Begtse (; "Begtse the Great Coat of Mail") is a

dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of ...

and the lord of war in

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

, originally a pre-Buddhist war god of the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

Name

The name Begtse () is a loanword from Mongolian , meaning " coat of mail". He is also given the name and

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

Jamsaran (), meaning "Great Coat of Mail", which is a translation of the Mongolian.

Description

Begtse has red skin and orange-red hair, two arms (as opposed to other

Mahākāla Mahākāla (, ) is a deity common to Hinduism and Buddhism. In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as a '' Dharmapāla'' ("Protector of the Dharma") and a wrathful manifestation of a Buddha, while in Hinduism, Mahākāla is a fierce manifestatio ...

s, who have four or six), three blood-shot eyes and is wielding a sword in his right hand. He also holds a human heart in his right hand. In the stock of his right arm, he holds a bow and arrow and a halberd with bannet. He wears a chainmail shirt, which gave rise to his name, ''Jamsaran''. He wears a Mongolian helmet with a crown of five skulls and four banners in the back. He is also accompanied by his consort, Rikpay Lhamo, and his main general, Laihansorgodog. They are surrounded by Jamsaran's satellites, the twenty-nine butchers.

Culture

Jamsaran is represented in Mongolian, and to a lesser extent Tibetan,

Cham dance The cham dance () entry: 'cham. is a lively masked and costumed dance associated with some sects of Tibetan Buddhism and Buddhist festivals. The dance is accompanied by music played by bhikkhu, monks using traditional Tibetan musical instruments ...

Citations

General and cited references

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External links