View source for Twenty-four Great Sacred Places

According to the [[Hevajra Tantra]] (see Snellgrove 1959, 1:70) these are: [[Jalandhara]], [[Oddiyana]], [[Paurnagiri]], [[/Kamarupa|Kamarupa]], [[Malaya]], [[Sindhu]], [[Nagara]], [[Munmuni]], [[Karunyapataka]], [[Kulata]], [[Arbuta]], [[Godavari]], [[Himadri]], [[Harikela]], [[Lampaka]], [[Kani]], [[Saurasta]], [[Kalinga]], [[Kokana]], [[Caritra]], [[Kosala]], and [[Vindhyakaumarapaurika]].

Other sources, such as the ''[[sadhana]]'' ([[sgrub thabs]]) of the ''[[Queen of Great Bliss]]'' ([[yum bka' bde chen rgyal mo]]) from the ''[[Longchen Nyingthig]]'' (see [[Tulku Thondup]], 1985), give a different enumeration of these [[twenty-four sacred places]].  They abide on the [[vajra-body]] inherent in every sentient being, which is symbolized here by the body of [[Vajrayogini]].  These twenty-four are divided in three groups:

a) Eight celestial abodes (Skt. - ''khagacharya'', Tib. - [[mkha' spyod]]): 1) The crown of the head is [[Jalandhara]], 2) in between the eyebrows is [[Pulliramalaya]], 3) the nape is [[Arbuta]], 4) the ''[[urna]]'' (the hair at the center of the forehead) is [[Rameshvara]], 5) the right ear is [[Oddiyana]], 6) the left ear is [[Godavari]], 7) the eyes are [[Devikota]], and 8) the shoulders are [[Malava]].

b) Eight earthly abodes (Skt. - ''gocharya'', Tib. - ''[[sa spyod]]'': 9) the throat is [[Lampaka]], 10) the underarms and kidneys are [[Kamarupa]], 11) the two breasts are [[Odra]], 12) the navel is [[Trishanku]], 13) the nose-tip is [[Koshala]], 14) the palate is [[Kalinga]], 15) the heart is both [[Kanchika]] and 16) [[Himalaya]] ([[Himavat]]).

c) Eight undergound abodes (Skt. - ''bhugarbha'', Tib. - ''[[sa 'og gi gnas brgyad]]''): 17) the genitals are [[Pretapuri]], 18) the anus is [[Grihadeva]], 19) the thumbs and the big toes are [[Maru]], 20) the thighs are [[Saurashtra]], 21) the calves are [[Suvarnadvipa]], 22) the sixteen other fingers and toes are [[Nagara]], 23) the knees are [[Kulata]], and 24) the ankles are [[Sindhu]].

=='''Discussion'''==

The following is from [[Matthieu Ricard]] ([[MR]]) in his [[The Life of Shabkar]].  The terms you may have been searching for will appear '''bolded''' in this wonderfully educational, and highly abbreviated geographic description of ''how'' the land of Tibet '''''actually lives through''''' it's cultural habitat, both historically ''and'' spiritually:

from chapter 11, pgs. 342-343, note 10: 

The [[White Snow Mountain]], [[Kangkar Tise]] ([[gangs dkar ti se]]), [[Mt. Kailash]] (literally 'Silver Mountain'), is one of the world's great holy mountains, sacred to [[Hindus]] and Buddhists alike.  It is one of the so-called "[[Three Holy Places of Tibet]]", associated with the [[body, speech, and mind]] aspects of [[Chakrasamvara]] and [[Vajravarahi]].  The other two are [[Lapchi]] ([[la phyi]]) and [[Tsari]] ([[tsa ri]]).  These three are also listed among the "[[Twenty-four Great Sacred Places]]" (Tib. - [[gnas chen nyer gzhi]]), (Skt. - ''pitha'') of the world, [[Mt. Kailash]] being identified as [[Himavat]], [[Lapchi]] as [[Godavari]], and [[Tsari]] as both [[Caritra]] and [[Devikota]].  There are several descriptions of and guides to [[Mt. Kailash]], including one written by [[Konchog Tendzin Chokyi Lodro]], the [[sixth Drigung Chungtsang]] ([['bri gung chung tshang dkon mchog bstan 'dzin chos kyi blo gros]], 1829-1906), and a recent one composed by [[Choying Dorje]] (1990), hereafter quoted as MK.

It is recounted in the ''[[Chakrasamvara Tantra]]'' and it's commentaries (as related in MK) that the world was once ruled by [[Bhairava]], the wrathful form of [[Mahadeva]], who made the land of [[Magadha]] the seat of his power.  It is said also that four [[devas]] and four ''[[gandharvas]]'' descended from the sky and established their dominion in the eight places known as the [[Eight Celestial Abodes]] ([[mkha' spyod kyi gnas brgyad]]).  Likewise, four [[yakshas]] and four [[rakshasas]], already on the earth, made their way to [[Jambudvipa]], where they established themselves in the [[Eight Earthly Abodes]] ([[sa spyod kyi gnas brgyad]], while four [[naga]s and four [[asura]]s came to [[Jambudvipa]] from beneath the earth, to settle themselves in [[Eight Underground Abodes]] ([[sa 'og gi gnas brgyad]]).  They invited [[Bhairava]] to visit their dwellings, twenty-four in all, but he, instead of coming personally, manifested in each place as a ''[[lingam]]'' to which these savage beings would make blood sacrifices. 

