THE PROTECTIVE DEITIES THEIR CLASSIFICATION, APPEARANCE AND ATTRIBUTES

To protect the Buddhist religion and its institutions against adversaries, as well as to preserve the integrity of its teachings is a task assigned, in accordance with precepts common to the various sects of Tibetan Buddhism, to an important group of deities, best known under the name chos skyong (Skt. dharmapala, dvarapala), “protectors of the religious law”.

Other appellations frequently given to the gods and goddesses of this particular group, are bstan srung ma, “guardians of the Buddhist doctrine”, or simply srung ma, “guardians” - though under the latter term, in more colloquial usage, sometimes also harmful, non-Buddhist spirit^s are understood - , and dam can, “those bound by an oath”, a title given primarily to originally non-Buddhist deities who were later subdued and compelled to assume the position of protectors of the Buddhist religion. In accordance with the duties they have to fulfil, the dharmapalas are usually depicted in a fierce aspect, brandishing weapons and crushing the human or supernatural enemies of Buddhism under their feet;.

The group of protectors and guardian deities, which comprises some of the best-known gods and goddesses of the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon, is considered to be divided into two main branches: firstly the powerful, high-ranking deities, known as the 'jig rten las 'das pad srung ma, i.e. the gods and goddesses who have passed beyond the six spheres of existence; to this group belong “all the protective deities of the eighth, ninth and tenth rank”, as my Tibetan informants explained it.

Secondly those deities who are still residing within the spheres inhabited by animated beings and taking an active part in the religious life of Tibet, most of them assuming from time to time possession of mediums who act then as their moulhpieces. These gods and goddesses, known as the ’jig rten pa' srung ma or jig rten ma ’das pa' srung ma, are also frequently called dregs pa, “the haughty ones”, an expression derived from the fact that most of the deities of this class are depicted with a haughty-fierce facial expression.

The by far greater part of deities belonging to the two above mentioned branches, is recognized and worshiped by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, only a smaller number of gods and goddesses being claimed to be special protectors of the precepts of one or the other sect.

Thus Pe har, a well- known ancient god of the branch styled ’jig rten pa'i srung ma, occupies a prominent position in the religious systems of all Buddhist schools of Tibet, while on the other hand rDo rje shugs Idan, another important god of the same branch, is apparently recognized only by the dGe lugs pa and Sa skya pa sects, especially the former claiming that he is a powerful guardian and protector of their doctrine against any detrimental influence coming from the side of the old rNying ma pa school.

The ’jig rten las ’das pa' srung ma and the ’jig rten pa' srung ma are sometimes collectively addressed as the phyi nang gsang ba' chos skyong; in this case, the ’jig rten pa' srung ma are identical to the phyi ba' chos skyong while the higher-ranking dharmapalas who stand already outside the wordly sphere, correspond to the nang and the gsang ba' chos skyong. Another classification unites both the ’jig rten las ’das pa' srung ma and the ’jig rten pa' srung ma under the term dkar phyogs skyong ba’i srunig ma, “guardians, protecting the white quarter”, standing in opposition to the nag phyogs gi bdud, “the Zdwd-devils of the black quarter”.

The latter term refers to the protective deities of the pre- Buddhist Bon . faith - known as the bon skyong or bon srung, who are classified into eigf^^t groups, known collectively as the bon skyong srung ma sde brgyad further many of the ancient local deities classified under the vague term yul lha, “country gods”, and also those spirits of the dead who are said to have failed to find another rebirth and have turned into malevolent roaming demons.

Rigs ’dzin brgyud kyi srung ma is a more general term, denoting all the guardian deities of the Buddhist creed, while the expression slob dpon brgyud kyi srung ma is an appellation referring particularly to the protective divinities of the religious preceptors. A more rarely encountered expression s^e^c^^fies the guardian deities as the dben gnas gnyan gyi srung ma. Also the following three terms,...apparently refering to various orders of legendary descent, are rarely used: phyi rabs brgyud kyi srung ma, dmu rabs brgyud kyi srung ma and gtsug rabs brgyud kyi srung ma. Several other terms, which can be applied to both the protective deities

who passed beyond the six spheres of existence and also to those still taking a direct part in the religious life of Tibetan Buddhism, should be -annaoned here as well. Thus the expression skyes bu chenpo’i srung ma, ‘guardians of the great saints”, is a title by which sometimes high- ranking protectors of the religious law are addressed. According to the special protective tasks, which various of the srung ma have to fulfil, they are also called the pha mes {brgyud) kyi srung ma, “ancestral protective deities”; under this name a deity is understood which a family regards as its special protector and its cult is therefore carried on for generations.

An example for the cult of a pha mes (brgyud) kyi srung ma is the worship of Shing bya can, a companion ofPe har, in his capacity as a protective deity of the Minyag {Mi nyag) province, alleged to be the ancestral home of the Sikkim royal family. Further, the title mtshams igyi) srung {ma), “border guardian”, is given to those protective deities, who are believed to have their abode at some locality close to the Tibetan border and whose special task it is to prevent hostile foreigners from entering the Forbidden Land. The term gnas srung refers to those deities who guard the holy places of pilgrimage.

