Description

Bajarapani is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of Gautama Buddha and rose to symbolize the Buddha’s power. Bajrapani is extensively represented in Buddhist iconography as one of the earliest three protective deities or bodhisattvas surrounding the Buddha. Each of them symbolizes one of the Buddha’s virtues: Manjushri manifests all the Buddhas’ wisdom, Avalokitesvara manifests all the Buddhas’ immense compassion, and Bajrapani protects Buddha and manifests all the Buddhas’ power as well as the power of all five Tathagata’s (Buddhahood of the rank of Buddha).