JARO-YANGZHI: THE REPRESENTATIVE OBJECT OF RAVEN HEADED DEITY
One of the sacred ritual objects hung at the inner chamber or sanctum (མགོན་ཁང་) of the tutelary deities of Göm Chamdrèl Süm is Jaro-Yangzhi (བྱ་རོག་གཡང་གཞི།). This object represents Legön Jaro-dongchen (the raven-faced deity), one of Bhutan's three supreme and most important deities. Along with Zhabdrung Rinpoche and the Hereditary Kings of Bhutan, Jaro-dongchen has played an essential role notably during Bhutan's defense against Tibetan invasions and British-India. Usually made of bronze, it should be filled with zung (sacred inner scripts and objects) before being consecrated and hung in the altar. The Gönkhang of Jarogang holds profound significance, as Legön physically appeared before Zhabdrung Rinpoche at that place, offering his unwavering commitment to defeat the invading Tibetan forces. At that time, due to repeated invasions, Zhabdrung was forced to flee southward. Some sources suggest that if Jaro-dongchen had not appeared before Zhabdrung, offering his full support,...
