Simhamukha: Lion-Faced Dakini Who Subdues Negative Forces

SKT. Siṃhamukhā(सिंहमुखा) | TIB. seng ge gdong ma(སེང་གེ་གདོང་མ) | CH. 獅面空行母 | VIET. Sư Diện Không Hành

The female Buddha Simhamukhā captivates with her striking appearance: a lioness’s fierce face harmoniously blended with the graceful form of a woman. Her regal countenance radiates a brilliant and transformative awareness, as if she embodies the very essence of enlightenment itself. Known as the “Lion-Faced Lady,” she stands as a fully realized being who has reached the exalted state of Buddhahood, a realm where ultimate wisdom and profound bliss intertwine seamlessly.

Her mind flows like a crystal-clear river, untainted by distortion and free from the shackles of conceptual thought. In this pure state of being, she embodies the essence of a “wisdom dākinī,” a term that signifies her role as a “female who bestows wisdom.” Revered as the “great victorious mother,” she is revered not just for her strength, but also for her nurturing presence. She is the “female who delights in the highest knowledge,” an enlightened spirit whose very nature resonates with primordial wisdom and the ultimate reality of existence.

    The Wisdom That Roared Before the World Was Tame

    The depiction of a goddess with a lion's head is not exclusive to Buddhism, nor is her group of animal-headed divine female companions. Similar figures in other contexts may highlight elements of Indian culture that contributed to the development of Vajrayāna iconography and practices.

    Simhamukhā and the lion-headed yoginis from the Kaula tradition indicate ties to even deeper roots of Indian culture. One of the earliest forms of religious imagery in India, found on carved steatite seals from the Indus civilization (approximately 2600-1900 B.C.E.), illustrates a woman situated between a tree and a tiger in a lively pose reminiscent of dance. This woman undergoes a transformation where her hands turn into claws, her feet become either hooves or claws, and she develops a tail and horns. The scene represented on this ancient seal seems to relate to shamanic trance, suggesting that the woman is acting as a priestess or medium, dissociating from her human identity to connect with the characteristics of a wild feline. The existence of such imagery in the earliest religious iconography in India implies that Simhamukhā, the female Buddha with a lion's face, represents the culmination of a long evolution of this motif, moving from a primitive shamanic context to the more formalized rituals and contemplative practices of Tantric Buddhism.

    In the context of Buddhism, the lion primarily serves a symbolic role. Simhamukhā, as a female Buddha, is intended to embody the complete state of enlightenment.

    References

    Shaw, M. E. (2006). Buddhist Goddesses of India. Princeton University Press.

      Handmade statues of Simhamukha