A ''dharmapāla'' (, , ja, 達磨波羅, 護法善神, 護法神, 諸天善神, 諸天鬼神, 諸天善神諸大眷屬) is a type of wrathful god in

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

. The name means "''

dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

'' protector" in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

, and the ''dharmapālas'' are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of ''dharmapala'', Worldly Guardians (''

lokapala Lokapāla ( sa, लोकपाल), Sanskrit and Pāli for "guardian of the world", has different uses depending on whether it is found in a Hindu or Buddhist context. * In Hinduism, lokapāla refers to the Guardians of the Directions asso ...

'') and Wisdom Protectors (''jnanapala''). Only Wisdom Protectors are enlightened beings.

Description

A protector of Buddhist

is called a ''dharmapala''. They are typically

wrathful deities In Buddhism, wrathful deities or fierce deities are the fierce, wrathful or forceful (Tibetan: ''trowo'', Sanskrit: ''krodha'') forms (or "aspects", "manifestations") of enlightened Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or Devas (divine beings); normally the sam ...

, depicted with terrifying iconography in the

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

and tantric traditions of Buddhism. The wrathfulness is intended to depict their willingness to defend and guard Buddhist followers from dangers and enemies. The '' Aṣṭagatyaḥ'' (the eight kinds of nonhuman beings) is one category of ''dharmapālas'', which includes the

Garuda Garuda ( Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garu ...

Deva Deva may refer to: Entertainment * ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film * ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film * ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film * Deva (2007 Telugu film) * ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film * Deva ...

Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Ri ...

Yaksha The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in ...

Gandharva A gandharva () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Dharmic religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they are ...

Asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

, Kinnara and Mahoraga. In

Vajrayana Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

and thangka depictions, ''dharmapala'' are fearsome beings, often with many heads, many hands, or many feet. ''Dharmapala'' often have blue, black or red skin, and a fierce expression with protruding fangs. Although ''dharmapala'' have a terrifying appearance, they only act in a wrathful way for the benefit of sentient beings. The devotional worship of ''dharmapālas'' in the Tibetan tradition is traceable to early 8th-century.

Tibetan Buddhism

There are many different ''dharmapalas'' in

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

. Each school has its own principle ''dharmapalas'' and most monasteries have a dedicated ''dharmapāla'' which was originally comparable to a

genius loci In classical Roman religion, a ''genius loci'' (plural ''genii locorum'') was the protective spirit of a place. It was often depicted in religious iconography as a figure holding attributes such as a cornucopia, patera ( libation bowl) or sna ...

. The many forms of Mahakala are emanations of Avalokiteshvara. Kalarupa and

Yamantaka Yamāntaka ( sa, यमान्तक Yamāntaka) or Vajrabhairava (; ; ko, 대위덕명왕 ''Daewideok-myeongwang''; ja, 大威徳明王 ''Daiitoku-myōō''; mn, Эрлэгийн Жаргагчи ''Erlig-jin Jarghagchi'') is the "destroyer of ...

are considered by practitioners to be emanations of

Manjushri Mañjuśrī (Sanskrit: मञ्जुश्री) is a ''bodhisattva'' associated with '' prajñā'' (wisdom) in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His name means "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit. Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller name of Mañjuśrīkumāra ...

the

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

Wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledg ...

. Principal wisdom protector ''dharmapalas'' include: * Prana Atma (Tib. ''Begtse'') * Ekajaṭī (Tib. ''ral chig ma'') * Mahakala (Tib. ''Nagpo Chenpo'') *

Shri Devi ''Shri'' (named after Palden Lhamo, a Buddhist deity) is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur discovered in the Barun Goyot Formation in Khulsan, Mongolia. The fossil remains of ''Shri'' date back to the Late Cretaceous period. The type a ...

(Tib. Palden Lhamo) *

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...

(Tib. ''Shinje'') Other ''dharmapalas'' include: * Citipati *

Mahakali Mahakali () is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal power, time, life, death, and both rebirth and liberation. She is the cons ...

(Tib. ''Shinje Shed'') *

Hayagriva Hayagriva, also spelled Hayagreeva ( sa, हयग्रीव IAST , ), is a Hindu deity, the horse-headed avatar of Vishnu. The purpose of this incarnation was to slay a danava also named Hayagriva (A descendant of Kashyapa and Danu), ...

