vajrapāṇi,vajradhara. Any deva-holder of thevajra. (1) Indra, who in a former incarnation took an oath to defend Buddhism, was reborn as king of theyakṣas, hence he and hisyakṣas carryvajras. (2) Mañjuśrī as the spiritual reflex of the Dhyāni Buddha Akṣobhya. (3) A popular deity, the terror of all enemies of Buddhist believers, specially worshipped in exorcisms and sorcery by the Yoga school.