names are often used for the same deity, and where a tradition does not call for a sow's head, Vajravarahi is simply another name for Vajrayogini. In paintings they are usually told apart by posture: Vajravarahi dances, the curved knife raised and the skull cup at her heart, while the best-known form of Vajrayogini strides and drinks from a skull cup raised to her lips. Vajravarahi also has many other forms, red, white or black, seated, standing or dancing, alone or at the centre of a mandala. In the Chakrasamvara paintings she is the red consort in his embrace.
The Samding Dorje Phagmo
Since the fifteenth century, a line of women in Tibet has been recognised as incarnations of Vajravarahi, each holding the title Samding Dorje Phagmo. Their seat is Samding Monastery, near Yamdrok Lake in central Tibet, and the line belongs to the Bodong tradition. It is one of the best-known female incarnation lines in Tibetan Buddhism.
In a painting
A well-painted Vajravarahi has a light, convincing dance: her weight clearly on one foot, the raised leg balanced, the body turning with the movement. The sow's head should be small but clearly drawn, and the knife, skull cup and khatvanga crisp where they meet at the side of the figure. Look also at the garland of heads and the flames, which show the painter's control of fine detail. Some of our paintings set her against gold-coloured clouds and flames on a dark ground, with tigers and a snow lion in the landscape below.
To recognise her at a glance: a red dancing female figure, knife raised, skull cup at her heart and a sow's head in her hair.
