26/08/2026
Vision in Meditation: Mandarava as the Dakini of Timeless Awareness
“As I rested in the luminous expanse of mind, the face of Mandarava appeared, radiant as a thousand dawns. She smiled and placed upon my crown the vase of the undying elixir, saying: ‘Child of wisdom, awaken to the deathless expanse within your own heart.’”
Here, Yeshe Tsogyal experiences a visionary transmission (gong ter) from Mandarava. The vase symbolises the tsebum (vessel of life), representing both blessing and realisation. This moment unites Mandarava and Tsogyal across time as manifestations of Vajrayoginī, revealing the continuum of enlightened feminine energy (gyal yum).
“As Mandarava united her wisdom with the master’s compassion, so too must I unite insight with devotion. When wisdom and compassion are inseparable, the bliss of union is attained.”
This reflects Tsogyal’s internalisation of Mandarava’s path, the ta***ic ideal of yab-yum (union of masculine and feminine principles). It teaches that the ultimate guru is the awakened mind itself. Mandarava thus becomes not only an external figure but a mirror of Tsogyal’s own potential.
“Mandarava of Zahor appeared in a cloud of rainbow light and offered me the vase of amrita. Upon my crown she poured it, sealing my lifespan and wisdoom inseparably.”
This connects directly to the Tshebum Empowerment, the ta***ic ritual of life essence. In Nyingma terma tradition, Mandarava’s amrita empowerment sustains realisation beyond decay, pointing to the Great Bliss Body (Mahasukha-kāya) attained in Akanishta.
“In the pure realm of Akanishta, Mandarava, Queen of Zahor, abides as the mother of immortal awareness. She gazes upon Yeshe Tsogyal with unceasing compassion, sending forth rays of light to awaken beings of future times.”
This closing vision affirms that Yeshe Tsogyal and Mandarava are not separate beings but manifestations of the same wisdom continuum. Akanishta, the highest pure land, symbolises realisation free of samsaric limitation, where all female Buddhas are united as the Great Mother Prajñāpāramitā.
A Symbolic Interpretation
Mandarava represents the embodied wisdom aspect of Padmasambhava’s enlightened activity: the prajñā principle.
Yeshe Tsogyal represents the compassionate activity (upāya) that manifests wisdom in the world.
Their connection in “Lady of the Lotus Born” reveals the ta***ic understanding of inseparable feminine realisation across incarnations and realms.
Also, In “Lady of the Lotus Born”, Mandarava is not a secondary character but the celestial reflection of Yeshe Tsogyal’s own mind. Their connection expresses the Vajrayana view that enlightenment transcends linear time: each dakini embodying a timeless facet of awakening.
Yeshe Tsogyal’s devotion to Mandarava thus mirrors her recognition that the enlightened feminine is both historical and archetypal, human and transcendent.
These are extracts and annotations of the Mandarava-related passages from “Lady of the Lotus-Born: The Life and Enlightenment of Yeshe Tsogyal” (Gyalwa Changchub & Namkhai Nyingpo, trans. Padmakara Translation Group, Shambhala, 2002). Each excerpt is followed by a contextual commentary explaining its doctrinal, symbolic, and visionary significance in relation to Mandarava and Yeshe Tsogyal’s enlightenment paths.
Sónia Gomes
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