106 henrik h. sørensen
converted mode as vidyārājas (mingwang ) and mahākrodhas
(danu shenwang ). Many originated as personifications of
spells. A list of the most important of these protectors in Esoteric Bud-
dhism follows.
The Five Vidyārājas: Acala, Trailokyavijya, Ucchusma, Cunḍ ̣ali, and
Mahātejas This group of Esoteric Buddhist protector-generals, in effect
three-headed and many-armed demons, became important after the
arrival of Śubhakārasiṃha in Chang’an in 716 C.E. and they occur
with great frequency in the scriptures of the Zhenyan tradition. Sculp-
tures of some of these protectors have been found among the hoard
of images from the ruined site of Anguo Temple in Xian. During the
Tang dynasty, this group was expanded to eight, and again expanded
to ten during the Northern Song.^45 These expansions seem to have
occurred as historical developments in tandem with the arrival of new
texts and translations into Chinese. In any case, the proliferation of
demon-protectors and mahākrodhas is a marked characteristic of later
Tantric Buddhism.
Acala is the wrathful aspect of the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi. This protec-
tor first occurs in the Chinese translation of the Amoghapāśakalparāja
from 709 C.E.,^46 but his cult rose to prominence only with the advent
of Zhenyan Buddhism during the mid-Tang (figure 8).
He occupies a rather prominent position in the Mahāvairocana sūtra
and it seems that this central scripture gave rise to the popularity of his
cult. By Amoghavajra’s time, Acala had become a leading figure in the
group of the Five Vidyārājas associated with the Five Buddha Families.
He is considered a manifestation of Vairocana. There are several texts
of primary importance to the Acala cult translated or written by the
Three Ācāryas.^47
The most important of the several different iconographic forms of
Acala is a darked-skinned demon seated on a stylized rock, holding a
(^45) The group of eight vidyārājas came about in the mid-Tang, shortly after the
basic group of five had been introduced during the early part of the eighth century.
See Sørensen, “Esoteric Buddhist Art under the Tang,” in this volume. The group of
ten vidyārājas occurs in the new translations of Esoteric Buddhist scriptures that took
place under the early Northern Song toward the end of the tenth century. Cf., e.g.,
T. 891. A sculptural group consisting of ten vidyārājas can be found at Mt. Baoding
in Dazu. For more on Esoteric Buddhism in the Southern Song see Copp, “Esoteric
Buddhism in Song Sichuan,” in this volume. During the Southern Song they occur in
Zhipan’s comprehensive Shuilu manual. Cf. 46 ZZ. (1975–1989) 1497.77:791b, 795c.
Cf. T. 1092.20: 271b.
(^47) This material includes T. 1200–1204.