Wrathful in appearance, dark blue in color, Palden Lhamo has one face and two hands. The right hand holds a white skullcup to the heart, the left holds vajra-tipped staff upraised. A canopy of a peacock feathers above her flaming hair and adorned with a skull crown, having bared fangs and possessing three round red eyes, and the forehead furrowed into a frown. Seated atop a mule draped with a flayed human skin wading through an ocean of blood she is surrounded by wisps of red flame and clouds of dark billowing smoke. Surrounding the primary figures are Palden Lhamo’s retinue of protector deities.
Some Tibetan teachers say that there are twenty-one forms of Palden Lhamo (Shri Devi), often including the Bon religious protector Sipai Gyalmo as one of the forms.
Not all forms of Shri Devi have the same entity or personality. The principal form of the protector, Dudsolma or Dudmo Remati, appearing with one face and four arms, riding a donkey, is a wrathful manifestation of Shri Lakshmi (Pal Lhamo). Principal here means earliest and having the most lineages from India, teachings and commentaries associated with her practice. Magzor Gyalmo with two arms, riding a mule, is a manifestation of Sarasvati.