The above division is, however, not to be regarded as a rigid system. The existence in the class of the ’jig rten pa’i srung ma, though it may extend over periods beyond human comprehension, is believed to be limited and subject to the karmic law, all the deities of this group passing eventually, by the power of the merits which they acquired by protecting Tibetan Buddhism, into the rank of the ’jig rten las ’das pa’i srung ma. While the ascent into this higher class is said to be a progress of infinite slowness, if judged by human standards of time, the number of the jig rten pa'i srung ma by comparison increases rapidly due to the circumstance that many harmful spirits of the class called nag phyogs gi bdud are still being conquered and changed into protectors of the Buddhist creed by appropriate ceremonies of the Tibetan Buddhist priesthood.

Most of the dharmapalas are said to be wrathful deities and only a few are believed to appear in a peaceful mood. But even in the case of the latter group the sadhanas often mention that the peaceful dharmapalasare of an instable nature and that they are apt to assume suddenly a ferocious disposition. The wrathful protective deities are mostly described as figures possessing stout bodies, short but thick and strong limbs and many of them have several heads and a great number of hands and feet. The colour of their bodies and faces is frequently compared with the characteristic hue of clouds, precious stones, etc:. Thus we often read in the sadhanas that one or the other dharmapala is black “like the cloud which appears at the end of a kalpa”, “like rain-clouds”, “like the ha la poison”, “like the eye-medicine (mig smart)”, “like, the bung ba stone”, blue “like an emerald” and white “like a snowy mountain”, “like a mountain of crystal” or “like the lustre produced when the rays of the rising sun strike a pile of crystal”.

The yellow colour is compared to that of pure gold and the red colour of some of the dharmapalas is supposed to be “like the hue produced when the sun rises and its rays strike a huge mountain of coral”. The sadhanas often mention that the body of a ferocious protective deity is smeared with ashes taken from a funeral pyre and with sesame oil or that the skin of a wrathful god or goddess is covered with grease-stains, blood spots and shining specks of human fat. Many of the guardian-goddesses, especially those of the tna mo type, are pictured as ugly women with long, emaciated breasts and huge sexual organs, while only a few are said to have the lovely appearance of “a girl who has just passed her sixteenth year of age”.

The faces of many protectors of religion possess a typical wrathful expression: the mouth is contorted to an angry smile, from its comers protrude long fangs - often said to be of copper or iron -, or the upper teeth gnaw the lower lip. A “mist of illnesses” comes forth from the mouth and a terrific storm is supposed to be blowing from the nostrils of the flat nose. The protruding, bloodshot eyes have an angry and staring expression and usually a third 'eye is visible in the middle of the forehead.

The hair is sometimes loose and clotted with grease, but more frequently bound together into a tuft and a snake is often used as a ribbon. Occasionally, the sadhanas mention that a certain dharmapala has a single lock, mostly hanging towards the left side, or nine locks of iron or, more frequently, the hair is plaited and built up into a toupet adorned variously with pearls, turquoise, gems, golden flaming bunder- bolts, tortoise-shells, but also with pieces of iron and even with black rocks. Some deities have up to eight such toupets. Thus e.g. the Bon work gTsang ma klu ’bum mentions on fol. 58 a-b eight kings of the water-spirits (klu) possessing characteristic toupets:

A characteristic hairdo, which only very few dharmapalas possess, is a toupet from which a conch-shell is protruding. Finally we may mention that a few minor gods and goddesses are supposed to have snakes instead of hair. .

Several protective deities are pictured completely naked, but the majority appear dressed, though their garments vary from a simple loin-cloth or “rags, such as are worn by low-class people’’ to voluminous garments of heavy cloth and silk. Mostly the skin of a tiger serves as a loin-cloth, but in other . cases the sadhanas mention that the loin-cloth of a particular dharmapala has been made of a rough material called re sde, from the skin of an ox or from a freshly-drawn yak skin. A peculiar loin-cloth worn by deities of Bon origin consists of one thousand khyung wings or of human hearts. Some of the dharmapalas wear sacerdotal garments (chos gos) and a few are dressed in the traditional costume of the Tibetan aristocracy.

Many wear dresses with a train (To/ ber), made of heavy silk and in various colours, and cloaks (ber). A few are dressed in kneelong trousers (ang ring). The cloaks are mostly of silk, but others consist of hides drawn from horses of an excellent breed (gyi ling), vulture feathers and even of tortoise-shells, human heads and lightning. A particular coat frequently mentioned is the za 'og gi ber chen, made of heavy silk. Another special dress is the black garment with long sleeves as worn by the “black hat” (zhva nag) magicians. The various dresses are held together by a girdle either of silk, or of jewels, gold and turquoise, or by a silken sash. Several ancient protective deities have a belt consisting of bowels or of snakes and SitDevi and Mahdkala have even the “king of the nagas*' wound around the body as a girdle.

The Tibetan texts sometimes expressly state that the cloak of a deity ' has been folded in front either three, four, or nine times. The fur-coats (slog pa, slag pa, thul pa), which many protective deities wear, are made from the skin of a “blue lion”, a bear, a cross-breed between the broad-headed tiger (gung) and a leopard, or even of fire and air (me rlung gi thul pa), etc. A peculiar fur-coat is the bdud kyi slog pa, the “fur-coat of the bdud”. But on the other hand the skins of a particular class of bdud seem to serve, according to Tibetan belief, as the dress of certain Bon deities, judging from the expression gnam gyi bdud Ipags.

