Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Shri Devi (Buddhist Protector) - Palden Lhamo

དཔལ་ལྡན་ལྷ་མོ། 吉祥天母(佛教护法)
(item no. 90407)
Origin Location Bhutan
Date Range 1800 - 1899
Lineages Drukpa (Kagyu, Bhutan) and Buddhist
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection Lostand Foundation
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Appearance: Wrathful

Gender: Female

Interpretation / Description

Shri Devi (Tibetan: pal den lha mo): the principal female wisdom protector of Tantric Buddhism and the wrathful form of Shri Lakshmi (Tib.: pal lhamo).

Wrathful in appearance, dark blue in colour, she has one face and four hands. The two right hands hold a white skullcup to the heart and an upraised sword. The left hold a kila (Tib.: phur ba) three edged dagger and a trident held upraised. Three peacock feathers adorn the crown of the head. Seated atop a mule wading through an ocean of blood she is surrounded by wisps of red flame and clouds of dark billowing smoke. A host of retinue figures surround the central deity.

At the top center is the primordial buddha Vajradhara with Tilopa at the left and Naropa on the right. Kagyu lineage lamas extend to the sides. Beneath Vajradhara is the tutelary deity Sahaja Heruka Chakrasamvara embracing the consort red Vajra Varahi.

Jeff Watt 4-2000

Secondary Images
Related Items
Thematic Sets
Buddhist Protectors: Enlightened
Collection of Lostand Foundation
Buddhist Protector: Shri Devi Main Page
Buddhist Protector: Shri Devi, Dudsol Dokam Wangchugma
Tradition: Kagyu, Enlightened Protectors
Buddhist Protectors: Enlightened (Female)
Buddhist Protector: Shri Devi (Kagyu)