Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Mahakala (Buddhist Protector) - Shadbhuja, Sita (White, Shangpa)

མ་ཧཱ་ཀཱ་ལ། ནག་པོ་ཆེན་པོ། 玛哈嘎拉
(item no. 41015)
Origin Location Tibet
Lineages Gelug and Buddhist
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection Private
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Appearance: Wrathful

Gender: Male

Interpretation / Description

Shadbhuja Sita Mahakala, (Tibetan: gon po kar po chag drug pa. English: the White Lord with Six Hands): emanation of Avalokiteshvara and principal wealth deity of the Shangpa Kagyu Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

At the top of the composition are the Five Symbolic Buddhas white Vairochana, blue Akshobhya, yellow Ratnasambhava, red Amitabha and green Amoghasiddhi, each displaying their own unique gestures.

At the middle left is white Khasarpani Lokeshvara with orange Manjushri on the right side.

At the bottom left is red Hayagriva in his form known as 'Secret Accomplishment.' At the center is yellow Jambhala. On the right side is yellow Vasudhara with one face and six hands.

This composition of Sita Shadbhuja Mahakala follows the Tashi Lunpo Monastery style of painting. See other examples of this figure in this painting style: HAR #351, #813 and as a secondary figure #65787.

Jeff Watt 7-2014

Secondary Images
Related Items
Thematic Sets
Mahakala: White Figures
Mahakala: Shadbhuja, White (6 Hands, Shangpa)
Mahakala: Shadbhuja, White (Masterworks)