Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
neck and a belt of skulls around his waist, and holds a skull cup, butchers' chopper and a
flaying knife in his 34 arms. He tramples on eight Hindu gods, eight mammals and eight
birds with his 16 feet.
Nagpo Chenpo (Mahakala)
A wrathful Tantric deity and manifestation of Chenresig, Nagpo Chenpo (Great Black
One) has connections to the Hindu god Shiva. He can be seen in many varieties with any-
thing from two to six arms. He is black ('as a water-laden cloud') with fanged teeth, wears
a cloak of elephant skin and a tiara of skulls, carries a trident and skull cup, and has flam-
ing hair. In a form known as Gompo (or Yeshe Gompo), he is believed by nomads to be
the guardian of the tent.
Tamdrin (Hayagriva)
Another wrathful manifestation of Chenresig, Tamdrin (the 'horse necked') has a red body.
His right face is white, his left face is green and he has a horse's head in his hair. He wears
a tiara of skulls, a garland of 52 severed heads and a tiger skin around his waist. His six
hands hold a skull cup, a lotus, a sword, a snare, an axe and a club, and his four legs stand
on a sun disc, trampling corpses. On his back are the outspread wings of Garuda and the
skins of a human and an elephant. He has close connections to the Hindu god Vishnu and
is popular among herders and nomads.
Chana Dorje (Vajrapani)
The name of the wrathful Bodhisattva of Energy means 'thunderbolt in hand'. In his right
hand Chana Dorje holds a thunderbolt
(dorje
or
vajra),
and so is often prayed to during
times of droughts or floods. He is blue with a tiger skin around his waist and a snake
around his neck. Together with Chenresig and Jampelyang, he forms part of the trinity
known as the Rigsum Gonpo.
Palden Lhamo (Shri Devi)
The special protector of Lhasa, the Dalai Lama and the Gelugpa order, Palden Lhamo is a
female counterpart of Nagpo Chenpo and closely connected with divination. Her origins
probably lie in the Hindu goddess Kali. She is blue, wears clothes of tiger skin, rides on a
saddle of human skin, and has earrings made of a snake. She uses the black and white dice
around her waist (tied to a bag of diseases) to determine people's fates. She holds the
