Knowledge
Deities & Sacred Figures
Hindu and Buddhist deities, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and sacred figures form a major encyclopedia-style knowledge system on HHA — each with a substantial dedicated study page connected to tradition, ritual, symbolism and scholarship.
Bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara
Avalokiteshvara is the bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all buddhas, among the most universally venerated figures in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. In the Kathmandu Valley, Avalokiteshvara is uniquely identified with Karunamaya, embodied in the living traditions of Rato (Red) and Seto (White) Machhindranath, whose annual chariot festivals are among Nepal's most significant religious events.
Deity
Bhairava
Bhairava is the fierce, protective manifestation of Shiva, widely worshipped throughout the Indian subcontinent and, with particular prominence, across the Kathmandu Valley, where numerous forms — including Akash Bhairav, Swet (White) Bhairav and Kal (Black) Bhairav — serve as guardian deities of the city and its sacred spaces.
Deity
Ganesha
Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is one of the most widely worshipped deities in Hinduism, invoked at the start of any new undertaking, journey or ritual as the remover of obstacles (Vighnaharta) and lord of beginnings. In Nepal's Kathmandu Valley, Ganesha is honored through the Char Binayak — four historic shrines traditionally said to form a protective boundary around the valley.
Bodhisattva
Green Tara
Green Tara is one of the most widely venerated female bodhisattvas in Vajrayana Buddhism, embodying compassionate, swift action to protect beings from fear and obstacles. Regarded as a manifestation of the bodhisattva of compassion Avalokiteshvara, Tara appears in twenty-one forms, of which Green Tara and White Tara are the most widely known.
Teacher / Lineage Master
Guru Rinpoche
Guru Rinpoche, known in Sanskrit as Padmasambhava ("Lotus-Born"), is revered across the Himalayan Buddhist world as the founder of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet and as a "second Buddha." Traditional accounts describe him subduing obstructive spirits and establishing Buddhism throughout the Himalayas, including at Pharping near Kathmandu — one of the most significant Guru Rinpoche pilgrimage sites outside Tibet.
Deity
Kali
Kali is one of the most powerful and widely recognized goddesses in Hinduism, the first of the ten Mahavidyas (Great Wisdom Goddesses) and a principal form of the Great Goddess (Devi) in Shakta tradition. Fierce in appearance and closely associated with time, death and transformation, Kali is paradoxically also revered as a compassionate, protective mother goddess by her devotees — a duality central to her theology.
Protector / Guardian
Kubera
Kubera is the Hindu god of wealth and king of the Yakshas, revered as a guardian deity of the northern direction and, under the name Vaishravana, adopted into Buddhist cosmology as one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Depicted plump and richly adorned with a wealth-spouting mongoose, Kubera is venerated across both Hindu and Buddhist communities of Nepal as a figure of prosperity and protection.
Bodhisattva
Manjushri
Manjushri is the bodhisattva of wisdom, depicted wielding a flaming sword said to cut through the root of ignorance. Widely venerated across Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism as patron of learning and clear insight, Manjushri also holds a distinctive place in Newar Buddhist tradition as the legendary founder of the Kathmandu Valley itself.
Buddha
Medicine Buddha
The Medicine Buddha, Bhaisajyaguru ("Master of Healing"), is one of Buddhism's principal healing figures, venerated across Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions for the great vows made to relieve the physical and mental suffering of beings. His practice occupies a central place in the Tibetan and Newar Buddhist ritual traditions of the Himalayas.
Buddha
Samantabhadra
Samantabhadra, in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, is the Adi-Buddha — the primordial, unconditioned awareness from which all buddhas and phenomena are said to arise. Depicted naked and unadorned in deep blue, without the ornaments or robes of other buddha and bodhisattva forms, Samantabhadra is a central figure of Dzogchen ("Great Perfection") teaching.
Buddha
Shakyamuni Buddha
Shakyamuni Buddha, born Siddhartha Gautama, is the historical founder of Buddhism. Traditionally dated to the 5th century BCE (with scholarly estimates ranging across the 6th–4th centuries BCE), he renounced a life of princely comfort, attained enlightenment after years of ascetic and meditative practice, and taught the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path across northern India for the remainder of his life. His traditionally accepted birthplace, Lumbini, lies in present-day Nepal.
Deity
Shiva
Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism, revered as the ascetic yogi and cosmic dissolver within the Trimurti, and as the Supreme Being within Shaiva tradition. Known by many names — Rudra, Maheshvara, Mahadeva — Shiva embodies both fierce destructive power and profound stillness, and is central to devotional, yogic and ascetic traditions across the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayas, nowhere more prominently in Nepal than at Pashupatinath in Kathmandu.
Hindu Deity Collections
Major Deities
- Shiva
- Parvati
- Vishnu
- Lakshmi
- Saraswati
- Brahma
- Ganesha
- Kartikeya
- Hanuman
- Krishna
- Rama
Dashamahavidya
- Kali
- Tara
- Tripurasundari
- Bhuvaneshwari
- Chhinnamasta
- Bhairavi
- Dhumavati
- Bagalamukhi
- Matangi
- Kamala
Nepal Shakti Traditions
- Taleju
- Dakshinkali
- Guhyeshwari
Bhairava
- Bhairava
- Akash Bhairava
- Swet Bhairava
Ganesh
- Ganesh
- Char Binayak
Vaishnava
- Vishnu
- The Four Narayan of Kathmandu Valley
Matrika
- Ashtamatrika (Eight Mother Goddesses)
Healing-related figures
- Dhanvantari
- Ashvin Kumar traditions
Buddhist Deity Collections
Historical Buddha
- Shakyamuni Buddha
Buddhas / Primordial Figures
- Vairocana
- Akshobhya
- Ratnasambhava
- Amitabha
- Amoghasiddhi
- Vajradhara
- Samantabhadra
Bodhisattvas
- Avalokiteshvara
- Green Tara
- White Tara
- Manjushri
- Vajrapani
- Kshitigarbha
Healing / Longevity
- Medicine Buddha (Bhaisajyaguru)
- Amitayus
Vajrayana Figures
- Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava)
- Vajrasattva
- Vajrayogini
Protectors / Guardians
- Mahakala
- Palden Lhamo
- Begtse
- Hayagriva
Newar Buddhist Traditions
- Major Newar Buddhist sacred figures
- Kathmandu Valley manifestations