Pehar is considered the guardian of the Teaching. His cult is associated with the great Indian mage and esotericist Padmasambhava, whom legend claims to have tamed a group of “Five Kings”, representing the five aspects of Pehar, and made them into the guardians of the monastery at Samye. This six-armed Pehar, clad in a Chinese robe, rides on a roaring lion. Of his original attributes, only the diamond sceptre vajra, which he wields in his right hand, has been preserved. Three enraged faces are partly covered by a wide helmet, they are modelled rather naturalistically and contrast with the delicately engraved ornament decorating the figure’s dress and saddle. The form of the lion, like in earlier Chinese art, is guided by imagination rather than by knowledge of the animal’s actual physiognomy.
