Palden Lhamo
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Palden Lhamo ("Glorious Goddess",Volkmann, Rosemarie: "Female Stereotypes in Tibetan Religion and Art: the Genetrix/Progenitress as the Exponent of the Underworld" ''in'' , sa, Śrīdēvī, mn, Ukin Tengri) or RematiDowman, Keith. (1988). ''The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide'', p. 260. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London. (pbk). are names of Shri Devi, a female
tantric Buddhist Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
deity who appears in dozens of different forms.https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=164 Shri Devi Main Page at Himalayan Art Resources She usually appears as a
wrathful deity In Buddhism, wrathful deities or fierce deities are the fierce, wrathful or forceful (Tibetan: ''trowo'', Sanskrit: ''krodha'') forms (or "aspects", "manifestations") of enlightened Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or Devas (divine beings); normally the sam ...
with a primary role as a
dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' (, , ja, 達磨波羅, 護法善神, 護法神, 諸天善神, 諸天鬼神, 諸天善神諸大眷屬) is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are als ...
. She is specifically a Wisdom Protector, an enlightened being. Palden Lhamo is one of three
Dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' (, , ja, 達磨波羅, 護法善神, 護法神, 諸天善神, 諸天鬼神, 諸天善神諸大眷屬) is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are als ...
s of the
Gelug file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous ...
school of
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
alongside
Mahākāla Mahākāla is a deity common to Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism. In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as the sacred '' Dharmapāla'' ("Protector of the Dharma"), while in Hinduism, Mahākāla is a fierce manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva and th ...
and
Yamantaka Yamāntaka ( sa, यमान्तक Yamāntaka) or Vajrabhairava (; ; ko, 대위덕명왕 ''Daewideok-myeongwang''; ja, 大威徳明王 ''Daiitoku-myōō''; mn, Эрлэгийн Жаргагчи ''Erlig-jin Jarghagchi'') is the "destroyer of ...
She is the
wrathful deity In Buddhism, wrathful deities or fierce deities are the fierce, wrathful or forceful (Tibetan: ''trowo'', Sanskrit: ''krodha'') forms (or "aspects", "manifestations") of enlightened Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or Devas (divine beings); normally the sam ...
considered to be the principal protectress of
Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
. Palden Lhamo appears in the retinue of the Obstacle-Removing Mahākāla, either as an independent figure or associated to
Ekajati Ekajaṭī or Ekajaṭā (Sanskrit: "One Plait Woman"; : one who has one knot of hair), also known as Māhacīnatārā,''The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India'' By David Gordon White. pg 65 is one of the 21 Taras. Ekajati is ...
, and has been described as "the tutelary deity of Tibet and its government", and as "celebrated all over Tibet and
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
, and the potent protector of the Dalai and
Panchen Lama The Panchen Lama () is a tulku of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Panchen Lama is one of the most important figures in the Gelug tradition, with its spiritual authority second only to Dalai Lama. Along with the council of high lamas, he ...
s and
Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
."


Origins

Palden Lhamo means "Glorious Goddess" and can feature a wide range of wrathful female protectors and
dakini A ḍākinī ( sa, डाकिनी; ; mn, хандарма; ; alternatively 荼枳尼, ; 荼吉尼, ; or 吒枳尼, ; Japanese: 荼枳尼 / 吒枳尼 / 荼吉尼, ''dakini'') is a type of female spirit, goddess, or demon in Hinduism and Bud ...
s. Usually, Palden Lhamo refers to the Gelugpa version of her as a wrathful emanation of
Chamunda Chamunda (Sanskrit: चामुण्डा, ISO-15919: Cāmuṇḍā), also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu Divine Mother Shakti and is one of the seven Matrikas (mother goddesses).W ...
, a wrathful emanation of the goddess
Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...
. Magzor Gyalmo was said to be named Remati during the time she was married to the evil king of Lanka, both of them
rakshasa Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma whe ...
s according to one version. Remati vowed that if she failed to convert the king to Buddhism and dispel his wickedness, she would end his dynasty. She tried many times to convert him to avoid the killing of dharma practitioners but failed along with their son being raised to kill Buddhists. With no choice, she slaughtered her son while her husband was out hunting. She ate her son's flesh, drank his blood with his skull as a
kapala A kapala (Sanskrit for "skull") is a skull cup used as a ritual implement (bowl) in both Hindu Tantra and Buddhist Tantra (Vajrayana). Especially in Tibet, they are often carved or elaborately mounted with precious metals and jewels. Etymo ...
or cup, and flayed his skin to make a saddle. Thus, she escaped out towards the north. Just as she left on a mule, the king returned and found out about his son's murder. Enraged, he shot the rump of the mule that Remati was riding. In response, Remati healed the wound and transformed it into an eye by stating, "May the wound of my mount become an eye large enough to watch over the twenty-four regions, and may I myself be the one to extirpate the lineage of the malignant kings of Lanka!" There, she traveled onwards through India to Tibet to China to Mongolia and was said to have finally settled down on the mountain, Oikhan in eastern Siberia. When she died, she was reborn in
hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
and fought her way out of hell, stealing a bag of diseases and a sword. When she escaped to the charnel grounds, she found no peace and prayed to the Buddha for a reason to live. The Buddha
Vajradhara Vajradhara (Sanskrit: वज्रधर. (Also, the name of Indra, because 'Vajra' means diamond, as well as the thunderbolt, anything hard more generally) Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་འཆང། rdo rje 'chang (Dorje Chang); zh, t=金剛 ...
(tantric Shakyamuni) appeared before her and requested her to protect the dharma. Astonished, Remati agreed and thus arose as the dharmapala she is, only using her weapons against enemies of Buddhism. She was also appointed as a guardian of dharma by
Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities ...
, lord of death. Her retinue consists of the lion-headed dakini
Simhamukha In Tibetan Buddhism, Siṃhamukhā (Tib. Senge Dongma) or Siṃhavaktra, also known as the Lion Face Dakini or Lion-headed Dakini, is a wisdom dakini of the Dzogchen tradition. She is represented as a fierce dakini with the head of a snow lion. H ...
(Sengdongma) behind her and the
Makara ''Makara'' ( sa, मकर, translit=Makara) is a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology. In Hindu astrology, Makara is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn. Makara appears as the vahana (vehicle) of the river goddess Ganga, Narmada, a ...
-headed dakini Makaravaktra holding the reins of the mule in front of Palden Lhamo. Surrounding them are the 4 Goddesses of the Seasons, the 5 Sisters of Long Life, and the 12
Tenma goddesses The Tenma goddesses are twelve guardian deities in Tibetan Buddhism. In hierarchy, they fall under Palden Lhamo, one of the eight Dharmapala deities. Other times, they are part of the retinue of the Bönpo goddess, Sidpa Gyalmo. Formerly, the 12 T ...
.


