Begtse

Begtse (Wylie: beg tse chen lcam sring; "Begtse the Great Coat of Mail") is a dharmapala and the lord of war in Tibetan Buddhism, originally a pre-Buddhist war god of the Mongols.[1]

Tsam mask in a performance in Ulan-Ude (2011)

Name

The name Begtse (Wylie: Beg tse) is a loanword from Mongolian begder, meaning "coat of mail". He is also given the name and epithet Jamsaran (Wylie: lCam sring), meaning "Great Coat of Mail", which is a translation of the Mongolian.[1]

Description

Begtse has red skin and orange-red hair, two arms (as opposed to other Mahākālas, who have four or six), three blood-shot eyes and is wielding a sword in his right hand. He also holds a human heart in his right hand. In the stock of his right arm, he holds a bow and arrow and a halberd with bannet. He wears a chainmail shirt, which gave rise to his name, Jamsaran. He wears a Mongolian helmet with a crown of five skulls and four banners in the back. He is also accompanied by his consort, Rikpay Lhamo, and his main general, Laihansorgodog. They are surrounded by Jamsaran's satellites, the twenty-nine butchers.

Culture

Jamsaran is represented in Mongolian, and to a lesser extent Tibetan, Cham dance.[2]

See also

Citations
  1. Chiodo (2000), p. 149.
  2. Pegg (2001), p. 158ff.
  3. Chiodo (2000), p. 149, footnote 11.

General and cited references
  • Chiodo, Elisabetta (2000). "The Mongolian Manuscripts on Birch Bark from Xarbuxyn Balgas in the Collection of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences". Asiatische Forschungen. 137. ISBN 9783447042468. ISSN 0571-320X.
  • Pegg, Carole (2001). Mongolian Music, Dance, & Oral Narrative. ISBN 9780295981123.
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