Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 遮文荼, Chamunda, Cāmuṇḍā
Category: Pig
The Myth
Shamonda is a female demon-deity appearing in Buddhist scriptures and esoteric Buddhist iconography. She has the head of a boar and the body of a woman, and is regarded as the consort of Enmaten, the Buddhist deity associated with Yama, the lord of death. She is also counted as the foremost of the Seven Mothers, a group of goddesses associated with Enma and his retinue. In the Womb Realm Mandala, which expresses esoteric Buddhist teachings through the arrangement of sacred figures, Shamonda is placed in the western part of the Outer Vajra Court alongside other members of the Seven Mothers, including Taishakuten’s female counterpart and Kumarī.
Shamonda is commonly depicted with dark reddish-black skin, a boar’s head, and a crown. She sits on a mat, holding a vessel or a skull cup in her right hand, while her left hand is clenched into a fist and rests near her waist. She also appears beside Enmaten in mandalas dedicated to him. Shamonda was sometimes regarded as a fearsome demon with a dangerous nature and was identified with Kissa, a spirit believed to possess corpses and associated with the Vidāra ritual, a magical practice involving the reanimation of the dead.
The name Shamonda is a Japanese transcription of the Sanskrit name Chamunda, a Hindu goddess associated with death and said to be a consort of Yama. Chamunda is also identified with Durga, the fierce warrior goddess and consort of Shiva. Shamonda likewise came to be associated with a wrathful form of Daijizaiten’s consort, corresponding to Durga. However, the Hindu goddesses named Chamunda are generally depicted with human heads rather than boar heads. The boar-headed appearance of Shamonda is therefore thought to have developed through confusion with Varahi, another member of the Hindu Seven Mothers who is distinguished by her boar’s head.
Sources
“Shamwonda.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1073665901.html