Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Mahakala (Buddhist Protector) - (1 face - 2 hands)

མ་ཧཱ་ཀཱ་ལ། ནག་པོ་ཆེན་པོ། 玛哈嘎拉
(item no. 35995)
Origin Location Nepal
Date Range 1960 -
Lineages Kagyu, Karma (Kagyu) and Buddhist
Material Ground Mineral Pigment
Collection Private
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Appearance: Wrathful

Gender: Male

Interpretation / Description

Two-Armed Mahakala.

The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla, Chapter 7. From the 84000 Translating the Words of the Buddha.

'Two Armed Form 7.47. Visualize him with one face and two arms, holding a hooked knife in his right hand and a skull bowl in his left hand. His body is black in color, and his yellow hair flows upward. He is seated on a corpse and is ornamented with the eight great nāgas. He has a big belly, is short, and is flanked by two yoginīs. His lets forth a thunderous roar like a dark raincloud, and he is reminiscent of Śaṅkhapāla because those beings present to hear the sound all hide.'

Related Items
Thematic Sets
Collection: Private 1
Subject: Fifty Chapter Mahakala Tantra