The Druk ( bo, འབྲུག, dz, ་) is the "Thunder

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

" of

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

and

Bhutanese mythology Cradled in the folds of the Himalayas, Bhutan has relied on its geographical isolation to protect itself from outside cultural influences. A sparsely populated country bordered by India to the south, and China to the north, Bhutan has long mainta ...

and a Bhutanese national symbol. A druk appears on the

flag of Bhutan The national flag of Bhutan ( dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་རྒྱལ་དར) is one of the national symbols of Bhutan. The flag features a Chinese dragon (''druk'' ylie 'brugin Dzongkha, the Bhutanese language) from Bhutanese myth ...

, holding jewels to represent wealth. In

Dzongkha Dzongkha (; ) is a Sino-Tibetan language that is the official and national language of Bhutan. It is written using the Tibetan script. The word means "the language of the fortress", from ' "fortress" and ' "language". , Dzongkha had 171,080 n ...

, Bhutan is called ''Druk Yul'' "Land of Druk", and Bhutanese leaders are called

Druk Gyalpo The Druk Gyalpo (; 'Dragon King') is the head of state of the Bhutan, Kingdom of Bhutan. In the Dzongkha, Dzongkha language, Bhutan is known as ''Drukyul'' which translates as "The Land of the Thunder Dragon". Thus, while kings of Bhutan are ...

, "Thunder Dragon Kings". During the Bhutanese mock election in 2007, all four mock parties were called the ''Druk olourParty''.Every party had a separate colour representing its values. The

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

of Bhutan, Druk tsendhen, translates into English as "Kingdom of Druk". The druk (also known as a "duk" or "dug") was adopted as an emblem by the

Drukpa Lineage The Drukpa Kagyu (), or simply Drukpa, sometimes called either Dugpa or "Red Hat sect" in older sources,

, which originated in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and spread to Bhutan. According to traditional accounts, when the sect's founder,

Tsangpa Gyare The great ascetic Drogon Tsangpa Gyare (1161–1211) was the main disciple of Lingchen Repa Pema Dorje and the founder of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism the main or central branch of which was, until the 17th Century, transmitted by his ...

, 1st

Gyalwang Drukpa The Gyalwang Drukpa () is the honorific title of the head of the Drukpa Lineage, one of the independent Sarma (new) schools of Vajrayana Buddhism. This lineage of reincarnated masters started from Tsangpa Gyare, the first Gyalwang Drukpa and fou ...

, began to build

Ralung Monastery Ralung Monastery (), located in the Tsang region of western Tibet south of Karo Pass, is the traditional seat of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded in 1180 by Tsangpa Gyare, 1st Gyalwang Drukpa, a disciple of Lingje Répa ...

, there was a violent storm. Thunder, or the "Cloud-Voice," is seen as the roar of the dragon. Deciding that this was an omen, he named the monastery Drug-Ralung, adding the word "thunder dragon" to the name. The disciples at the monastery were known as Drugpa, or "Those of the Thunder." As of the 1900s, the Grand Lama of Bhutan wore a hat with thunder dragons on it to signify the origins of the sect. As the sect became more popular, it set up monasteries in what is now Bhutan, with the result that the area became known as Dug Yul, or Land of Thunder, among both Tibetans and Bhutanese.

Other Asian dragons

Bakunawa The Bakunawa is a serpent-like dragon in Philippine mythology. It is believed to be the cause of eclipses, earthquakes, rains, and wind. The movements of the Bakunawa served as a geomantic calendar system for ancient Filipinos and were part of t ...

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many Outline of life forms, animal-like forms such as Bixi (my ...

Japanese dragon Japanese dragons (, ''Nihon no ryū'') are diverse legendary creatures in Japanese mythology and folklore. Japanese dragon myths amalgamate native legends with imported stories about dragons from China, Korea and the Indian subcontinent. The ...

Korean dragon Korean dragons are legendary creatures in Korean mythology and folklore. The appearance of the dragon reflects its relation to its East Asian counterparts, including the Chinese dragons. Korean dragons Whereas most dragons in European mythology ...

Pakhangba Pakhangba ( mni, , omp, ) is a primordial deity, often represented in the form of a dragon, in Meitei mythology and religion. He is depicted in the heraldry of Manipur kingdom, which originated in ''paphal'' ( mni, ), the mythical illust ...

Vietnamese dragon Vietnamese dragons ( vi, Wikt:rồng, Rồng; ; Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary, Sino-Vietnamese: ''Long''; ) are symbolic Legendary creature, creatures in Vietnamese folklore and Vietnamese mythology, mythology. According to an ancient origin myth, t ...

References

{{Dragons Dragons National symbols of Bhutan Bhutanese legendary creatures Tibetan legendary creatures

Other Asian dragons

See also

References