(Tib. ''Tamdrin'') * Vaisravana (Tib. ''Kubera'') *

Rāhula , sa, Rāhula-bhadra; 2. , birth_date = , birth_place = Kapilavastu , death_date = , death_place = Sources differ , title = Patriarch of the Dharma (East Asian Buddhism) , predecessor ...

(Tib. ''gza'') * Vajrasādhu (Tib. ''Dorje Legpa'') *

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp ...

(Tib. "Tshangs Pa") * Maharakta (Tib. ''tsog gi dag po, mar chen'') * Kurukulla (Tib. '' rig che ma'') * Vajrayaksa (Takkiraja) (Tib. ''du pai gyal po'') The main functions of a ''dharmapāla'' are said to be to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent spiritual practitioners from attaining spiritual realizations, as well as to foster the necessary conditions for their practice.

Chinese Buddhism

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...

, the

Twenty-Four Protective Deities The Twenty-Four Protective Deities or the Twenty-Four Devas ( Chinese: 二十四諸天; pinyin: ''Èrshísì Zhūtiān''), sometimes reduced to the Twenty Protective Deities or the Twenty Devas ( Chinese: 二十諸天; pinyin: ''Èrshí Zhūtiā ...

or the Twenty-Four Devas ( Chinese: 二十四諸天;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: ''Èrshísì Zhūtiān'') are a group of gods who are venerated as ''dharmapālas.'' In addition,

Wisdom King A Wisdom King (Sanskrit: विद्याराज; IAST: ''Vidyārāja'', ) is a type of wrathful deity in East Asian Buddhism. Whereas the Sanskrit name is translated literally as "wisdom / knowledge king(s)," the term '' vidyā'' in Vajraya ...

s such as

Acala or Achala ( sa, अचल, "The Immovable", ), also known as (, "Immovable Lord") or (, "Noble Immovable Lord"), is a wrathful deity and ''dharmapala'' (protector of the Dharma) prominent in Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism., Jp. r ...

, Ucchusma,

Mahamayuri Mahamayuri ( sa, महामायूरी ("great peacock"), ''Kǒngquè Míngwáng'', vi, Khổng Tước Minh Vương, ja, 孔雀明王, ''Kujaku Myōō'', ko, 공작명왕 ''Gongjak Myeongwang''), or Mahāmāyūrī Vidyārājñī is a b ...

and

are venerated as ''dharmapālas'' as well.

Shingon Buddhism

In Japanese

Shingon Buddhism Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...

, a descendant of Tangmi, or

Chinese Esoteric Buddhism Chinese Esoteric Buddhism refers to traditions of Tantra and Esoteric Buddhism that have flourished among the Chinese people. The Tantric masters Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra, established the Esoteric Buddhist ''Zhenyan'' (, "true ...

, ''dharmapālas'' such as

and

are classified as

s. Other ''dharmapālas'', notably Mahakala, belong to the Deva realm, the fourth and lowest class in the hierarchy of honorable beings.

Related deities

In Tibetan Buddhism, there are two other classes of defender, the lokapālas and

Kshetrapala Kshetrapala ( Pronounced: Xetra pala) is a guardian deity in Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism. According to Hinduism and Hindu mythology, Kshetrapala, that is, the lord of the farmland, is a deity who was originally a deity of the farmland, particu ...

Papiya,曼荼羅 GIALABA
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Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

and

Hachiman In Japanese religion, ''Yahata'' (八幡神, ancient Shinto pronunciation) formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman (八幡神, Japanese Buddhist pronunciation) is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements ...

are also known as defenders.

References

Bibliography

* Kalsang, Ladrang (1996). ''The Guardian Deities of Tibet'' Delhi: Winsome Books. (Third Reprint 2003) . * Linrothe, Rob (1999). ''Ruthless Compassion: Wrathful Deities in Early Indo-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist Art'' London: Serindia Publications. . * De Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Rene (1956). ''Oracles and Demons of Tibet''. Oxford University Press. Reprint Delhi: Books Faith, 1996 - . Reprint Delhi: Paljor Publications, 2002 - .

External links

Buddhist Protectors
- outline page at Himalayan Art Resources
Citipati Buddhist Protector
- Citipati Ritual Mask {{Buddhism topics