Mahakala and several other prominent dharmapalas have the skin of an elephant as a cover on their backs; others wear a human skin as an upper garment and one is even dressed in the dried carcass of an animal. A peculiar type of garment seems to be the go zu, a term not registered in the dictionaries. The go zu, according to Tibetan texts, can consist of yak or sheep skins, but also of gold, mu men stone, glacier ice, and white clouds. Also the shape of the dress called go chog, which in some cases is supposed to consist of clouds, as well as the forms of the dresses called ral ka and ka sha still remain to be explained. Various male protective deities, especially the mountain-gods and the dharmapalas of the dpa* bo ot “heroic” type, wear an armour said to have been made of various kinds of material: gold, silver, copper, coral, j'ewels, crystal, cornelian, rhino-leather or the shells of a scorpion and - of conch-shells. The joints which hold together the laminae of the armour are supposed to have been made from the neckfeathers of a peacock:. Also the helmet, in some cases decorated with triangular flags, is usually made of the same material as the harness. A peculiar kind of armour, sometimes mentioned in Tibetan works, is the “harness an helmet in the, style of the dmu demons”.

The dharmapalas of the dpd bo type wear high boots (lham), mostly of the Mongolian fashion (Hor lham, Sog lham). These are usually said to have been made of brown or red-coloured leather, while in the case of the dharmapala mGon po am gho ra they are supposed to consist of copper. To the outfit of the “heroic” gods belong further a quiver of tiger-skin, called stag gdong, a bow-case made from the skin of a leopard and known as the gztg shubs and a shield of rhino-leather (bse phub), usually carried on the back, while on the breast hangs a breast-plate or “mirror” (me long) with the “seed syllable” (sa bon) of the particular deity written on its centre. Several minor protective deities and their acolytes are described as wearing the attire of men or women of the Mon (Mon) region. The- rather vague term Mon is applied to many of the tribes living on the southern slopes of the Himalaya, between the borders of the Snowy Land2 and the northern brim of the Indian plains, and who are regarded 1 Kfa ba can gyi yul, poetical name for Tibet. by the Tibetans as more civilized than the “savages”, the Kla klo or Klo pa, inhabiting the same area.

Sometimes, the name Mon is also used in a more accurate sense as the appellation of the district, known by its full name as Mon Tawang (Mon rta wang), which lies between the eastern border of Bhutan {Brug yul) and the Dafla country of northern Assam. The Monpas of this area speak a dialect, related to the Bhutanese idiom and they stand in trade relations with the marts of Assam as well as with those of Central Tibet. The name Mon is also given to a group of tribal people living on the eastern bank of the Tsangpo {gTsang po, Brahmaputra) in the southern region of the PemakO {Padma bkod) district, further to the Lepchas,3 the aboriginal inhabitants of Sikkim {Bras Ijongsf - known otherwise as Rongpa {Rang pa) - and to some of the tribes inhabiting Nepal {Bal yul). The Tibetan geographical work ’Dzam gling rgyas bshad? lists in its chapter on Nepal the Mon tribes as a separate group, besides the Nepalis {Bal po), Indians {rGya gar pa) - among which the Gurkha (Gorkha) are included the Tibetans {Bodpa), and lastly the savages {Klo pa).

Most of the Monpas profess their own tribal creeds which were sometimes rather sweepingly identified as “Bon practices”. Such inaccurate statements are not only to be found in occidental publications, but also in Tibetan works. Thus the Dzam gling rgyas bshad, in its description of Nepal, mentions that a group of the Mon people of this country, known by the name Gyu rin, are to their greater part adherents of the Bon or that they believe in the teachings of the “old secret mantras” (gsang sngags snga gyur). Another section of Nepal’s Mon population, called Ma kra and also the Kla klo, living close to the Ma kra and known as the Kha si, are said to believe - according to the Tibetan work here quoted - neither in the teachings of Hinduism nor in those of the Buddhists.

The dress of the various tribes, whom the Tibetans call collectively Monpas, is of course far from being uniform. We may give here, however, at least a few examples. As regards the people of Mon Tawang,8 the men dress in garments of dyed or undyed woollen cloth, reaching to the knees. This dress, which is cut in a little to the height of the thighs, is held together by a woollen girdle. A man will usually carry a straight knife and sometimes also a long pipe made of wood and bamboo, both objects being stuck into the girdle. Very characteristic is a round flat cushion with a diameter measuring some thirteen inches, made of black goat or yak hair and worn in the back, suspended from the belt. This ' cushion reminds one strongly of the peculiar, horn-shaped “tails” made of goat hair and worn by the Dallas and by some of the tribes inhabiting Eastern Bhutan.’ Another characteristic part of the Mon Tawang costume is a black skull-cap, manufactured out of the same material as the before-mentioned cushions, with a few stiff fringes.

