Druk (Thunder Dragon of Bhutan)

The Druk is the Thunder Dragon of Tibetan and Bhutanese tradition, whose voice is thunder, the emblem of the Drukpa school of Buddhism and the national symbol of Bhutan, shown on its flag holding jewels in its claws.

The Thunder Dragon

In Tibetan, the word druk means "dragon," and thunder is the dragon's voice. Tibetan dragons belong to the same family as the Chinese lóng: long, scaly, four-legged, wingless, and linked to clouds and storms. In Tibetan art the dragon is also one of the "four dignities," with the tiger, the snow lion, and the garuda, that appear on prayer flags.

The Story

The Druk's special place in Bhutan began with a Buddhist teacher. According to the tradition of the Drukpa school, the master Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje was consecrating the site of a new monastery near Ralung in central Tibet, around 1189, when he heard thunder and saw dragons rising into the sky. He named the monastery Druk, and his school became known as the Drukpa, "those of the dragon."

In 1616 a Drukpa lama, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, left Tibet for the valleys to the south. He built fortress-monasteries, defeated rivals, and united the region into a single state with the Drukpa school as its religion. The country became known as Druk Yul, the "Land of the Thunder Dragon," which is still the name Bhutanese use for their country.

National Symbol

The Druk appears at the center of the flag of Bhutan, a white dragon stretched along the line dividing a yellow upper half from an orange lower half. Official explanations say the yellow stands for the secular authority of the king, the orange for the Buddhist tradition, and the white dragon for purity. The jewels, or norbu, held in its claws stand for the wealth and security of the nation. The king of Bhutan is called the Druk Gyalpo, "Dragon King," a title held by the Wangchuck dynasty since 1907, and the national anthem is called "Druk Tsendhen," "Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon."

Legacy

The dragon is everywhere in Bhutan, from government buildings and banknotes to the name of the national airline, Druk Air. It is a rare case of a mythical dragon serving as the living emblem of a modern state, like the red dragon of Wales. For its Chinese relatives, see our page on Chinese dragons.

Related

• Lóng (Chinese dragon): The lóng is the Chinese dragon: a long, scaly, usually wingless creature with four clawed legs that rules rain, rivers, and seas and became the emblem of the emperor and of Chinese culture.
• Y Ddraig Goch: Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon of Wales, is the dragon of the Britons who, in early Welsh legend, fights a white Saxon dragon beneath Dinas Emrys and today flies on the national flag of Wales.
• Yong (Korean dragon): The yong is the Korean dragon, a benevolent water and weather spirit that brings rain, guards the sea, and protects kings and the nation, often shown holding the wish-granting jewel called the yeouiju.
• Dragon Kings (Longwang): The Dragon Kings are the dragon rulers of the seas, rivers, and lakes in Chinese religion and folklore, rain-giving lords who live in crystal palaces, take human form, and answer to the Jade Emperor.
• Dragons Across Cultures
• Welsh Dragons
• Chinese Dragons

Sources and Further Reading

• Karma Phuntsho, The History of Bhutan (Random House India, 2013)
• Michael Aris, Bhutan: The Early History of a Himalayan Kingdom (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1979)
• Robert Beer, The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs (Shambhala, 1999)

Cite this entry: “Druk (Thunder Dragon of Bhutan),” Draconika Encyclopedia of Dragons, https://www.draconika.com/dragons/druk.