Wrathful Deities

In Buddhism, wrathful deities are enlightened beings who take on wrathful forms as to aid sentient beings on their path to enlightenment. A wrathful deity is often an alternative manifestation of a normally depicted peaceful deity or Bodhisattva. There are several classes of wrathful deities:

• the Heruka is an enlightened being that adopts a wrathful form as to express their detachment and freedom from ignorance.

• the Dharmaprotectors, like the Lokapalas and the Dharmapalas that are typically local deities that promised to take care and protect the Buddhadharma.