Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Mahakala (Buddhist Protector) - Shadbhuja (Shangpa)

མ་ཧཱ་ཀཱ་ལ། ནག་པོ་ཆེན་པོ། 玛哈嘎拉
(item no. 77577)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1900 - 1959
Lineages Shangpa Kagyu and Buddhist
Size 123x61cm (48.43x24.02in)
Material Ground Mineral Pigment, Black Background on Cotton
Collection Royal Ontario Museum
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Appearance: Wrathful

Gender: Male

Interpretation / Description

Jnana Nata Shadbhuja Vajra Mahakala (Tib. ye she gon po dor je nag po chen po chag drug pa. Eng. the Six-armed Great Black One): the principal protector of the Shangpa Kagyu Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

Front of Painting
English Translation of Inscription: name inscriptions beneath each figure.

Secondary Images
Related Items
Thematic Sets
Mahakala: Shadbhuja [Shangpa] Page (Six-hands)
Collection of Royal Ontario Museum: Paintings
Painting Set: Shadbhuja Mahakala (Shangpa, Black Ground)