The Untold Story of Vajravidāraṇa, the Diamond Holder

Of the many enlightened beings within the world of Vajrayāna Buddhism, few have the attributes of fierceness, purification, and karmic restoration rolled into one like Vajravidāraṇa. Indeed, his name translates as "The Vajra Conqueror" or "He Who Breaks Through with the Vajra".

Vajravidāraṇa is not just an idea. In the lived traditions of India, Tibet, and Nepal, Vajravidāraṇa is called upon when things obstruct the path, when the past karmic stains are too coarse, or when the hidden forces at work are destroying one's health and harmony. His role is as striking as it is benevolent: he removes the defilements, cuts through the spiritual obstacles, and returns the practitioner to harmony in their own mind, body, and environment.

Though his imagery and mantras may carry the force of a wrathful deity, Vajravidāraṇa is not a destroyer in ordinary terms. His wrath is never directed at beings; instead, it is a wrathful compassion that is directed at suffering's root causes: the inner poisons of anger, attachment, ignorance, and the deep karmic imprints that will not allow the luminous quality of the mind to be seen.

From his vantage point as an accomplished practitioner of dhāraṇī, Vajravidāraṇa offers a multi-layered means of karmic purification, protection against harmful energies, and even physical healing. The act of dhāraṇī is a shield and cleansing rain: it is ferocious in movement but tender in intention.

In this blog, we will explore the origin, scriptures, rituals, imagery, and relevance of Vajravidāraṇa in Buddhism today—combining ancient texts and modern scholarship to provide a holistic understanding of this remarkable deity.

Origins and Narrative Core: Vajrapāṇi’s Purifying Revelation

A King’s Torment and the Need for Purification

The tale of Vajravidāraṇi begins, surprisingly, not among the devas, but in a troubled king's heart. In the kingdom of Magadha, King Ajātaśatru was afflicted by a significant illness. His body was breaking down, his mind was unquiet, and his dreams were disturbed. These were not mere random disasters; they were the karmic resonations of a heinous act. Ajātaśatru had plotted against his own father, King Bimbisāra, a committed follower of the Buddha, by placing him into confinement and orchestrating his death. There would be lingering results, even in Ajātaśatru's eventual conversion. This was a massive, unwholesome karma that depicted physical disease, but also mental strife. The king became a material embodiment of how karma can actively impact the body and mind.

When the Buddha's assembly of bodhisattvas, led by Vajrapāṇi, was aware of Ajātaśatru's impairment, the bodhisattvas did intervene; however, their intention was not punitive, but remedial. Ajatapāṇi revealed the Vajra Conqueror Dhāraṇī - a teaching consisting of a series of verses and accompanying instructions to cut through the thickest karmic veil, repelled potentially unwelcome energies from attending on, and vitalize and re-vitalize.

This transmission was not just a method of healing; it was a substantial act of teaching. It revealed that even the worst of wrongs can be purified when met with the antidote of sincere practice.

From Healing Tale to Tibetan Royal Sūtra

The Vajra Conqueror dhāraṇī was not destined to remain Ajātaśatru's personal antidote. Over time, the dhāraṇī earned a name and was included in the Ten Royal Sūtras in Tibet, a series of protective sūtras designed to afford rulers, and by extension, their kingdom, protection. 

During the period of Tibetan imperial rule, it was translated into Tibetan by the great scholars Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Yeshé Dé, and was preserved in the Degé Kangyur, both in the Tantra section (Toh 750) and in the Dhāraṇī section (Toh 949).

With this elevation to royal status, Vajradhāraṇa's practice was no longer simply a unilateral healing act—it took on the qualities of being a matter of state protection. Just as it could purify one individual, it could purify an entire karmic field like that of a kingdom.

The Diverse Forms of Vajradhāraṇa: Symbolism and Manifestation

Vajravidāraṇa, is presented in different forms in Vajrayāna Buddhism, each form representing a different aspect of purification, protection, and transformation. These forms differ obviously in their visual representations, but they share a common purpose: helping practitioners remove obstacles and realize an enlightened mind.

Peaceful Form

The peaceful form of Vajravidāraṇa shows a mind that is balanced and at peace, and is situated far beyond duality; hence, he is shown calm and controlled. In the peaceful form, he is seated on a lotus throne, wearing a crown and royal jewelry, and holding the double vajra (viśvavajra) in his right hand. This shows that he has worked through the dualities of existence as the protector of the Dharma. This form of emergence highlights the warmth that is present with the compassionate aspect of Vajravidāraṇa, offering practitioners a chance to find the nurturing quality of wisdom and protection.

Wrathful Form

In contrast to his peaceful aspect, Vajravidāraṇa's wrathful form expresses the energy and transformational potential of his ability to bear and eliminate the spiritual obstacles. He is viewed with a fierce expression, usually surrounded by fires that symbolize ignorance and the burning up of his defilements. His multiple arms and eyes represent his omniscient awareness and ability to act quickly to protect sentient beings. The wrathful form does not express anger but altruistic activity directed towards destroying the "inner poisons" that obstruct spiritual progress.

Mandala Representation

Vajravidāraṇa is also presented as part of a mandala, which is an organized symbolic system of the universe and the practitioner's journey to enlightenment; he very commonly occupies the central point of complex mandalas with all the rest of the deities and protectors surrounding him. The deities, their gestures, the configurations, and light rays symbolize how all aspects of the path are interconnected and reflect the universal nature of Vajravidāraṇa's protective and purifying energy. The mandala helps practitioners to engage with the qualities of Vajravidāraṇa and the enlightened expression of compassion, through a meditative visualization of her and embodying her qualities and presence.

