Dharmapalas (Cham dance)
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The main Cham dancers portray Dharmapalas or Wrathful Deities. The dharmapalas are ‘protectors of the law’ and in Tibetan are called chos kyong. Many of the Wrathful Deities were brought from India when Buddhism came to Tibet. Others were originally Bon deities or mountain gods / local spirits who were put under oath by Padmasambhava or others to protect the Buddhist dharma.
The most common and popular dharmapalas are (Tibetan name follows / in italics):
a. Yama / Choe jia
b. Begtse / Begtse
c. Vaishravana / Namse (also known as Jambhala, or Kubera)
d. Mahakala / Gonpo (also called nagpo chenpo)
e. Shri Devi / Palden Lhamo
f. Hayagriva / Tam drin
g. Yamantaka / Jam yang