As regards the Lepchas, the women dress in a gown of homespun linen held together in the middle by a girdle or sash and on the shoulders by two huge silver pins connected with a small chain. Unmarried women wear atop of this garment a short jacket, mostly red in colour, while married women dress in a long black coat with a red or green hem. The dress, worn by Lepcha men, is kneelong. Its cut, colour and pattern are somewhat similar to the traditional costume of the Bhutanese. The men carry, suspended from the girdle, a knife (ban) or sword in a scabard, which is open on one side. The typical headdress of the Lepcha men, scarcely used anymore, is a hat made of reed, creepers and bamboo.

Hats of the same type are also worn by other sub-Himalayan tribes, e.g. by the tribal people living to the east of Diran, on the Assam-Tibetan border, whom the Tibetans classify as Lopas (Klo pa).s - In this context we may mention already here that the hat worn by some of the protective deities which belong to the so-called sKu Inga group is also described in several iconographic texts as being a hat, made either of reed, cane, or bamboo.

Thus in a work of the rDzogs chen pa sect the headdress of Pe har, the chief ’jig rten pa’i srung ma, is described either as a cane-hat with fringes all around and having the form of a parasol (tshar zhu gdugs thabs can), as a reed-hat with a border of black silk (snyug zhva dar nag thib), or as a sag zhu. The latter term would refer, however, either to a hat of a brownish colour or to a fur-hat. My Tibetan informants, when explaining to me the meaning of the two terms mentioned in the first place, stated expressly that in this case the headdress of Pe bar is “similar to the bamboo or reed-hats worn by some of the Monpas”.

So far, I have seen only once a Tibetan painting on which Pe har was shown - in a two-handed form - wearing to all appearances a hat made of bamboo. By far more frequently this dharmapala is portrayed wearing a broad-brimmed red hat with a green border, or sometimes a dark green hat and bearing on top a human skull, very similar therefore to the headdress of the zhva nag or “black-hat” magicians and dancers. The Tibetan texts utilized in this publication give only scanty information on the appearance of the Monpas: they merely mention that the Monpas are dressed in tiger or bear skins and that they wear huge earrings. Some of the deities represented as men from Mon are armed with the “black sword of Mon” {Mon gri nag po) or they carry sickles.

We mentioned already that some of the dharmapalas wear helmets and also that others, e.g. Pe bar, have a hat called sag zhu. Perhaps identical with the sag zhu is the theb zhu, made of black silk, which is being regarded as the typical hat worn by the divinities of the rgyal po class. A few protectors of religion are supposed to wear hats of felt, similar to those used by the nomads of the northeastern border regions of the Snowy Land. Other types of hat worn by the protective deities and their companions are the blue-coloured ’o bas zhva or 'ob zhu, the srog zhu which has a crest of five lobes - in the case of gShen rab(s) mi bo,9 the legendary chief propagator of the Bon creed, the srog zhu is supposed- to consist of jewels a “conch-shell hat” or dung zhu, and the srid pa'i zhva mo, a broad-brimmed hat with three superimposed knobs on top and the symbols of the sun and the moon in front.

Many protective deities, especially those of Tibetan origin, wear a kind of turban (thod), made of silks of various colours, wound in some cases around a helmet. The colour of the turban corresponds often to the characteristic hue of the particular deity; thus e.g. the btsan demons wear a red turban, the bdud have mostly a black thod, the lha a white one, etc. Peculiar turbans are the grib thod nag po, the “black turban of pollution”, and the thod consisting of bowels and snakes. One type of turban is decorated with the symbols of the eight planets.

The headdress most frequently worn by the higher-ranking wrathful dharmapalas of both sexes is a crown decorated with five human skulls (figs Inga khro bo}, while some protective deities occupying a lower position wear a diadem with three skulls or with a single skull in front. Other dharmapalas wear diadems of gold, silver, and jewels, which are sometimes decorated with the symbols of the sun and the moon or with thunderbolts, and further ribbons to which the blossoms of the udumbara tree have been fastened. Occasionally, a helmet or turban is also decorated with an aigrette of peacock or vulture feathers or with triangular flags. The protective deities of the ferocious type are adorned with ornaments made of human bone and garlands consisting of fifty — occasionally of fifty-one - freshly severed human heads. To the adornments of such gods and goddesses belong green necklaces, garlands formed by a thousand suns and moons and wreathes consisting of turquoise, gold, and flowers.

Some wear the meditation-rope (sgom thag) across the breast. The bangles, which many of the dharmapalas are supposed to carry, are said to consist of gems, turquoise, gold and silver. Some have their limbs decorated with fetters of iron and a few wear bracelets with bells. Their earrings are of conch-shell or of precious stones and metals; in some cases the texts give a few more details, e.g. that the earrings are red-coloured or that they are swastika-shaped.

A set of peculiar earrings is supposed to be worn by the goddesses dPa! Idan lha mo and gSer gyi spu gri ma: in one ear they carry a snake and in the other a lion.

A considerable number of dharmapalas are depicted in a standing or dancing attitude, their feet resting on an open lotus, on a prostrate corpse, or on defeated inimical gods and goddesses. Other protective deities, however, are pictured riding. The variety of animals, which the dharmapalas are supposed to ride, is considerable. The colour of their mounts is being compared to that of a conch-shell, of gold, turquoise, crystal, coral, etc., some texts even alleging that the animals actuary consist of these materials. Many dharmapalas are supposed to ride on birds, as crows, ravens, the garuda and the khyung, parrots, vultures, etc.

