vajra-bearing god ［執金剛神］ ( vajrapāni or vajradhara;  shū-kongō-shin): Also, vajra-holding god. A generic term for any deity who wields a vajra, a kind of weapon, and protects Buddhism. The Sanskrit word vajra was rendered in Chinese as “diamond-pounder.” Pāni of vajrapāni means hand, and dhara of vajradhara means bearing or holding. The Lotus Sutra lists the thirty-three different forms that Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World’s Sounds assumes in order to save people from danger or suffering, the thirty-third of which is a vajra-bearing god.