Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
In East Asian mythology, Yama is a <i>dharmapala</i> (wrathful god) and King of Hell. It is his duty to judge the dead and rule over the various hells and purgatories, presiding over the cycle of <i>samsara</i> (cyclic, circuitous change). Yama has spread from being a Hindu god to finding roles in Buddhism as well as in Chinese, Korean and Japanese mythology.<br/><br/> Yama's role in Theravada Buddhism is vague and not well defined, though he is still a caretaker of hell and the dead. He judges those who die to determine if they are to be reborn to earth, to the heavens or to the hells. Sometimes there are more than one Yama, each presiding over one of the distinct hells. In Tibetan Buddhism, Yama is seen as a guardian of spiritual practice, and regarded with horror for his role in the cycle of death and rebirth.<br/><br/> In Chinese mythology, and similar stories in Korea and Japan, he is primarily known as either Yanluo or King Yan, and is the god of death and overseer of the Ten Kings of Hell. He is portrayed as a large man with bulging eyes, a long beard and a scowling red face. He is both ruler and judge of the underworld, and is always found alongside his two guardians, Ox-Head and Horse-Face. Those spirits who do good are rewarded, while those who have sinned are punished and tortured.
In East Asian mythology, Yama is a <i>dharmapala</i> (wrathful god) and King of Hell. It is his duty to judge the dead and rule over the various hells and purgatories, presiding over the cycle of <i>samsara</i> (cyclic, circuitous change). Yama has spread from being a Hindu god to finding roles in Buddhism as well as in Chinese, Korean and Japanese mythology.<br/><br/> Yama's role in Theravada Buddhism is vague and not well defined, though he is still a caretaker of hell and the dead. He judges those who die to determine if they are to be reborn to earth, to the heavens or to the hells. Sometimes there are more than one Yama, each presiding over one of the distinct hells. In Tibetan Buddhism, Yama is seen as a guardian of spiritual practice, and regarded with horror for his role in the cycle of death and rebirth.<br/><br/> In Chinese mythology, and similar stories in Korea and Japan, he is primarily known as either Yanluo or King Yan, and is the god of death and overseer of the Ten Kings of Hell. He is portrayed as a large man with bulging eyes, a long beard and a scowling red face. He is both ruler and judge of the underworld, and is always found alongside his two guardians, Ox-Head and Horse-Face. Those spirits who do good are rewarded, while those who have sinned are punished and tortured.
Vajrapani, also known as Vajrasattva in Mahayana Buddhism, is one of the earliest of the bodhisattvas, and acts as the guide and protector of Gautama Buddha. In Mahayana Buddhism he is one of the earliest Dharmapalas (wrathful gods), and he is also acknowledged as a deity in the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. He is directly worshipped in Tibetan Buddhism, and is extensively represented in Buddhist iconography.
Nio or Kongorikish are two wrath-filled and muscular guardians of the Buddha standing at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in East Asia in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues.<br/><br/> They are <i>dharmapala</i> (protectors of the Buddhist religion) manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajrapaṇi, the oldest and most powerful of the Mahayana Buddhist pantheon.
In Buddhism, lokapāla are one of two broad categories of Dharmapāla (protectors of the Buddhist religion) - the other category being Wisdom Protectors.<br/><br/> These worldly protectors are invoked and propitiated to aid the monastery or Buddhist practitioner materially and to remove obstacles to practice. However, since they are considered to be Samsaric beings they are not worshiped or considered as objects of refuge.
Galle was for centuries Sri Lanka’s main port, a position which strengthened during the periods of Portuguese and Dutch colonial rule. Galle only lost its primacy in the late 19th century, when the British expanded and developed the harbour at Colombo to become the island’s major port.<br/><br/>Perhaps the earliest recorded reference to Galle comes from the great Arab traveller Ibn Battuta, who visited the port—which he calls Qali—in the mid-14th century.<br/><br/>The Portuguese first arrived in 1505, when a fleet commanded by Lorenzo de Almeida took shelter from a storm in the lee of the town. Clearly the strategic significance of the harbour impressed the Portuguese, for 82 years later, in 1587, they seized control of the town from the Sinhala kings and began the construction of Galle Fort. This event marked the beginning of almost four centuries of European domination of the city, resulting in the fascinating hybrid—architecturally, culturally and ethnically—which Galle is today.<br/><br/>The Dutch captured the city from the Portuguese in 1640, and immediately began strengthening the fortifications. They remained for almost 150 years, until the city was in turn taken by the British in 1796.<br/><br/>Not until 1947, when Ceylon gained its independence from the British, did Galle become, once again, an independent city—and by this time the long years of association with European colonialism had left an indelible stamp on the city which makes it unique in today’s Sri Lanka.