Marpa Lotsawa, or Marpa the Translator
The great meditation master and translator, Marpa Lotsawa received teachings from Niguma on at least two occasions. Marpa is said to have visited Niguma each time he traveled to India. Sources say that he sought out Niguma on the advice of Naropa. The story is told thusly, in The Life of Marpa:
Naropa said, "On the shores of the poison lake in the South, in the charnel ground of Sosadvipa,[15] is Jnanadakini Adorned with Bone Ornaments. Whoever encounters her is liberated. Go before her and request the Catuhpitha. You can also request of the kusulus there whatever teachings you desire."
Having arrived in the charnel grounds at Sosadvipa, Marpa met this yogini, who was living in a woven grass dome. offering her a mandala of gold, he supplicated her. She joyfully gave him the full abhiseka and oral instructions on Catuhpitha.
Another source says that Marpa's first visit to Niguma was suggested by Naropa and that a later visit to Niguma was suggested by Shantibhadra. During the first meeting, Marpa received the Catuhpitha empowerment and instructions. During his second visit with Niguma, he received prophecy about meeting Naropa again, even though Naropa had already died.
Khyungpo Neljor
Niguma had many important students during her lifetime. The Tibetan meditation master Khyungpo Neljor (Wylie: khyung po rnal 'byor) stands out both for his intensive travel to seek teachings and transmissions from qualified masters and also for receiving the entire corpus of teachings from Niguma that would become the basis of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage. Khyungpo Neljor traveled to Nepal and India seeking teachings and transmissions from a variety of teachers, including Niguma. Some of Niguma's realization, and teaching style, can be seen in the description of Khyungpo Neljor meeting Niguma for the first time. While in India studying with various teachers, Khyungpo Neljor asked those he met if there were any teachers who had met the Buddha Vajradhara. He was told that Niguma had. So, he sought out Niguma in order to receive even higher levels of teaching from her. He found the dakini Niguma in the Sosa charnal ground of eastern India.[18] It is traditional for a student to request teachings and transmissions three times before they are bestowed. When Khyungpo Neljor first requested transmissions, Niguma is said to have replied in the code-language of the dakinis: "I am a flesh-eating dakini!" One source says that she claimed to be the queen of the cannibals. Finally when Khyungpo Neljor again asked for transmissions, Niguma demanded gold from him. He had been traveling with great amounts of gold in order to make offerings to any teacher he met. When he offered the gold to Niguma, she threw it up into the air and it scattered throughout the forest. Then,
... her retinue of ḍākinī formed a maṇḍala, bestowing on Khyungpo Naljor the initiation of the Illusory Body (sgyu lus) and Dream Yoga, two sections that make up the Nigu Chodruk (ni gu chos drug), or Six Yogas of Niguma. Niguma then transported him to a golden mountain summit where she bestowed the complete Six Yogas, the Dorje Tsikang (rdo rje tshig rkang) and the Gyuma Lamrim (sgyu ma lam rim).[18]
Khyungpo Naljor then returned to Tibet, and established a monastery at Zhangzhong in the Shang region in western Tsang. This was his main seat, and he became known as the Lama of Shang. Although he was reputed to have founded hundreds of monasteries and had thousands of students, he passed the teachings of Niguma to only one of his students, Mochok Rinchen Tsondru. The Shangpa lineage is often referred to as the "secret lineage" because Niguma instructed Khyungpo Neljor to transmit the teachings to only one student for the first seven generations beginning with Vajradhara and Niguma. Niguma then passed the lineage to Khyungpo Neljor who passed it to Mokchokpa Rinchen Tsondru (1110-1170). After that, Niguma's lineage went to Wonton Kyergngpa (or Chokyi Senge, 1143–1216), Sangye Nyenton (or Rigongpa, 1175-1247/1255?), and Drogon Sangye Tonpa (1207-1278). At this point, the lineage stream was opened up and teachings and practices were given to many others.
Thang Tong Gyalpo
The famous architect, scholar, and yogi Thang Tong Gyalpo (1385–1464CE[20] or 1361–1485CE[21]) was one of Niguma's students,[22] yet in a unique way. He was instructed by Niguma in a vision two to three centuries after she lived. He is well known for being a great Buddhist adept, a yogi, physician, blacksmith, architect, and a pioneering civil engineer. He is considered a reincarnation of Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen and founded the Iron Chain lineage (Wylie: thang lugs) of the Shangpa Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism which was founded by Niguma.