The multiplicity of Vajravidāraṇa offers multiple ways of engaging students in their spiritual practice, depending on their level of need and development. Be it as peaceful or wrathful, Vajravidāraṇa shows students that isdom and compassion ultimately have the power to transform obstacles to gain enlightenment.

Practicing Vajradhāraṇa: Mantra, Visualization, and Purification

The practice of Vajravidāraṇa is centered around the Vajra Conqueror Dhāraṇī, an influential group of syllables that, like the dhāraṇī itself, was revealed by Vajrapāṇi to remove obstacles, purify karma, and safeguard the practitioner. It is customary to recite the dhāraṇī either 21, 108, or more times, often using visualization and usually performing relevant and simple ritual offerings in conjunction.  

In practice, the practitioner is visualizing the usual and more powerful peaceful form of Vajravidāraṇa, radiant and serene on a lotus throne and holding a double vajra, or the wrathful form, surrounded by flames, rippling with energy, and the multiple arms and eyes displaying potency and energy necessary to cut through one's defilements. This visualization is done while reciting the mantra, and it is essential that the mind and intention reflect both the energetic connectedness and clarity inherent in the practice, as well as the protective energy. 

The central dhāraṇī begins with homage to "all buddhas and bodhisattvas", and includes the forceful seed syllables that contain keywords like "hara hara" (remove) and "chinda chinda" (cut). These are direct commands that are used as forceful actions directed towards karmic obstacles and powerful hostile forces:

"Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas! Through the power of the Buddha, Vajrapāṇi proclaims the vajra essence—invulnerable, indivisible, indestructible. It destroys all grahas, liberates them, subdues spells, fulfills desires, and protects beings."

One element of the practice of Vajravidāraṇa is ritual water empowerment. The practitioner has fresh water in a clean vessel that is blessed using the recitation of the dhāraṇī and then used for bathing, sprinkling, or to consecrate objects. This physical legitimacy of the purification process relates back to the inner purification of their karmic obscurations, clearing away mental and spiritual hindrances by 'washing them away.'

Often, practitioners will combine the practice of Vajravidāraṇa with other tantric techniques, such as the nembutsu or meditation on Buddha Vajrasattva, to create a holistic or comprehensive purification approach. Whereas Vajrasattva works at the level of confession and restores vows made, the practice of Vajravidāraṇa is explicit in eliminating subtle blockages caused by negative energies to ensure that both the practitioner remains clear of obstacles to their meditation and spiritual progress, as well as to protect the practitioner and their surrounding environment.

Historical and Cultural Transmission

Indian and Tibetan Commentaries

The Vajra Conqueror practice was elaborated by some of the finest Indian masters: Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra, Buddhaguhya, and Smṛtijñānakīrti. Their writings, which we still have in the Tengyur, elaborate the visualization processes, ritual sequences, and the arrangements of mandalas. 

In all of the four primary schools of Tibetan Buddhism - Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug - Vajravidāraṇa became an essential part of protective and healing rites, and it was often performed on the eve of major retreats to clear obstacles.

The Newar Saptavāra Tradition

In addition, in the Kathmandu Valley, Vajradhāraṇa's dhāraṇī has settled into the Saptavāra tradition - seven dhāraṇīs recited each day of the week - avowed by Newar Buddhists. There are hundreds of palm-leaf manuscripts of the dhāraṇī that preserve the Sanskrit text exactly, and the path cannot be traced to modern recitation and practice in ancient India.

Vajravidāraṇain Modern Buddhist Practice

Even in the present time, the practice of Vajravidāraṇa remains a deep source of support and protection for those engaged in spiritual practice. Monastics and lay practitioners often turn to him in relation to anything from challenges associated with illness and troublesome dreams, as well as for protection from more negative influences, whereas monasteries may collectively recite his dhāraṇī for an entire congregation. His practice becomes a complement to Vajrasattva meditation: Vajrasattva relates more to confession and restoring vows, while a practitioner of Vajravidāraṇa cuts through the subtle obscurations either intentionally or unintentionally, weighing beholdings with mental, karmic, or energetic obscurations that prevent one from clearly seeing and progressing spiritually. By reciting his dhāraṇī and going through the water empowerment process, participants start to cut through these hindrances, create more space for clarity and movement, protecting the vital functions and balancing an increased degree of deeper contemplation in meditative states.

Thus, all the way across Himalayan monasteries, Tibetan temples, and home shrines in Nepal, people are reciting the dhāraṇī of the Conqueror Vajra; performing empowering rituals that include water; and recounting the story of King Ajātaśatru.  These acts serve as living testimonies to the possibility of purifying and clearing even the heaviest karmic obscurations to the always-present compassionate power of Vajravidāraṇa that exists to protect and purify beings through guiding and safeguarding in a myriad of ways.   While working with his practice, one evokes an intention for protection from that which is external, but also nurtures an internal clarity and wellness that already exists.

Conclusion: The Enduring Power of the Vajra Conqueror

Vajravidāraṇa is not only a figure in the Buddhist text - he is the living possibility of the vajra cutting through delusion, cleansing karmic dirt, and eliminating even the very origin of suffering. His practice is simultaneously unyieldingly wrathful and also endowed with compassion; he fiercely rips apart obstacles for oneself and others while at the same time holding gentle hands to help those beings return to clarity.

With the authority of his dhāraṇī, purifying water empowerment, and glorious visualization of his form, practitioners learn that no purification can occur simply through the temporal dissolution of karma. Purification is a positive act of spiritual bravery - meeting one's obscurations directly, and washing them away at the source.

Vajravidāraṇa arises today as protector and teacher in an often turbulent, unpredictable world and tradition. He protects practitioners from harm while simultaneously reflecting our innate strength and wisdom as practitioners, evidencing that no impurity is eternal - and no darkness too far from the escaping light of the vajra.