Mahakala, "the Great Black One" (Tibetan: Nagpo Chenpo, or simply Gönpo, "the protector"; Chinese: Daheitian), is one of the most important protectors of the Buddhist teachings in Tibet. He is not a demon but a wrathful manifestation of enlightened beings: his six-armed form, for example, is regarded as an emanation of Chenrezig, the bodhisattva of compassion. The Sanskrit kala means both "black" and "time", so his name can also be read as "Great Time".
How he is shown
- Black or dark blue and powerfully built, standing or squatting on a lotus within a blaze of flames: the fire of wisdom, which burns away ignorance.
- Three eyes, bared fangs and hair standing on end, the usual features of a wrathful deity.
- A crown of five skulls: the five poisons of the mind (anger, desire, ignorance, pride and envy) transformed into the five wisdoms.
- A curved knife and a skull cup, held at his heart in almost every form. The knife cuts through ignorance and hatred; the skull cup is a reminder of impermanence.
- A garland of heads, snakes, bone ornaments and a tiger skin: the standard dress of a wrathful protector. In some explanations the fifty heads stand for the fifty letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, and so for purified speech.
His fierceness is aimed not at beings but at what harms them: ignorance, fear and obstacles to practice. He is invoked to remove those obstacles and to guard the teachings and the people who practise them.
The main forms
Each school has its own forms of Mahakala. Those most often painted are:
- Two-armed. The Sakya school's protector, Mahakala Panjarnata, "Lord of the Pavilion", squats holding the knife and skull cup, with a staff laid across his forearms. The Karma Kagyu has its own two-armed form, Bernakchen, "the black-cloaked".
- Four-armed. He holds a sword and a trident-topped staff in his upper hands, and the knife and skull cup below. Four-armed forms are main protectors in several Kagyu lineages and in the Nyingma school.
- Six-armed. The form linked to Chenrezig, and the main protector of the Shangpa Kagyu and Gelug schools. His other hands hold a rosary of skulls, a trident, a hand drum and a lasso, and he stands on an elephant-headed figure, usually explained as the overcoming of all obstacles.
- White Mahakala. A white, six-armed form whose first two hands hold a wish-fulfilling jewel and a skull cup of jewels. He is a wealth deity, especially popular in Mongolia.
In larger paintings Mahakala is often surrounded by a retinue that includes Palden Lhamo, the great female protector, riding her mule.
In a painting
A good Mahakala is powerful but controlled: a compact, muscular body, a fierce face that is still clearly and evenly drawn, and flames with real movement. Look for crisp detail in the skulls and bone ornaments, clean outlines in the hands and attributes, and, in the six-armed form, arms that sit naturally on the body. You can recognise him at a glance by his dark body, his crown of five skulls, and the curved knife and skull cup held at his heart. Some of our paintings are classical, with the two- or six-armed form set in a landscape; others are bold, contemporary close-ups of his face on a bright yellow ground.
