17.25"x13.5" Palden Lhamo Thankga Painting

Palden Lhamo - Protectress of Tibet

Palden Lhamo is a wrathful deity considered to be the principal protrectress of Tibet and its government. She is the only female of the eight great Dharmapalas, or Dharma Protectors, sworn to defend the teaching of Buddha and its sincere practitioners. She is a consort of Mahakala and is considered to be especially potent and powerful. She is celebrated and revered throughout Tibet and Mongolia, and is considered to be the personal protector of the reincarnation lineage of the Dalai Lamas.

Gestures and Attributes

Palden Lhamo is depicted crossing a sea of blood riding side-saddle on a wild mule. She has three eyes, symbolizing her omniscient knowledge of past, present and future. Her mule also has a third eye on its left haunch, which augments the goddess's power to see and watch over Buddhist institutions and practitioners. According to legend, Palden Lhamo's original husband, the king of Sri Lanka, persisted in engaging in practices of human sacrifice despite the goddess's strenuous objections. In protest, she killed their son and then attempted to flee on the back of the mule, with her son's flayed skin draped over the back of the beast. The king hit the mule with an arrow as they galloped away, but Palden Lhamo magically transformed the mule's wound into an eye.

In her right hand she brandishes a demon-taming staff. Her left hand contains a skull cup brimming with blood and brains, symbolizing her enlightened wisdom and victory over the forces of death. She wears a crown adorned with five human skulls, indicating her transformation of the five poisons into the five transcendent wisdoms. And she is surrounded by a blazing fire, emphasizing her power and ferocity in her mission to dispel evil and harmful forces.