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In Vajrayana Buddhism, Vajrabhairava, also known as Yamantaka, is a wrathful, buffalo-headed meditational deity of the Highest Yoga Tantra class. Vajrabhairava is one of the principal three meditational deities of the Gelug school.
He is also one of the main yidams in the Sakya school where he comes in a variety of appearances (with different mandalas). In both schools Vajrabhairava is seen as the wrathful manifestation of Manjushri, the Buddha of wisdom.
Phaeder Yamantaka Chant from the album “Singularity”
Phaeder Yamantaka Chant from the album “Singularity”
Terminology
In Sanskrit “Vajrabhairava” stands for ‘Adamantine Terrifier’. Regardless which manifestation of Vajrabhairava you are looking at, he is always depicted as fear-inducing, scary, and intimidating. Not only is he terrifying to look at but - according to the Vajrabhairava Tantra - he has conquered all evil spirits, including the Lord of Death, Yama. That’s why he is also called “Yamantaka”, the Slayer of Death.