Item: Vaishravana (Buddhist Protector) - Riding a Lion

Vaishravana Riding a Lion (Tibetan: nam to se tag shon. English: the Son of Nam To): the Guardian King of the Northern Direction, Lord of Yakshas.

"With vajra armor, a garland of jewel ornaments and the beautiful heavenly banner - fluttering, illuminated in the middle of a hundred thousand Wealth Bestowers; homage to Vaishravana, chief among the protectors of the Teaching." (Nyingma liturgical verse).

Vaishravana, leader of the yaksha race, is a worldly guardian worshipped as both a protector and benefactor. He, with his wife - a naga princess, lives on the north side of the lower slopes of mount Meru in the Heaven of the Four Great Kings in a sumptuous palace bathed in green emerald light. As the leader of the Four Direction Guardians, he like the others, swore an oath of protection before the buddha Shakyamuni.

The stories and iconography of the Four Guardian Kings arise primarily from the Mahayana sutras and are common to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Jeff Watt 5-2016