Palden Lhamo ("Glorious Goddess", Tibetan: དཔལ་ལྡན་ལྷ་མོ།, Wylie: dpal ldan lha mo, Lhasa dialect: [pantɛ̃ l̥amo], Sanskrit: Śrīdēvī, Mongolian: Ukin Tengri) or
Remati are names of Shri Devi, a tantric Buddhist goddess who appears in dozens of different forms. She usually appears as a wrathful deity with a primary role as a dharmapala. She is specifically a Wisdom Protector, an enlightened being.
Palden Lhamo is one of three Dharmapalas of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, alongside Mahakala and Yamantaka. She is the wrathful deity considered to be the principal protectress of Bhutan. Palden Lhamo means "Glorious Goddess" and can feature a wide range of wrathful female protectors and Dakinis. Usually, Palden Lhamo refers to the Gelug version of her as a wrathful emanation of Chamunda, a wrathful emanation of the goddess Kali.
Myth[]
Magzor Gyalmo was said to be named Remati during the time she was married to the evil king of Lanka, both of them rakshasas according to one version. Remati vowed that if she failed to convert the king to Buddhism and dispel his wickedness, she would end his dynasty. She tried many times to convert him to avoid the killing of dharma practitioners but failed along with their son being raised to kill Buddhists. With no choice, she slaughtered her son while her husband was out hunting. She ate her son's flesh, drank his blood with his skull as a kapala or cup, and flayed his skin to make a saddle. Thus, she escaped out towards the north. Just as she left on a mule, the king returned and found out about his son's murder. Enraged, he shot the rump of the mule that Remati was riding. In response, Remati healed the wound and transformed it into an eye by stating, "May the wound of my mount become an eye large enough to watch over the twenty-four regions, and may I myself be the one to extirpate the lineage of the malignant kings of Lanka!" There, she traveled onwards through India to Tibet to China to Mongolia and was said to have finally settled down on the mountain, Oikhan in eastern Siberia.
When she died, she was reborn in hell and fought her way out of hell, stealing a bag of diseases and a sword. When she escaped to the charnel grounds, she found no peace and prayed to the Buddha for a reason to live. The Buddha Vajradhara appeared before her and requested her to protect the dharma. Astonished, Remati agreed and thus arose as the dharmapala she is, only using her weapons against enemies of Buddhism. She was also appointed as a guardian of dharma by Yama, lord of death. Her retinue consists of the lion-headed dakini Simhamukha (Sengdongma) behind her and the Makara-headed dakini Makaravaktra holding the reins of the mule in front of Palden Lhamo. Surrounding them are the 4 Goddesses of the Seasons, the 5 Sisters of Long Life, and the 12 Tenma goddesses.
Worship[]
Every year, a holy image of Palden Lhamo is carried out into the courtyard of the Jokhang Temple for pilgrims to make offerings to the effigy Palden Lhamo.
According to legend, the daughter of Palden Lhamo, named Bal Lhamo fell in love with Tri Zong Zan, another protective deity of the Jokhang Cathedral in Lhasa. When Palden Lhamo heard of this, she was angry and banished Tri Zong Zan to the south bank of the Lhasa River, however the lovers promised to meet once a year across the river on a special day.
The Palden Lhamo festival comemorates this day, when her statue and mask, known as Pal Lhamo are brought out to face the south, in remembrance of the events surrounding her daughter.
The Tibetans blame Palden Lhamo for the arrival of disease, and say that she directs the demons who inflict fatal illnesses upon mankind. In order to prevent this from happening, she is worshipped for seven days at the end of each year. Usually, she is offered a cake containing the fat of a black goat, blood, wine, dough and butter. To tempt her appetite, the cake is made in the shape of a human skull.