The horses, which serve as their mounts, vary in colour. Very frequently mentioned is the “black horse of the bdud which has white heels” (bdud rta nag po rting dkar, perhaps identical with the bra nag rting dkar). According to Tibetan custom a black horse with white heels should never be ridden by a priest, while on the other hand it is supposed to be the best mount a warrior can choose. The btsan are believed to ride a red horse with a white spot (gva pa) on the forehead. Tibetans also pay attention to it whether a horse has a gva pa like the mount of the btsan: if the gva pa is situated high up on the front of the head it is regarded as an auspicious sign. On the other hand a horse 4hich has the gva pa close to the muzzle will certainly bring bad luck.

The horse of the klu is the klu rta, also called the “blue water-horse adorned with snakes” (chu rta sngon po sbrul gyis rgyan) and the dmu ride the dmu rta. Other types of horses, mentioned in Tibetan texts, are e.g. a golden horse, a horse of crystal, a yellow horse with a mane of turquoise, a red horse with white heels, the “black horse of pollution” (grib rta nag po), a black horse with a red muzzle, a cherry-brown horse with a black back, a red horse with felt-coloured spots, a brownish horse with white heels, etc. The mount of the srin po demons, who are nowadays identified with the rdkfasas of India, is the srin po' bong bu, mostly described as a red ass which has a white belly. Similar mounts are a black mule with a yellow muzzle, the three-legged mule ridden by dPal Idan lha mo, a kyang with a white muzzle and a cross-breed between a mule and a kyang.

A typical Tibetan animal frequently used as a mount by deities of truly Tibetan origin is the yak. Tibetan texts describe this vahana as “a young yak bull”, “the great black wild yak”, “the white yak of the lha, from whose muzzle and nostrils a snow-storm is blowing”, “the wild yak with nine horns”, “the white female hybrid yak”, “the hybrid yak of crystal”, “the yak of the dmu”, “the black yak with red eyes”, etc.

The elephant which some of the dharmapalas ride is variously described as having a long trunk or possessing six tusks, and its size is compared to that of a huge broken-off piece of a snowy mountain.

Other, frequently pictured vahanas, are bear (described as the “leathern female dred bear (bse dred mo)”, “the man-eating bear”, “the bear with white paws”, “the bear with a white spot”, “the black bear cub”, “the black bear with a yellow head”, etc.), stags (“the stag of conch-shell”, “the golden stag”, “the stag with ten-forked antlers”, “the stag of the bdud”), hinds (“the golden-coloured hind”, “the hind with coral-red hair”, “the hind of the sman goddesses”), a lion or lioness, especially the well-known and frequently depicted seng ge dkar mo g.yu ral can, the white lioness with turquoise-locks, tigers (“a tiger with golden hair”, “a tiger with varicoloured stripes”), buffaloes, water-bulls (“the red bull of the klu” (klu glang dmar po), “the wild bull with curved horns”, “the young bullock striped like a tiger”), the turquoise-coloured dragon, the legendary makara (Tib. chu srin), “the great spotted leopard”, a brown billy goat, a camel, wolves, black dogs, black sheep with a white spot on the top of the head, a black wild boar, a “pig of iron”, a monkey, a rat, etc.

Mounts which are only rarely depicted are the “blue hare”, a “vixen of iron”, a scorpion, a poisonous snake, the “fish which is white like a conch-shell”, “the golden fish”, a khyung of crystal, “the black khyung with golden eyes” (identical with the mkha’ Iding nag po gser mig of the Bon), a marmot of conch-shell, a dog of turquoise, a rat of cornelian, etc.

Typical animals belonging to the sphere of Bon mythology are e.g. the red tiger with nine heads, the three-legged vixen of copper, the wild dog possessing nine tongues, the iron bitch with cornelian eyes, the nineheaded wild dog of copper, the golden wild dog with a hundred tongues, the nine-headed makara, the nine-headed tortoise, the fish with golden eyes, “the varicoloured planet-birds” (gzc’ bya khra bo), “the blue water- spirit birds” (klu bya sngon po), vultures of iron, black snakes of blood, black snakes with yellow eyes, dragons of iron, scorpions with yellow horns, black frogs with golden eyes, frogs of blood, yellow-eyed tadpoles, etc. To the same category belongs the yak with nine horns, mentioned already above. Some Bon deities ride even on a naked man with nine heads.

The majority of the attributes which the protective deities carry are arms destined to destroy the enemies of the Buddhist creed, the priests who break their religious vows and renegades. Their swords (ral gri) are claimed to have been made of iron, copper, crystal, gold or to consist even of the tongues of revived corpses. Some swords have a hilt in the shape of a scorpion and the blades of some are pictured aflame, e.g. in the case of the so-called “sword of wisdom” (ye shes ral gri).

Special types of swords are the “black sword of Mon” and the flaming rak$asa sword. The sabre (shang long), mostly said to consist of gold, is used less often. The knife (gri), occasionally supposed to be poisoned, is in some cases described as “the red knife of a butcher” (bshangri dmar po), A special kind of knife is the chu gri, which has a blade in the form of a wave. Important weapons are further the chopper (Tib. grig gug, Skt. karttrika) with a hilt in the shape of a thunderbolt, alleged to be used “to cut the life-roots of enemies and obstacle-creating demons”, and the razor (spu gri), sometimes claimed to have been made of gold or from a conch-shell.

