View source for Wrathful deities

{{short description|Enlightened beings in Mahayana Buddhism}}
[[Image:Tibet, mahakala, guardiano della dottrina sotto l'aspetto gur-gyi mgon-go, 1292.JPG|thumb|[[Mahakala]] statue, holding a [[Kartika (knife)|flaying knife]] (''kartika'') and [[kapala|skullcup]] (''kapala'')]]

In [[Buddhism]], '''wrathful deities''' or '''fierce deities''' are the fierce, wrathful or forceful (Tibetan: ''trowo'', Sanskrit: ''krodha'') forms (or "aspects", "manifestations") of enlightened [[Buddha]]s, [[Bodhisattva]]s or [[Deva (Buddhism)|Devas]] (divine beings); normally the same figure has other, peaceful, aspects as well. Because of their power to destroy the obstacles to [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]], they are also termed ''krodha-vighnantaka'', "Wrathful onlookers on destroying obstacles".{{sfn|Linrothe|1999|p=12}} Wrathful deities are a notable feature of the [[iconography]] of [[Mahayana]] and [[Vajrayana|Vajrayana Buddhism]], especially in [[Tibetan art]]. These types of deities first appeared in India during the late 6th century, with its main source being the [[Yaksha]] imagery, and became a central feature of Indian [[Tantric Buddhism]] by the late 10th or early 11th century.{{sfn|Linrothe|1999|p=x}}{{sfn|Linrothe|1999|p=12}}

==Overview==
[[Image:Vajrayogini from Thangka.jpg|thumb|[[Vajrayogini]], a semi-wrathful [[dakini]] who is also known as ''sarvabuddhaḍākiṇī'', the all-buddha Dakini.]]
In non-Tantric traditions of [[Mahayana]] Buddhism, these beings are protector deities who destroy obstacles to the Buddhas and the Dharma, act as guardians against demons and gather together sentient beings to listen to the teachings of the Buddhas.{{sfn|Linrothe|1999|p=13}}{{sfn|Linrothe|1999|p=25}} In [[Tantric Buddhism]], they are considered to be fierce and terrifying forms of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas themselves. Enlightened beings may take on these forms in order to protect and aid confused sentient beings.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thurman |first1=Robert |title=The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Liberation Through Understanding in the Between |date=2011 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-78402-5 |page=149 }}</ref> They also represent the energy and power that is needed in order to transform negative mental factors into wisdom and compassion.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/vajrayana/tantra-theory/making-sense-of-tantra/tantric-imagery#peaceful-and-forceful-figures |title=Berzin, Alexander; Making Sense of Tantra |access-date=2018-01-12 |archive-date=2020-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517080157/https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/vajrayana/tantra-theory/making-sense-of-tantra/tantric-imagery#peaceful-and-forceful-figures |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Linrothe|1999|p=xi}} They represent the power and compassion of enlightened activity which uses multiple skillful means ([[upaya]]) to guide sentient beings as well as the transformative element of tantra which uses negative emotions as part of the path. According to [[Chögyam Trungpa]], "wrathful [[yidam]]s work more directly and forcefully with passion, aggression, and delusion — conquering and trampling them on the spot."<ref>Chögyam Trungpa. The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa: Volume 3, Shambala, 2003, page 438.</ref>

In Tantric Buddhist art, fierce deities are presented as terrifying, demonic-looking beings adorned with bone ornaments ({{langx|sa|aṣṭhimudrā|italics=yes}}) such as human skulls and other ornaments associated with the charnel ground, as well as being often depicted with sexually suggestive attributes. According to Rob Linrothe, the sensual and fierce imagery represents "poison as its own antidote, harnessed obstacles as the liberating force" and notes that they are "metaphors for the internal yogic processes to gain enlightenment".{{sfn|Linrothe|1999|pp=xi-xii}}

They often carry ritual implements, or some of the ''[[ashtamangala]]'', or "Eight Auspicious Symbols", and are depicted trampling on (much smaller) bodies personifying the "obstacles" that the deity defeats.

==Tantric deities==
===Yidams===
{{main article| Yidam}}
In Indo-Tibetan [[Vajrayana]], Yidams are divine forms of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The tantric practitioner is initiated into the mandala of a particular meditational deity (Sanskrit: ''Iṣṭa-devatā'') and practices complex [[sadhana]]s (meditations) on the deity for the purpose of personal transformation.<ref>[[Robert Buswell Jr.|Buswell, Robert E.]]; [[Donald S. Lopez, Jr.|Lopez, Donald S.]] (2013). ''The Princeton dictionary of Buddhism''. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-691-15786-3}}.</ref> This [[Deity Yoga]] practice is central to tantric forms of Buddhism such as [[Tibetan Buddhism]] and the [[Generation stage]] of the practice is dependent on visualisation based on the vivid iconography associated with their yidam. Yidams can be peaceful, fierce and "semi-fierce" (having both fierce and peaceful aspects), with each category having its own particular set of associated imagery. Fierce deities can be divided into male and female categories.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.khandro.net/deities_wrathful.htm |title=Wrathful Deities |access-date=2007-06-30 |archive-date=2020-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517094639/http://www.khandro.net/deities_wrathful.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>  

The [[Heruka]]s ([[Standard Tibetan|Tb]]. ''khrag 'thung'', lit. "blood drinker") are enlightened masculine beings who adopt fierce forms to express their detachment from the world of ignorance, such as [[Yamantaka]], [[Cakrasaṃvara Tantra|Cakrasamvara]], [[Mahākāla]], [[Hayagriva (Buddhism)|Hayagriva]], or [[Kīla (Buddhism)|Vajrakilaya]].  

