Buddhas manifesting as birds, lion-headed dakinis, bodhisattvas emanating buffalo-headed beings, protectors with raven-faces or with the lower body of a serpent, and nagas protecting the Buddha...
BirdGaruda, half man and half bird is a deity in Tantric Buddhism. |
LionSimhamukha (above) has a lion face as does the 2nd retinue attendant for Shri Devi Magzor Gyalmo. | BuffaloVajrabhairava or Yamantaka (above), the destroyer of death, is a buffalo-faced deity of Vajrayana Buddhism. |
SerpentMucalinda, the king of the nagas, protecting the Buddha. See also Simhanada. Nagaraja Buddha and Nagarjuna have a hood of snakes above the head |
Birds
Kakamukha is a raven-faced Mahakala, that is, a male Tantric Buddhist deity, a protector deity and a Wisdom Protector of Himalayan and Tibetan Buddhism. | The Garuda is regarded as the king of birds in Indian mythology. In Tantric Buddhism, Garuda is seen as one of a multitude of forms in which different buddhas manifest for the purpose of removing disease and injury caused by nagas and poisoning. In Buddhism the three main poisons are attachment, aversion and ignorance. A similar bird deity can be found in the Bon tradition - the kyung. |
Lions
Simhamukha: a fierce wisdom dakini of the Dzogchen tradition with the head of a snow lion. In Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhism, wisdom dakini can refer to female embodiments of enlightened energy or to women who attained a certain level of spiritual development. Simhamukha´s mouth is shown with a roar (untamed fury and jubilant laughter) that disperses discursive thoughts. Her nakedness means that she is totally free of discursive thought. She represents the accomplished female practitioner. Some say that she is the equivalent of the Egyptian goddess Sekmet. |
Buffalos
Vajrabhairava, the wrathful form of the peaceful bodhisattva Manjushri (Anuttarayoga Tantra). |
Both buffalo-headed deity Vajrabhairava and Yama Dharmaraja are wrathful emanations of Manjushri - a bodhisattva in Mahayana literature but a tantric deity equal to a Buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. Yama Dharmaraja, the Lord of Death in ancient Indian mythology, was adopted into the Buddhist pantheon as a Dharma protector, and became one of the major protectors of Buddhist practice who confronts outer obstacles and protects practitioners from misfortune. The bull upon which he stands is ravaging the body of ignorant life beneath him.
Serpents
Rahula is a Treasure Protector of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism who became popular as a protector of the 'revealed treasure' teachings (terma).
He is portrayed with the lower body of a coiled serpent spirit (naga) and the upper body with four arms and nine heads. Read more
He is portrayed with the lower body of a coiled serpent spirit (naga) and the upper body with four arms and nine heads. Read more