The lances (mdung), which the dharmapalas carry, are believed to consist mostly of iron, copper, silver, gold, crystal, turquoise, or coral. Special kinds of lances mentioned in Tibetan books are the long lance made from the thighbone of a raksasi (srin mod rkang gi mdung ring), the btsan mdung which is one of the most important weapons the btsan demons carry: a red lance with red, bloodmoistened pendants; further the “red lance consisting of gems”, “the endlessly long banner of the dmu demons”, “the lance with five points” and “the white lance of the dbal” (dbal mdung dkar po), a lance used by Bon deities of the dbal class. The so-called bse mdung, verbatim “(rhino-)skin lance” or bse yi mdung dmar,■ “the red (rhino-)skin lance”, is described by the Tibetans as a lance with a shaft protected by a covering of rhino-skin.

The expression bse mdung,, however, might also mean a special kind of lance attributed to the bsve (sometimes written bse) demons; to the latter possibility seems to point the term bsve mdung, applied in Bon works. The banners (ra dar, ru mtshon) are in some cases described as the “banner adorned with the wish-granting jewel”, “the khyung banner” (khyung gi ru mtshon) - this is a banner with the figure of a khyung on the point of its shaft and very similar therefore to the various kinds of rgyal mtshan which we shall mention later on - and a “spotted banner”. A weapon not exactly defined is the shagti, which term can mean either “spear, lance, pike” or “sword”.10

An important Buddhist emblem is the so-called “banner of victory” or rgyal mtshan, Skt. dhvaja, occasionally named as the attribute of one or another protector of religion.

The term rgyal mtshan is also used for particular kinds of banners, carried by Bon deities. Most of the latter rgyal mtshan are supposed to consist of silk, but a few are said to have been made of human skins. The points of these banners carry the head or the whole figure of one of the following animals: makara, tiger, wolf, otter, goose - which is sometimes called the “bird of the gnyan demons” (gnyan bya) -, cat, peacock, frog, snake, scorpion, and tortoise. Accordingly, these kinds of rgyal mtshan are known as the chu srin gyi rgyal mtshan, stag gi rgyal mtshan,, spyang ki’i rgyal mtshan, sram kyi rgyal mtshan, ngang pa’i rgyal mtshan or gnyan bya ngang pa' rgyal mtshan, byi bla' rgyal mtshan, rma bya' rgyal mtshan, etc. The lha, which have been identified with the Indian devas, carry a white “banner of victory” called the lha' rgyal mtshan. Another special kind of “victory-banner” is the “great blood-rgvu/ mtshan" (khrag gi rgyal mtshan chen po).

Also the trident (rtse gsum) is a frequently used attribute of the dharmapalas. Sometimes the trident is adorned with thunderbolts and with colourful streamers of silk. A kind of trident or fork is also the zangs kyi sha zung, carried by Bon deities. Other weapons are a hatchet (dgra sta) or battle-axe - special types are the hatchet of the dbal11 (dbal gyi dgra sta) and the rgya sta hab chen - and the sickie (dgra zor or only zor) made of iron or gold; the thun zor on. the other hand, which some deities carry, is a special magic weapon. The hook (Tib. Icags kyu, Skt. ahkusa), said to be used by the protectors of religion “to bring into their power the three worlds” or “to tear out the hearts of infidels”, is claimed to consist of iron, as indicated already by the component Icags in the term Icags kyu, but occasionally a hook of gold is mentioned.

1. Bow and arrow are important weapons of the protective deities and the Tibetan works speak e.g. of a “black iron bow and an iron arrow”, “a bow of gold”, “a small arrow of gold and a bow of silver”, “the poisoned arrow with a black notch identical with the “arrow of the bdud with a black notch” (bdud mda' Itong nag) “the arrow and bow of the btsan’' (btsan mda dang btsan gzhu), “the arrow and bow of the dbal” (dbal gyi mda' gzhu), and the “arrow of blue lotus” (utpala'i mda').

3. The so-called “divination-arrow”12 {mda* dan) held by some cf the ancient Tibetan gods and goddesses is an important magic object, which we shall discuss in detail later on. A few dharmapalas, e.g. the god Tho ba ’jigs byed, the goddess Phun 'debs ma, and the god nDo nje legs pa wield a hammer, said to be of bronze. The dharmapalas also carry a great variety of clubs (dbyug to). Many of these are supposed to be of sandal-wood. Several clubs have a thunderbolt as the end of the handle, or they are studded with jewels. Special kinds of clubs are the beng, the emblem of the form of Mahakdla known as mGon po beng, the 'phrul gyi gandi carried across the forearms by the members of the Gur mgon group, a mummified corpse in the form of a club (zhing dbyug), the emblem of gShin nje (Skt. Yama).