[[Dakini]]s ([[Standard Tibetan|Tb]]. ''khandroma'', "sky-goer") are their feminine counterparts, sometimes depicted with a heruka and sometimes as independent deities. The most prevalent wrathful [[dakini]]s are [[Vajrayogini]] and [[Vajravārāhī]]. A common form of imagery is the [[yab-yum]] of a Buddha and consort in sexual union. 

====Gallery====
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Yamantaka Vajrabhairav.jpg|[[Yamantaka]], also known as Vajrabhairava.
File:Ekajati.jpg|[[Ekajati]], also known as Blue Tara or Ugra Tara.
File:Chakrasamvara - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Chakrasamvara]], a semi-wrathful deity, depicted in [[yab-yum]] with consort
File:Vajrakilaya (8557221604).jpg|[[Vajrakilaya]]
File:Dancing Vajravarahi (Dorje Pagmo) LACMA M.90.195.jpg|Dancing [[Vajravarahi]] (''Dorje Pagmo'')
File:Troma Nagmo closeup.jpg|[[Vajrayogini|Troma Nagmo]]
File:Hevajra-Tibetan.jpg|[[Hevajra]]
File:The Wrathful Deities of the Guhyagarbha Tantra.png|The Herukas of the [[Guhyagarbha Tantra]]
File:Beijing 2009-1027.jpg|[[Kalachakra]] statue
File:Samye16.JPG|[[Kurukullā]]
File:Yamari, Rakta (Buddhist Deity) 16th century Boston MFA.jpg|[[Rakta Yamari]]   
</gallery>

===Wisdom Kings===
In [[East Asian Buddhism]], [[Wisdom King]]s ([[Sanskrit]] ''vidyarāja''), are seen as divine manifestations of the Buddhas, who act as protectors, messengers, and defenders of the Buddhist Dharma.<ref>Baroni, Helen Josephine (2002). ''The illustrated encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism''. New York: Rosen Pub. Group. p. 100. {{ISBN|0-8239-2240-5}}.</ref> In East Asian [[Vajrayana]] and [[Chinese Esoteric Buddhism]] the Five Wisdom Kings are regarded as manifestations of the [[Five Tathagatas]]. In [[Chinese Buddhism]], the Eight Wisdom Kings and Ten Wisdom Kings are regarded as manifestations of different bodhisattvas and buddhas.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Hong |first1=Tsai-Hsia |date=2007 |title=The Water-Land Dharma Function Platform Ritual and the Great Compassion Repentance Ritual |oclc=64281400 |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/1e7f2eadff4d9baec078f55f48fd3dc7/1 |access-date=2021-08-27 |archive-date=2023-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311182146/https://www.proquest.com/openview/1e7f2eadff4d9baec078f55f48fd3dc7/1 |url-status=live }}{{pn|date=June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Howard |first1=Angela F. |title=The Eight Brilliant Kings of Wisdom of Southwest China |journal=Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics |date=March 1999 |volume=35 |pages=92–107 |doi=10.1086/RESv35n1ms20167019 |s2cid=164236937 }}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Bloom |first1=Phillip Emmanual |date=2013 |title=Descent of the Deities: The Water-Land Retreat and the Transformation of the Visual Culture of Song-Dynasty (960-1279) Buddhism |id={{ProQuest|1422026705}} |oclc=864907811 }}{{pn|date=June 2023}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Acala at Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.JPG|[[Acala]], "The Immovable One"—manifestation of [[Vairocana|Buddha Mahavairocana]]
File:Kongo Yasha wood statue.jpg|[[Vajrayakṣa|Vajrayaksa]], "The Devourer of Demons"—manifestation of [[Amoghasiddhi|Buddha Amoghasiddhi]]
File:Daiitoku myoo painting.jpg|[[Yamantaka|Vajrabhairava]], "The Defeater of Death"—manifestation of [[Amitābha|Buddha Amitābha]]
File:Gundari.jpg|The Wisdom king [[Kuṇḍali|Kundali]], "The Dispenser of Heavenly Nectar"—manifestation of [[Ratnasambhava|Buddha Ratnasambhava]]
File:Gōzanze Kiburi-ji.jpg|[[Trailokyavijaya]], "The Conqueror of The Three Planes"—manifestation of [[Akshobhya|Buddha Akshobhya]] 
</gallery>

