護法

dharmapāla

Sanskrit, Dharma-protector). Supernatural beings who act as protectors or guardians of the Dharma and its adherents from all negative forces. In Tibetan Buddhism (see Tibet), they comprise two categories: those who are manifestations of enlightened beings such as Mahākāla, and the so-called ‘oath-bound’ unenlightened beings who have been coerced into acting as protectors by magicians like Padmasambhava and others.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)

Dharmapāla

One of the leading exponents of the Yogācāra school in India, a contemporary of Bhāvaviveka, active during the early decades of the 7th century ce and dying young at the age of 32. Eventually based at Nālandā, he initially travelled widely and studied both Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna throughout India, with Dignāga numbered among his teachers. Unlike classical Yogācāra, his interpretation tends towards idealism and it was through the connections his student Śīlabhadra had with Hsüan-tsang that this understanding of Yogācāra was eventually transmitted to China.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)

○pāla m', law guardian', fig. = punishment or sword MBh. xii, 4429 ; 6204
• N. of a minister of king Daśa-ratha R.
• of a great scholar Buddh.
• of a prince Inscr.
• of a poet Cat.

Sanskrit-English Dictionary, by M. Monier William