Symbolic meaning They are usually portrayed as a pair of figures that stand guarding the main temple entrance gates, usually called
shanmen () in China, in Japan, and () in Korea. In Sanskrit, the right statue is known as Guhyapāda. He traditionally has his mouth open, representing the vocalization of the first
grapheme of Sanskrit
Devanāgarī (, "a"). The left statue is Nārāyaṇa. He traditionally has his mouth closed, representing the vocalization of the last grapheme of Devanāgarī (, ""), read "" (). These two characters together (
a-hūṃ/a-un) symbolize the birth and death of all things. (Men are supposedly born speaking the "a" sound with mouths open and die speaking an "" and mouths closed.) Similar to
Jaya-Vijaya, they signify "everything" or "all creation". The contraction of both is the mantra
om ().
Guhyapāda Guhyapāda (
Traditional Chinese: 密迹金剛;
simplified Chinese: 密迹金刚;
pinyin:
Mìjī jīngāng;
Japanese:
Misshaku Kongō;
Korean: Miljeok geumgang;
Vietnamese:
Mật tích kim cương ) is a symbol of overt violence: he wields a
vajra mallet "" (a diamond club, thunderbolt stick, or sun symbol) and bares his teeth. His mouth is depicted as being in the shape necessary to form the "ha" or "ah" sound. In China, he is also known as
General Ha (哈将 Hā Jiāng) in reference to this iconographic detail. Similarly, he is also known as Agyō (阿形, "a"-form, general term open-mouthed statues in aum pair) in Japan due to this detail as well. In
Chinese Buddhism, Guhyapāda is regarded as one of the
Twenty-Four Protective Deities, who are a grouping of dharmapalas often enshrined in the Daxiong of temples and monasteries. In addition, Guhyapāda is also sometimes paired or identified with the Wisdom King
Ucchuṣma, who is commonly known in Chinese as
Huiji Jingang (穢跡金剛).
Nārāyaṇa Nārāyaṇa (
Traditional Chinese: 那羅延金剛;
simplified Chinese: 那罗延金刚;
pinyin:
Nàluōyán Jīngāng;
Japanese:
Naraen Kongō; Korean:
Narayeon geumgang;
Vietnamese:
Na la diên kim cương) is depicted either bare-handed or wielding a sword. He symbolizes latent strength, holding his mouth tightly shut. His mouth is rendered to form the sound "", or "heng" or "un". In China, he is also known as
General Heng (哼将 Hēng Jiāng) in reference to this iconographic detail. Similarly, he is also known as Ungyō (吽形, "um"-form, general term closed-mouthed statues in aum pair) in Japan due to this detail as well.
Vajrapāni Both
Guhyapāda and
Nārāyaṇa are seen as manifestations of
Vajrapāni (
Traditional Chinese: 執金剛神;
simplified Chinese: 执金刚神;
pinyin:
Zhíjīngāng shén;
Japanese:
Shūkongōshin; Korean:
Jip geumgang sin;
Vietnamese:
Chấp kim cang thần), with the name literally meaning "
vajra-wielding god". ==Nio Zen Buddhism==