Nika Jovic. The Cult of the ’Go ba’i lha lnga: A Study With Pictorial and Written Material of the Five Personal Deities. M. A. thesis, Universitat Wien, 2010. 148 pp. [official site / PDF]
This thesis contains editions and translations of several Tibetan ritual texts: the ’Go ba’i lha lnga’i bsangs mchod by Ku saʼ li dha rma ba dzra (A), the ’Go baʼi lha lngaʼi bsang chog by Ku sa li dha rma ba dzwa (B), the ’Go ba’i lha lnga’i bsangs chog by the Ku sa li dha rma ba dzra (C) ‘Go ba’i lha lnga’i bsangs mchod by Ku sa li dha rma bdzra (D), the ’Go ba’i lha lnga’i bsangs mchod by Su pra mi dha rma ba dzra (E), the Lha lngaʼi gsol mchod bsod nams dpal skyed by Zhor sngags smyon (F), the ’Go ba’i lha lnga’i gsol mchod bsang dang bcas pa yar ngoʼi zla rgyas zhes bya ba by Ka rma ngag dbang yon tan rgya mtsho (G), the ‘Go ba’i lha lnga’i gsol mchod phen bdeʼi ʻdod ʻjo zhes bya ba by bTsun gzugs bLo bzang chos kyi nyi ma (H) and others.
From the Introduction
The following work is based upon my research on transcendental beings (Tib. lha) who belong to the category of Tibetan protective deities (Tib. srung ma). There are two main classes according to which protective deities are arranged. One includes the worldly guardians of the dharma (Tib. jig rten pa) and the other, those who have already passed beyond the six spheres of existence (Tib. jig rten las das pa). The main characteristic of supramundane deities is that they are seen as a means or a path to complete awakening, while the others are merely a medium to clear away obstacles and increase peopleʼs well-being and prosperity. The five personal protectors (Tib. ʼGo baʼi lha lnga) belong to the latter class. This distinction refers to Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1956), an Austrian Ethnologist and Tibetologist, who was intensely engaged in the study of Tibetan folk religion and composed the most extensive work on protective deities.