5. The latter attribute is sometimes simplified to an ordinary club bearing a skull on top. Among the sticks, said to have been made of various kinds of wood, but also of coral, turquoise, etc., we may mention the stick carried by Pe har called bseg shing, supposed to have been made of a heavy kind of wood called sha na; it is said to resemble the so-called “rattling-staff” (mkhan gsil) carried by those dhanmapalas who are depicted in the shape of Buddhist priests. More rarely mentioned attributes of this type are further a stick bearing an iron wheel with eight spikes, a pestle, a sceptre of crystal, a three-forked stick (snid pa'i Idem shing), a horse-whip of cane or gold, a stake for empaling criminals and a pillar made of conch- shells. 6. A peculiar magic weapon is the so-called khnam shing, a magic notched stick, its main fat part being decorated with drawings or with a few cross-like notches. A few details about the khnam shing and several similar attributes will be given later on.

The so-called ba dan (Skt. pataka), a circular banner with pendants of silk, is an attribute carried by numerous dhanmapalas. The sadhanas differentiate various kinds of ba dan, mostly named after the colour of the silk-pendants. Several ba dan are even supposed to consist of air, fire, or water, and they are called accordingly the Hung gi ba dan, me’i ba dan, and chu'i ba dan. The emblem of the lha is the lha'i ba dan dkan po, while three forms of ba dan, carried by Bon deities, are the nam mkha’ ba dan, sna bntan ba dan, and the sha 'bal kha snid pa'i ba dan. It is difficult to say what these expressions mean.

Snares (zhags pa) are used by the protective deities to bind the infidels and the harmful demons, or to catch their “life-breath” and “life-power”. The snares have mostly a thunderbolt attached to each end. The red snare, which is an important weapon of the btsan, is called the btsan zhags dmar po, the black snare used by the bdud bears the name bdud zhags nag po - this snare is apparently identical with the “black snare consisting of poisonous snakes” (dug sbrul zhags pa nag po), used frequently by the bdud - and the white snare carried by some of the lha is known as the lha' zhags pa dkar po.

Of some snares the sddhanas claim that they consist of jewels (nor zhags), of lightning (glog zhags), air (rlung zhags), water (chu zhags), sun rays (nyi zer zhags pa), of hair (skra’i zhags pa), bowels (rgyu zhags; also called the btsan gyi rgyu zhags), and the snare of leather (bse’i zhags pa; compare, however, also with the explanation given on p. 15). A particular kind of snare is the “blue-red rope” (sngo dmar thag pa), carried by Bon deities.

The goddesses of the ma ma type are in some cases armed with a magic ball of thread (gru gu), while several gods and goddesses, who are believed to send illnesses, wield a leash causing diseases (nad zhags). More frequently the illnessbringing deities, especially the ma mo, carry the nad rkyal, a sack filled with the seeds of diseases, e.g. a sack full of the germs of leprosy (mdze nad kyi rkyal pa). Other goddesses hold a sack full of blood, a “water- sack” (chu'i rkyal pa), or a sack full of lightning and hail.

An important instrument used by the Tibetan exorcists and encountered also as an attribute of many dharmapalas is the magic dagger (Tib. phur bu, phur pa, Skit kila). The sadhanas mention a phur bu made of iron, or of copper, gold, turquoise, conch-shell, of sandal-wood and even of leather (bse’i phur bu). Two peculiar kinds of phur bu about which no details are yet available are the mchog phur and the bya rgod kyi phur bu.

Among the various vessels which the dharmapalas carry we may mention in the first place the skull cup (Tib. thodpa, Skt. kapala). The skull cups serve mostly as vessels for offering food and drink to the ferocious deities. They are supposed to contain human blood or “the blood of the four kinds of bdud”, warm human brain and blood, “the ampta of immortality”, also jewels, a gtar ma, freshly torn out human hearts, etc. Some works speak about a “huge red skull cup” and in connection with the description of the goddess dPal Idan lha mo the so-called nal thod is mentioned, a cup made from the skull of a child which had been born out of an incestuous union.

Other vessels, enumerated in the iconographic texts as the attributes of the dharmapalas, are “an iron bowl full ampta”, “an iron vessel filled with various liquids”, “a golden vessel full of amrta”, “a vessel full of chang” (Tibetan beer), “a vessel full of offerings”, “a vessel full of medicines”, “a vessel of crystal filled with amrta granting wisdom and life”, “a flat bowl (gshong) filled with various medicines and jewels”, “a vessel containing tea”, “a tshe bum filled with amrta in which the wish-granting tree is standing” - a similar object is the “skull cup full of amrta, into which a vessel with jewels has been immersed” further “a flat pan filled with food possessing a hundred tastes”, “a vessel filled with a fragraht liquid”, “a large iron pan as used for parching grain”, and lastly the par bu or spar bum of silver, said to be a kind of begging-bowl decorated with stripes and named in the sadhanas of Pe bar as a typical attribute of this dharmap&la.

Characteristic attributes carried by those protectors of religion, who are believed to be the owners of treasures, are a jewel — mostly the “wish-granting gem” (T'ib.yidbzhin norbu, Skt. cintamani), also called the “jewel fulfilling the nine kinds of wishes” -, a sack made from the skin of an ichneumon («e'« le' rkyal pa) and filled with gems, or, more frequently, an ichneumon from whose mouth a rain of jewels is falling (gter gyi ne’u le). Other emblems of this type of deity are a flat pan containing jewels (nor gshong) and a chest (sgrom bu), mostly made of turquoise and full of precious stones.

