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Hevajra
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Hevajra united with his female consort; Lamaist bronze, early 19th century; in the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden, Neth.
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Omar Ali Saifuddin mosque, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
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Tibetan:
Kye-rdo-rje
Mongolian:
Kevajra
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Hevajra united with his female consort; Lamaist bronze, early 19th century; in the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden, Neth.
Hevajra united with his female consort; Lamaist bronze, early 19th century; in the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden, Neth.

Hevajra

Buddhist deity
Also known as: Fudo, Kevajra, Kye-rdo-rje
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Hevajra, in northern Buddhism, a fierce protective deity, the yab-yum (in union with his female consort, Nairatmya) form of the fierce protective deity Heruka. Hevajra is a popular deity in Tibet, where he belongs to the yi-dam (tutelary, or guardian, deity) class. His worship is the subject of the Hevajra Tantra, a scripture that helped bring about the conversion of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan (1215–94).

Hevajra is represented in art as blue in colour, with a headdress of skull crowns topped by a figure of the buddha Akshobhya. He is characteristically shown with 8 heads, 4 legs, and 16 arms. The arms on the left hold skull cups containing various divinities, the ones on the right their steeds. A multiarmed form of Hevajra, but without his female consort, is found in Cambodia and Thailand.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Matt Stefon.