28/06/2026
Parnashavari also spelt as Paranasavari is a Hindu deity adopted as Buddhist deity of diseases, worship of which is believed to offer effective protection against out-breaks of epidemics. She is also depicted in some images of the Pala period found in Dhaka, as a main goddess and escorted by Hindu deities Jvarasura and Sh*tala. Both of these escorts are disease related Hindu deities. In Buddhism, Parnashavari is depicted as an attendant of the Mother Goddess Tara as a healing goddess. Her name means “dressed in leaves” and she embodies our connection with nature and natural methods of healing. She is an example of an Indian folk deity absorbed into Ta***ic Buddhism, where she is connected with Buddha Amoghasiddhi and the enlightened activities of the buddhas.
According to the Buddhist view, there is a healing power in the universe that can be channelled through the healer’s abilities. The healing power of Parnashavari is invoked through meditation, rituals, or chanting the goddess’s mantra. As an embodiment of one of the Twenty-one Taras, she is known as “Parnashavari in mountain solitude, who removes contagious diseases.
She is portrayed in yellow or orange color, with semi-wrathful expression. There are also rarer wrathful forms in blue, black, green, or red color. Her most popular form is with three faces (yellow, white, and red); each of the three faces has three eyes. This form has six hands. In her three right hands she holds a vajra at the heart, an arrow in the manner of striking, and a small axe, and in the left: a vajra lasso, a bow, and a lotus or a tree branch.It is believed that her lasso attracts the demons of diseases, her axe cuts their hearts, and her bow and arrow siphons their living force. The vajra in her hand symbolizes her indestructible power and her awareness of the illusory nature of phenomena. The true healer, according to the Buddhists beliefs, must be able to recognize the illusory nature of the diseases and eliminate them. In the Indian tradition, Parnashavari is depicted in lotus posture (padmasana). In Tibetan images, she appears in a completely different posture – her right leg is bent to the body, so her heel presses her pelvis and her knee is leaning against the floor. Her left leg is bent in the knee, with a foot on the floor. The aim of this yogic pose is to direct the vital energy to the pelvic area and from there up through the spine. According to the tradition of Tibetan yoga, this awakens healing powers in the body and leads to a higher state of consciousness. Her skirt is usually made of leaves, sometimes decorated with flowers or peacock feathers. The peacock symbolizes the transformation of the negative emotions into wisdom. Some of the Parnashavari’s images are depicted with snakes around her neck or woven in her hair. They symbolize the elevate kundalini energy at the base of the spine. Moreover, Parnashavari plays an important role in Indian Mahayana Buddhism, which is preserved and further developed in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition where the goddess receives specific status and important ritual function.
葉衣佛母是一位被佛教吸納為疾病之神的印度教神祇，信徒相信修持其法門能有效防範流行病爆發。在達卡發現的一些帕拉時期造像中，她被塑造成主尊，並由印度神熱病鬼與天花女神隨侍。在佛教中，葉衣佛母被描繪成度母的侍者，是一位療癒女神。她的名字意為「身穿樹葉者」，象徵著人類與大自然及自然療癒法的連結。她是印度民間神祇融入密宗佛教的典型例子，在密宗中與不空成就佛及諸佛的覺悟事業相連結。
根據佛教的觀點, 宇宙中存在著一種療癒力量，可透過療癒者的能力進行引導。葉衣佛母的療癒力量可透過禪修、儀軌或持誦女神的心咒來祈請。作為二十一度母的化身之一，她被稱為「山林孤寂葉衣佛母」，專門消除傳染性疾病。
她身體呈現黃色或橙色，帶半憤怒的表情。罕見情況下也會出現藍色、黑色、綠色或紅色的憤怒相。她最普遍的形態具備三面（黃色、白色、紅色），三眼, 六臂。在她的右三手中，她在心口持金剛杵、持箭作射擊狀、以及持一把小斧；在左三手中則持金剛索、弓、以及蓮花或樹枝。信徒相信，她的金剛索能綑綁疾病邪魔，小斧能斬斷牠們的心臟，而弓箭則能吸乾牠們的生命力。她手中的金剛杵象徵其堅不可摧的力量，以及對諸法幻相（虛幻本質）的覺知。根據佛教信仰，一位真正的療癒者必須能夠看穿疾病的虛幻本質並將其消除。
在印度傳統中，葉衣佛母被描繪為蓮花坐姿。然而在西藏的造像中，她則呈現截然不同的姿態——其右腿向身體彎曲，腳跟頂住骨盆，膝蓋著地；左腿則膝蓋彎曲，腳掌踩在地面上。這種瑜伽姿勢的目的，是為了將生命能量（氣）引導至骨盆區域，並由此向上穿過脊椎。根據西藏瑜伽的傳統，這能激發體內的療癒能力，並導向更高的意識狀態。她的裙子通常由樹葉製成，有時會以鮮花或孔雀羽毛裝飾。孔雀象徵著將負面情緒轉化為智慧。在某些葉衣佛母的造像中，她的頸部纏繞著蛇，或將蛇編入頭髮中。這些蛇象徵著脊椎底部升起的拙火/靈量能量。此外，葉衣佛母在印度大乘佛教中扮演著重要角色，此傳統在藏傳佛教中得以保留並進一步發展，使這位女神獲得了特定的地位與重要的儀軌功能。