A few words should also be said about the musical instruments which some of the dharmapalas carry. We may mention the drum known- as damaru — made of two human craniums, in which case the drum is called thod rnga, or of catechu-wood the so-called “small drum” or rnga'u chung; other drums (rnga) are said to be made of crystal, coral, turquoise, gold, copper, iron, or leather, a trumpet manufactured from a human thighbone (rkang gling), a bell (dril bu), a conch-shell (dung dkar), a flageolet, and a trumpet. An ancient instrument carried by Bon deities is the gshang, a kind of bell of a low, broad shape. According to Tibetan texts the various gshang used by members of the Bon pantheon are made of conch-shell or copper.

The thunderbolt (Tib. rdo rje, Skt. vajra), one of the most important ritual objects used by the Buddhist priesthood, is also the attribute of many a dharmapala. The iconographic texts mention that the rdo rje is either five or nine-pointed and made of gold or meteoric iron. Some deities wield two crossed thunderbolts (rdo rje rgya gram).

Finally we may enumerate various attributes of the dharmapalas which we did not yet list above: a rosary of human skulls, torn out and blood-dripping hearts, bowels, the legs and aims of a man, the corpse of a child, a vermilion-coloured corpse, the severed head of an enemy, the head of a tiger, the image of a Buddha, the symbols of the sun and the moon, dice, a cocoa-nut, the citron (Tib. and Skt. bijapura), various flowers - especially the blue and red lotus a twig, ah ear of rice, a bushle of grass, a twig of the tree called klu shing, a mirror of silver (sometimes called the “mirror of karma" or “the mirror showing all happenings in the three worlds”), chains of various size, a flaming tooth, a torch, a wheel (of fire or air: me'i 'khor lo, rlung gi'khor lo), a firebrand of juniper wood, a flaming lump of iron, bellows, the horn of an antelope, a basket full of relics, a ladle of silver full of food, various kinds of brooms as e.g. a broom of' silver or the “black broom of pollution” (grib phyag nag po), silk scarfs - one of them being called the “black silk of pollution” (grib dar nag po) -, a fan, the kinds of gtor ma called mchod gtor and dug gtor,™ a censer and a butter-lamp, a swastika of turquoise (g.yu’i g.yung drung), a saw, etc.

Some deities are even supposed to hold in their hands a whole mountain, especially the legendary world-mountain Sumeru, or edifices, e.g. a palace, a black stupa. The attributes which some Bon divinities carry often remain unexplained due to the lack of precise information; such objects are e.g, the stag sgro, gcu sta, the'u, gze ma, chags shing (also: phyags shing of turquoise or copper), kha tse, khol ma sgra snyan, and bsve khab zang gder. - Sometimes the hand of the dharmapala rests in a ritual posture (Skt. mudra), most frequently in the tantric tarjam-mudra (Tib, sdig 'dzub phyag rgya).

As a short introduction to the monographic descriptions which follow we, may mention, that the residence of a fierce dharmapala is usually described as a palace or castle built out of skulls or bone and standing on a rock surrounded by a wild sea of blood. Especially in the case of ancient Tibetan deities this castle is supposed to have nine turrets.

Some Tibetan texts, e.g. one of the sadhanas of rDo rje shugs Idan, give a vivid and detailed picture of the way in which the palace of a wrathful dharmapala is furnished and of the manifold horrors which one would encounter there. On the other hand most of the peaceful deities are believed to dwell in a beautiful landscape, on an alpine meadow full of flowers and surrounded by magnificent trees.

A priest, when meditating upon a particular dharmapala, has first to imagine his residence and in it an open lotus, on which the vahana - if any - of the dharmapala is resting, and finally he has to imagine the dharmapala himself, whom he creates out of the corresponding “seed syllable”, in the shape described in the sadhana, together with a'l his chief and minor acolytes.

Many of the gods belonging to the class of protective deities are supposed to have a female consort (Tib. yum, Skt. sakti, sometimes called “secret consort”, Tib. gsang yum, Skt. guhya- sakti), with whom they are often shown in sexual union (Tib. yab yum, Skt. ^z/^rfwwrZdtfrz^^t^ti^^ic^ie) to express the tantiic idea of achieving deliverance by uniting “wisdom” (= the female principle) with the “method” (— the male principle). Some of the guardian gods and goddesses are supposed to form groups called “brotherhoods” and “sisterhoods”.

Many dharmapalas have their own “court”, which includes the so- called zhang blon,™ a “minister of interior” (nangblon), and a “minister of external affairs” (phyi blon), a commander-in-chief (dmag dpori), officers (las mkhan), messengers (pho nya) - these are frequently animals, called collectively the spyan gzigs - and groups of various companions (ru "dren pa), as: fully-ordained priests, black-hat magicians, armed men, black women, and youthful dancers. To the initiated, however, the various “brothers” and “sisters”, and even the officers, messengers, etc., are nothing else than the manifold reproductions or “emanations” (sprul pa) and the “emanations of the emanations” (sprul pad sprul pa) of the particular dharmapala on whom the priest meditates. They were produced at the own free will of this deity in order to be able to cope with the various tasks which a dharmapala has to carry out. The deity can therefore reabsorb them into its body at any time.