These demonic forces prevailed from the "[[golden age]]" until the beginning of our present "[[era of strife and conflict]]." It was then, the tantra recounts, that the Blessed One, [[Vajradhara]], knew that the time had come to subdue these unsuitable beings. Without his mind ever wavering from [[objectless compassion]] ([[dmigs pa med pa'i snying rje]]), he arose in the formidable wrathful display of a [[Heruka]] with four heads and twelve arms. He danced, and through the power of the [[nondual wisdom]] of all [[the Buddhas]], trampled down [[Mahadeva]] and his consort together with their [[retinue]], liberating their minds into the absolute expanse and establishing them in [[great bliss]].

The [[Heruka]] then blessed each of the [[twenty-four abodes]] as a palace of [[Chakrasamvara]] and each of the twenty-four [[lingam]]s as a [[mandala of sixty-two wisdom deities]]. The sixty-two are [[Chakrasamvara and his consort]], and his [[retinue]]: the [[twenty-four male and twenty-four female Bodhisattvas]], and the [[twelve goddesses]]. 

At the [[nirmanakaya]] level, it is said that [[Mt. Kailash]] was miraculously blessed by [[Buddha Shakyamuni]] and [[five hundred arhats]].  Once, [[Ravana]] ([[mgon po beng]]) and his consort had taken to their palace in [[Lanka]] one of the three statues of [[Buddha Shakyamuni]] which the Lord himself had blessed.  Desiring to place this statue on a worthy support, [[Ravana]] had planned to take [[Mt. Kailash]] on his back and carry it to [[Lanka]].  At the same moment [[Lord Buddha]] and [[five hundred arhats]] came flying through the sky and alighted to the west of [[Mt. Kailash]], leaving their footprints in the rock.  The [[Buddha]] stepped on all four sides of the mountain, leaving footprints in the rock which are known as the [[Four Immutable Nails of Kailash]] ([[mi 'gyur ba'i gzer bzhi]]).  [[Ravana]] thus was unable to lift the mountain.  Then the Buddha sat on a rock in front of the mountain and taught [[Dharma]] to the [[naga king]] [[Anavatapta]], the lord of the [[Lake Manasarovar]].  He then taught the ''[[Lankavatara Sutra]]'' to [[Ravana]], and blessed him and his consort as the [[Glorious Wisdom Protector]], the [[Great Being and Consort]] ([[dpal ye shes mgon po beng chen lcam dral]]).

[[Mt. Kailash]] was later blessed by [[Guru Padmasambhava]], and became famous after [[Jetsun
Milarepa]] lived there and held his contest of miracles with [[Naro Bonchung]].  (When [[Jetsun Milarepa]] and the [[Bonpo]] [[Naro Bonchung]] held their famous contest of miracles to decide who would retain supremacy over the sacred mountain, they left imprints of their feet in the rocks and many other miraculous signs.  See G. C. C. Chang, (1962, vol. 1, pp. 215-224).  Later [[Gyalwa Gotsangpa]] ([[rgod tshang pa mgon po rdo rje]]), [[Linge Repa]] ([[gling rje ras pa]]) (1128-1188), and many other great meditators lived ascetic lives at the foot of [[Mt. Kailash]].

In particular, holders of the [[Drigung Kagyu]] lineage frequented this place in great numbers.  [[Drigung Jigten Gonpo]] ([['bri gung 'jigs rten mgon po]] 1143-1217) had a dream in which the guardian deities of the [[Three Sacred Places]] of [[Tsari, Lapchi, and Kailash]] came and prostrated themselves before him, requesting him to go and bless their territories.  [[Jigten Gonpo]] replied that he would send great meditators instead.  Accordingly, he dispatched 80 hermits to each place.  Some years later, he reputedly sent 900 hermits and finally 55,525 practitioners to each site (see Huber, 1989).  At [[Kailash]] these were under the leadership of the great ''[[pandita]]'' [[Yakgangpa]] ([[pan chen yag sgang pa]]), who is also called (according to MK, pg. 59), [[Dorzin Guhya Gangpa]] ([[rdor 'dzin guh ya sgang pa]]); at [[Lapchi]] the practitioners were led by [[Geshe Paldrak]] ([[dge bshes dpal grags]], 12th-13th century); and at [[Tsari]] they were under the guidance of [[Dorzin Gowoche]] ([[rdor 'dzin mgo bo che]]).  In the [[Three Sacred Places]] of [[Tsari, Lapchi, and Kailash]], ''Dorzin'' ([[rdor 'dzin]] = ''Holder of the [[Vajra]]'') usually refers to a spiritual master or an administrator sent from [[Drigung Monastery]] as representative of the [[Drigung]] hierarchs.  (see Petech 1978, 317.)  ([[MR-ShabkarNotes]]).


[[Category: Sacred Sites]]