Soil-dwelling, non-human spirits who dominate certain locales (hills, mountains, certain regions). They are said to cause problems such as diseases and natural disasters, etc., when disturbed and irritated by human activities, such as the pollution of their environs, etc.

A set of non-human beings that varies, but often includes devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas.

According to prophecy, the Buddha’s teachings will only remain for a certain amount of time in our world system before conditions deteriorate to such a degree that practicing the Dharma becomes impossible. The different phases of the predicted gradual decline and loss of the Dharma are usually given in 500-year increments.

Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra:

(1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree‍—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.1‍—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.14 and 21.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputra­māra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.

“Mothers,” a class of female deities, typically seven or eight in number, who are common to both Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions.

An ancient kingdom, most likely located in the Swat Valley of present-day Pakistan.

A class of nonhuman beings that are often, but certainly not always, considered demonic in the Buddhist tradition. They are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters who haunt frightening places and are ugly and evil-natured with a yearning for human flesh, and who additionally have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance.

An indigenous Tibetan class of violent primarily mountain-dwelling spirits who can cause diseases when disturbed.

The main deity of the Vajrabhairava cycle of tantras. He is an extremely wrathful manifestation of Mañjuśrī.

Meaning those who wield (dhara) spells (vidyā), the term can be used to refer to both a class of supernatural beings who wield magical power and human practitioners of the magical arts. The later Buddhist tradition, playing on the dual valences of vidyā as “spell” and “knowledge,” began to apply this term more broadly to realized figures in the Buddhist pantheon.

The Lord of Death who judges the dead and rules over the hells.

Literally “Dharma-king.” An epithet of Yama, the Lord of Death, who judges the dead and rules over the hells. He was converted and bound by oath to Vajrabhairava as the special protector of the Vajrabhairavatantras.