Item: Mahakala (Buddhist Protector) - Chaturmukha (Four-Faced)
| Origin Location | Tibet |
|---|---|
| Date Range | 1960 - |
| Lineages | Gelug and Buddhist |
| Material | Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton |
| Collection | Private |
Classification: Deity
Appearance: Wrathful
Gender: Male
Chaturmukha Mahakala.
Video: HAR #9960
Chaturmukha has four faces, four arms and two legs. The main face is blue-black and the right white and the left red. The top face is smokey coloured. The first pair of hands hold a curved knife and a skullcup. The second pair of hands holds a raised sword in the right and a spear in the left. The right leg is bent and the left straight standing atop a prone corpse-like figure. Typically he has four attendant female figures; Dombini, Chandali, Rakshasi and Singhali Devi - black, red, yellow and green in colour.
At the top right side is the 1st Panchen Lama, Lobzang Chokyi Gyaltsen (1570-1662). On the left side is a monastic figure figure holding a white lotus flower - likely to represent the 5th Dalai Lama, Lobzang Gyatso (1617-1682 [65 yrs].
At the lower left side is Dorje Setrab, red in colour. At the lower right side is the worldly deity Chingkarwa, white in colour.
Added October 2025
Artist: Nubje Dola
Mahakala: Chaturmukha (Four-faced) Main Page
Mahakala: Chaturmukha (Four-faced, Masterworks)
Painting Style: Menri, Tashi Lhunpo Monastery