Kujaku Myōō

Kujaku Myōō (孔雀明王), the Peacock Wisdom King, is the gentle exception among the Myōō. Where her fellow kings blaze with anger, she sits serene on a peacock, a bird believed to eat poisonous snakes. In the same way she consumes the poisons of the world, protecting against illness, disaster and drought.

Japanese 孔雀明王, Kujaku Myōō
Sanskrit Mahāmāyūrī
Rank Wisdom king, with a bodhisattva's appearance
Recognise by A calm face; four arms; seated on a lotus on the back of a peacock with spread tail
Invoked for Protection from poison and illness, rain, safe childbirth

Identifying Kujaku

Kujaku looks like a bodhisattva, crowned and jewelled, with a gentle face and four arms. The hands hold a lotus, a peacock feather, a citron and a fruit such as a pomegranate. The peacock beneath, with its tail fanned behind her like a halo, makes her unmistakable.

The peacock spell

The sutra of the Peacock King was recited in Japan from early times against snakebite, sickness and calamity, and in rites for rain. The legendary ascetic En no Gyōja was said to have mastered the peacock spell, and Kujaku is honoured in Shugendō.

In Japanese art

A seated Kujaku made by Kaikei around 1200 for Mount Kōya is the finest surviving sculpture. Heian paintings of Kujaku in delicate colour and cut gold are among the treasures of esoteric painting.

Collecting notes

  • Kujaku images are rare in any form. The peacock's tail is the most fragile and most often restored part of a sculpture.
  • Painted Kujaku of the Edo period appear occasionally, and their gold and green pigments should be checked for flaking.

In the collection

Browse wisdom kings and Buddhist paintings. Our collector concierge can search Japan for a Kujaku image.

See also

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