Wrathful deities

In Buddhism, wrathful deities are enlightened beings who take on wrathful forms in order to lead sentient beings to enlightenment. They are a notable feature of the iconography of Mahayana Buddhism and of Tibetan Buddhism, and other Vajrayana traditions in particular. A wrathful deity is often an alternative manifestation of a bodhisattva or other normally peaceful figure, making the Template:Wiki of all human vices and atrocities. True to their name, in Tibetan art, wrathful deities are presented as fearsome, Template:Wiki beings adorned with human skulls.

Categories

Wrathful deities can be divided into several categories:

• The Herukas (Tb. khrag 'thung, lit. "Template:Wiki drinker"), which are enlightened beings who adopt fierce forms to express their detachment from the world of ignorance.
• The Wisdom Kings (Sanskrit vidyarāja), known particularly as the protectors of the Five Dhyani Buddhas; more a feature of Japanese than Tibetan Buddhism
• The Protectors (Sanskrit pāla), usually subdivided into three categories: Lokapālas or "Protectors of the World" are guardians of the four cardinal directions
  • Lokapālas or "Protectors of the World" are guardians of the four cardinal directions
  • Kṣetrapālas or "Protectors of the Region"
  • Dharmapālas or "Protectors of the Law" which vary in the level of realization attributed to them. This can be anything from fully enlightened to an oath-bound worldly spirit. Most of the major Dharmapalas are said to be enlightened.

Eight Dharmapalas

The Eight Dharmapalas (Sanskrit: Dharma, 'religion'; Pala, 'protector'), known in Tibetan as Drag-gShed (Standard Tibetan: Template:BigTibetan). The Dharmapalas, or defenders of Buddhism, are supernatural beings with the rank of Bodhisattva, who "are supposed to wage war without any mercy against the Template:Wiki and enemies of Buddhism". The Eight Dharmapala are:

• Yama, the God of Death;
• Mahakala, the Great Black One;
• Yamantaka, the Conqueror of Death;
• Kubera or Vaisravana, the God of Wealth;
• Hayagriva, the Horse-necked one;
• Palden Lhamo, The Goddess;
• Tshangs Pa or ‘White Brahma’;
• Begtse, the God of War.