==Protectors==
The Protectors ([[Sanskrit]] ''pāla'') or [[Dharmapala|Dharmapāla]] (Dharma protectors), are powerful beings, often [[Deva (Buddhism)|Devas]] or [[Bodhisattva]]s who protect the Buddhist religion and community from inner and outer threats and obstacles to their practice.<ref>''Heart Jewel'': The Essential Practices of Kadampa Buddhism, pages 71-3, Tharpa Publications (2nd. ed., 1997) {{ISBN|978-0-948006-56-2}}</ref> A Dharmapala can also be a [[Garuda]], [[Nāga]], [[Yaksha]], [[Gandharva]], or [[Asura]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Buswell |first1=Robert E. |last2=Lopez |first2=Donald S. |title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism |date=2013 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-4805-8 |pages=249–250 }}</ref> Other categories of Protectors include the [[Four Heavenly Kings|Lokapālas]] or "Four Heavenly Kings" and [[Kshetrapala|{{IAST|Kṣetrapālas}}]] or "Protectors of the Region".

===Eight Dharmapalas===

A common Tibetan grouping of Dharmapāla is 'The Eight [[Dharmapala]]s' ({{bo|t=དྲག་གཤེད|w=drag gshed}}), who are understood to be the defenders of [[Buddhism]]. They are [[supernatural]] beings with the rank of [[bodhisattva]] who "are supposed to wage war without any mercy against the demons and enemies of Buddhism".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.exoticindiaart.com/wrathful.htm|title=Wrathful Guardians of Buddhism: Aesthetics and Mythology|date=February 2001|access-date=2008-08-31|archive-date=2020-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602114207/https://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/wrathful/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Eight Dharmapala are:<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pearlman |first1=Ellen |title=Tibetan Sacred Dance: A Journey Into the Religious and Folk Traditions |date=2002 |publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |isbn=978-0-89281-918-8 }}{{pn|date=June 2023}}</ref>

* [[Yama (East Asia)|Yama]], the god of death 
* [[Mahākāla|Mahakala]], the Great Black One 
* [[Yamantaka]], the conqueror of death
* [[Vaiśravaṇa]] or [[Kubera]], the god of wealth 
* [[Hayagriva (Buddhism)|Hayagriva]], the Horse-necked one
* [[Palden Lhamo]], female protectress of Tibet
* White [[Brahma (Buddhism)|Brahma]] or ''Tshangs pa''
* [[Begtse]], a war god from Mongolia.

===Gallery===

<gallery>
File:Vajrapani American Museum of Natural History.jpg|[[Vajrapani]]
File:Palden Lhamo, Tawang Monastery.jpg|[[Palden Lhamo]]
File:Todaiji13s4592.jpg|[[Vaiśravaṇa]] (Bishamonten), one of the four Heavenly Kings, at [[Todaiji]]
File:Guardian of Phra Meru Mas of Bhumibol Adulyadej - Vessavana (left side).jpg|A thai depiction of [[Vaiśravaṇa]] (Vessavana).
File:GanpatiTibetan.jpg|[[Ganapati]]
File:Citipati-buddhist-deity.jpg|[[Citipati (Buddhism)|Citipati]]
File:Yellow Yama (?) and Consort on Bull, Nyingmapa Buddhist or Bon Ritual Card LACMA AC1998.253.1.jpg|[[Yama]], lord of death
File:Hayagriva Samye Ling July 09.jpg|[[Hayagriva]], the "horse-necked"
File:Rahula and his Assembly - Google Art Project.jpg|Rahula, an oath-bound protector of [[Dzogchen]]
File:Korea-Gangwon-Woljeongsa Heavenly King 1690-07.JPG|Virūpāksa—King of the West, one of the Four Heavenly Kings at Wolijeongsa, Korea
File:Ho-phap Kuyen-thien.JPG|Dharmapala (Hộ pháp in Vietnamese) statue at [[Bút Tháp Temple]], Vietnam   
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Buddhist deities]]
* [[Chinese mythology]]
* [[Hindu mythology]]
* [[Japanese mythology]]
* [[Korean mythology]]
* [[Vietnamese mythology]]
* [[Tibetan art]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last1=Linrothe |first1=Robert N. |title=Ruthless Compassion: Wrathful Deities in Early Indo-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist Art |date=1999 |publisher=Serindia |isbn=978-0-906026-51-9 }}

==External links==
* [http://www.exoticindiaart.com/wrathful.htm Wrathful Guardians of Buddhism—Aesthetics and Mythology]
* [http://www.khandro.net/deities_wrathful.htm Wrathful Deities]
* [http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15324coll10/id/101557 ''Sacred visions : early paintings from central Tibet''], fully digitized text from The Metropolitan Museum of Art libraries

{{Buddhism topics}}

[[Category:Wrathful deities| ]]
[[Category:Dharmapalas]]
[[Category:Herukas]]
[[Category:Lists of deities]]
[[Category:Vajrayana]]
[[Category:Yidams]]
[[Category:Tibetan art]]