Also known as the Guardian of the North, he is a protector of the Dharma. As a guardian he is often painted just outside the entrance to the main assembly hall. Unusually, in the temple at Pusrong he is painted on an interior wall.
Vaishravana, called Dzambala or Zambala in Tibetan, is also thought of as a god of wealth. As such, he is sometimes portrayed carrying a citron, the fruit of the jambhara tree, a pun on another name of his, Jambhala . He is sometimes represented as corpulent and covered with jewels. His large, rounded body is golden-yellow in color and his expression stern. In most depictions his right hand holds a banner of victory and his left a mongoose, an animal associated with good fortune, which is shown vomiting jewels; but these details are obscured by dirt. His mount is a snow lion (lower left), a detail that is easy to see.
Tibetan Buddhists believe that Jambhala-bestowed prosperity is liberating because it allows one to devote oneself to spirituality rather than on material things.
Vaishravana reminds us that, even when one uses one's wealth to perform good deeds, it is not the nature of ones deeds but the underlying motivation that determines whether the acts are truly meritorious.
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