The Buddhist bodhisattva-like wealth deity often depicted holding a mongoose is Jambhala. Also called Dzambhala or Dzambala, he is associated with fortune, prosperity, generosity, and both material and spiritual abundance.
The mongoose is a distinctive iconographic clue. In many tantric images, it is shown emitting jewels from its mouth, symbolizing the release of wealth and the overcoming of poverty. Different forms of Jambhala have different colors, attributes, consorts, and ritual associations. Green Jambhala, for example, is often shown with a mongoose in one hand and a skull cup in the other.
Tibetan Buddhism recognizes five principal Jambhalas, including yellow, green, white, red, and black forms. Their practices are not simply about personal enrichment: wealth is ideally connected with generosity, charitable action, and the removal of conditions that obstruct spiritual practice.
Jambhala is often compared with or identified with Kubera and Vaiśravaṇa, figures who also govern wealth in Indian and Buddhist traditions. That overlap creates a common quiz trap. Kubera is the Hindu god of wealth, while Vaiśravaṇa is one of Buddhism’s Four Heavenly Kings. The mongoose attribute, especially in tantric Buddhist art, points most directly to Jambhala.