The Five Pehar Gyalpo - Updated
The The Five Pehar Gyalpo Ku Nga (Kings) of the Terma (Treasure) Lineage of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism are worldly protector deities. Although one individual deity, Pehar has five forms representing body, speech, mind, quality and activity. Each of the five has a different appearance. The most common form to appear in art is Activity Pehar with three faces, white in colour and riding a lion.
1. King of Body - Monbu Putra
2. King of Speech - Dra Lha Kye Chigbu
3. King of Mind - Gya Jin
4. King of Qualities - Shing Cha Chen
5. King of Activities - Pehar
"In former times at Glorious Red Rock, Acharya Padmasambhava, inviting the profound vast protector, Had bound by an oath as the entrusted steward of all Dharma Establishments; To Pehar I bow." (Nyingma liturgical verse).
Pehar is a non-Tibetan spirit who is believed to have been subjugated by Guru Rinpoche and bound by an oath to protect all the Buddhist temples and monasteries of Tibet. Other stories relate how Pehar was a local protector in the northern regions of Bata-Hor, conquered by Tri Songtsen Gampo, and brought back to Tibet hidden in the horde of plundered wealth. This group of five Pehar figures, originally belonging to the Nyingma 'Revealed Treasure' Tradition, was later incorporated into the Gelugpa School at the time of the 5th Dalai Lama, and can be found in other Tibetan Buddhist schools depending on the preferences of individual monasteries. Some traditions claim that, like the Direction King Vaishravana, Pehar Gyalpo Ku Nga has attained the 10th level Bodhisattva ground - a Mahayana level of attainment - immediately preceding the full enlightenment of a Buddha.