Palden Lhamo and the lake Lhamo La-tso

Palden Lhamo, as the female guardian spirit of the
sacred lake Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. T ...
,
Lhamo La-tso Lhamo Latso or Lha-mo La-tso () is a small oval oracle lake where senior Tibetan monks of the Gelug sect go for visions to assist in the discovery of reincarnations of the Dalai Lamas. Other pilgrims also come to seek visions. It is considered to ...
, promised the 1st Dalai Lama in a vision "that she would protect the reincarnation lineage of the Dalai Lamas." Since the 2nd Dalai Lama, who formalised the system, regents and other monks have gone to the lake to meditate and seek guidance on choosing the next reincarnation through visions. The particular form of Palden Lhamo at Lhamo La-tso is Gyelmo Makzor Ma ( "Queen
Torma Torma (Skt: Balingta, Tib: Tor-ma, Wylie: gtor ma) are figures made mostly of flour and butter used in tantric rituals or as offerings in Tibetan Buddhism. They may be dyed in different colors, often with white or red for the main body of t ...
Mother") or Machik Pellha Zhiwé Nyamchen ( "Pacified Expression of the Common Wife Palden Lhamo"), an unusually peaceful form of Palden Lhamo. The lake is sometimes referred to as "Palden Lhamo Kalideva", indicating that she is an emanation of the goddess
Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...
. The mountain to the south of
Chokorgyel Monastery Chokorgyel Monastery (; also, Chökorye, Chokhor-gyal) is a Buddhist monastery in Gyatsa County in Tibet. History In 1509 Gedun Gyatso, the 2nd Dalai Lama, had a meditation cave and founded a hermitage here. The Gelugpa monastery of Chokorgyel ( ...
is the "blue" residence of Palden Lhamo, on which a
sky burial Sky burial (, "bird-scattered") is a funeral practice in which a human corpse is placed on a mountaintop to decompose while exposed to the elements or to be eaten by scavenging animals, especially carrion birds. It is a specific type of the ...
site is located. The monastery was originally built in a triangular form to reflect the symbolism of its position at the confluence of three rivers and surrounded by three mountains and also represents the conjunction of the three elements of water, earth and fire, as well as the female principle of Palden Lhamo in the symbolic form of an inverted triangle.


Traditional accounts

It is said that, during the reign of
Songtsän Gampo Songtsen Gampo (; 569–649? 650), also Songzan Ganbu (), was the 33rd Tibetan king and founder of the Tibetan Empire, and is traditionally credited with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, influenced by his Nepali consort Bhrikuti, of Nepa ...
(605 or 617? – 649 CE), Palden Lhamo outdid all the other protector-deities in her promise to protect the king's Trulang shrine. She presented an iron cup and pledged "Erect an image of me, and I shall protect this royal shrine from any future damage by humans and ''mamo'' demons!' She is also said to have advised
Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje Lhalung Palgyi Dorje ( bo, ལྷ་ལུང་དཔལ་གྱི་རྡོ་རྗེ། Wylie: ''lha lung dpal gyi rdo rje'') was a Tibetan Buddhist monk who assassinated the Tibetan Emperor Langdarma in 842 CE. Palgyi Dorje was Padmasa ...
to kill the anti-Buddhist king
Langdarma Darma Udumtsen (), better known by his nickname Langdarma (, "Mature Bull" or "Dharma the Bull") was most likely the last Tibetan Emperor who most likely reigned from 838 to 841 CE. Early sources call him Tri Darma "King Dharma". His domain e ...
in 841 CE, and is described as the 'Dharma-protectress of Lhasa'.''Clear Mirror on Royal Genealogy'' by
Sakyapa The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu. Origins Virūpa, 16th century. It depict ...
Sonam Gyaltsen (1312-1375), translated by McComas Taylor and Lama Choedak Yuthok as: ''The Clear Mirror: A traditional account of Tibet's Golden Age'', pp. 173, 265. Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York. .


Description

She is the only female among the traditional 'Eight Guardians of the Law' and is usually depicted as deep blue in colour and with red hair to symbolise her wrathful nature, crossing a sea of blood riding side-saddle on a white mule. The mule has an eye on its left rump where her angry husband's arrow hit it after she killed her son (who was destined, and being raised to be the one to finally put an end to Buddhism) and used his skin as a saddle blanket. She has three eyes and is often shown drinking blood from a human skull.


References


External links


Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Palden Lhamo (see index)


Images of Shri Devi at Himalayan Art
{{Authority control Dharmapalas Vajrayana and women Female buddhas and supernatural beings Oracular deities Tibetan Buddhist deities Tibetan Buddhist practices