Himalayan Art Resources

Buddhist Deity: Kalachakra, Mahasamvara

Kalachakra Main Page | Kalachakra Outline Page

Mahasamvara Kalachakra, Seventy-three Deity Mandala common to the Sakya and Jonang Traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

Sanskrit: Kalachakra Tibetan: Du kyi kor lo

Kalachakra is surrounded by eight couples in embrace. Outside of that are six concentric weapon wheels: jnana, bhumi, vari, jvala, vayu and akasha. Each of the wheels has eight couples in embrace. The mandala palace is circular with eight gates. Surrounding the palace is the ring of sixteen great charnal grounds unique to the Kalachakra Tantra. There are usually eight charnal grounds surrounding the mandala palace of a semi-wrathful or wrathful deity.

The source text is the Paramadi-buddhoddhrta-srikalachakra-nama-tantraraja, Toh 362. Further information for this mandala can be found in the Ngor Mandala compilation of the 19th century rgyud sde kun btus, mandala #98, dus 'khor sdom chen lha bdun cu don gsum gyi dkyil 'khor. Also see The Ngor Mandalas of Tibet, Listings of the Mandala Deities. bSod nams rgya mthso. Bibliotheca Codicum Asiaticorum 4. The Centre for East Asian Cultural Studies, 1991. Again, Tibetan Mandalas (Vajravali and Tantra-samuccaya), Raghuvira and Lokesh Chandra, 1995, and Ocean of Tantras (rgyud de brgya mthso).

Jeff Watt 7-2003 [updated 7-2009]