Begtsé
In Tibetan Buddhism Begtsé is called Beg tse chen Lcam Sring in Tibetan, meaning "the Great Coat of Mail" and Prana Atma in Sanskrit. In the Sakya and Kagyu Traditions he is considered the main protector for the Hayagriva cycle of practice. It is a commonly held belief of some Mongolian tribal groups that Dharma Protector Begste was a Lord of War in Central Asia. In some Tibetan texts narrating the origins of the various protectors of Tibetan Buddhism he was taken to be the son of a demon (yaksha) and a goblin (Begtsé stands on a lotus base, with his right leg bent and left leg extended, a typical
posture for wrathful deities. He has three wide-open eyes and an angry countenance on his face, four fangs appear in his opened mouth. He steps on two corpses, a horse and a human figure, lying on the pedestal. Begtsé wears the crown of five skulls, armor, red silk garment and garland of freshly severed heads. On his chest is the mirror with the seed syllable. His right hand brandishes the scorpion-handled sword,
his left hand holds the heart of enemies, and in the crook of his arm are the banner, bow, and arrow. Rikpay Lhamo, Begtsé's consort, is on his right. She has a red face and a naked blue body and rides on her bear who is chewing on a corpse. She lifts up her sword and holds iron phurbu in her left hand. On Begtsé's left is the Laihansorogdog, charging on his wolf with his banner and dressed in armor. In a front row, Begtsé's attendants are in various positions. ). Some schools of Tibetan Buddhism believe that Begtsé is a Wisdom Deity - meaning completely enlightened. Other schools believe him to be a lower protector - Worldly Deity.
