the most important of the tantras and used the Ārya tradition as a template for interpreting all the other tantric traditions. Iconography There are two main commentarial traditions on the Guhyasamāja Tantra, the Ārya Tradition and the Jñānapada tradition. In the practice of the Ārya Tradition, the central deity of the Guhyasamāja is blue-black Akṣobhyavajra, a form of Akṣobhya, one of the five tathāgathas (pañcatathāgata), sometimes called the dhyāni buddhas. Akṣobhyavajra holds a vajra and bell (ghanta) in his first two hands, and other hands hold the symbols of the four other tathāgathas: wheel of Vairocana and lotus of Amitābha in his rights, and gem of Ratnasambhava and sword of Amoghasiddhi in his lefts. The maṇḍala consists of thirty-two deities in all. In the Jñānapada tradition, the central deity is yellow Mañjuvajra, a form of Maṇjuśrī, with nineteen deities in the mandala. Mañjuvajra has three faces—the right one is white and red one on the left—and six arms. The three faces may represent the three main channels of the subtle body, the three stages of purification of the mind or the illusory body, light, and their union. Mañjuvajra holds in his hands a sword and a book, and two of his other hand a bow and arrow represent skillful means (upāya). See also Vajrayana Dakinis References Further reading Guhyasamaja Practice in the Arya Nagarjuna System, Volume One, Shambhala Publications, 2019, Wedemeyer, Christian K. 2007. Āryadeva's Lamp that Integrates the Practices: The Gradual Path of Vajrayāna Buddhism according to the Esoteric Community Noble Tradition. New York: AIBS/Columbia University Press. Geshe Tashi Tsering p. 78 of 240 July 3, 2012. Tantra: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought Volume 6. London: Wisdom Publications. Brilliant Illumination of the Lamp of the Five Stages, Columbia University Press, 2011, A Lamp to Illuminate the Five Stages, Library of Tibetan Classics, 2013, External links StudyBuddhism.com, What Is Guhyasamaja Practice? Encyclopædia Britannica, Guhyasamāja-tantra Tsongkhapa, A Lamp to Illuminate the Five Stages, Introduction, chapter 1, chapter 2 Tibetan Buddhist practices Buddhist tantras Sanskrit books