Himalayan Art Resources

Buddhist Deity: Pancha Raksha (56 Deity)

Pancha Raksha Iconography

Pancha Raksha with 56 Deities (English: the Five Protectresses) according to the tradition of the Indian mahasiddha Jetari and the Tibetan translator Bari Lotsawa Rinchen Drag.

The goddess Pratisara is at the center, white in colour (sometimes yellow), with four faces and eight hands. Immediately surrounding the central figure are Mahamayuri, yellow in colour, with three faces and six hands, Mantramanudharani, red in colour, with three faces and twelve arms, Sitavati, green in colour, with three faces and six arms, and Maha Sahasrapramardini, blue in colour, with four faces and eight arms.

In the outer circles of the mandala are the Guardians of the Ten Directions, Brahma, Indra, Yama, Varuna, etc. Outside of that are the Nine Heavenly Bodies, the Twenty-four Mansions and the Four Guardian Kings.

Lineage: The Complete Buddha, Vajrapani, Jetari, Vajrasana the Greater, [Vajrasana] the Younger Amoghavajra, Bari Lotsawa Rinchen Drag, Sakyapa Chenpo Kunga Nyingpo, [etc.]. The lineage continues down through the Sakya tradition. There are a number of other alternate lineages that all stem from Bari Lotsawa or later Sakya teachers.

Jeff Watt [updated 12-2020]