Danakosha

source: [1]

When the time for Guru Rinpoche to liberate the beings of this world approached, on the tenth day of the sixth month of the Monkey year, he appeared miraculously in the blossom of a lotus in the lake called "Ocean of Milk" in South West Odiyana, which is also known as Lake Danakosha located on the Afganistan-Pakistan frontier. However there are different interpretations regarding his birth. Some Indian historians affirm that he was born to a minister or a King of Odiyana, and some claim that he appeared instantaneously on the summit of Mt. Malaya in Sri Lanka. But Guru Padmasambhava's treasure teachings confirm the version which states that he was born spontaneously from a lotus. This source is the most renowned and thus the following history is provided accordingly.

Oddiyana The great river Sindhu, one of the four great rivers that springs from the four directions of Kailash mountain, flows towards the Western Land of Odiyana and finally empties into the Arabian Sea. When the river reaches Oddiyana, it forms a lake filled with lotuses. As the lotus roots produce a sweet-milky juice, it is called "Ocean of Milk." Prior to Guru Padmasambhava's birth, in the center of the lake a large, fully mature, beautiful, red lotus grew, and from the heart of Buddha Amitabha in space, a red syllable HRI fell about eight cubits above the collora of the lotus. The syllable dissolved into light and instantly, without depending on the causes and conditions of father and mother, there arose an eight-year-old child perfectly adorned with the characteristic major and minor marks. Holding a vajra and a lotus in his hands, he immediately began giving teachings to the gods and dakinis of the area.