Mahakala as The Supreme Protector of Buddhist Monasteries

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

He is the main deity of the Shakyapas. His omnipotence is invoked against powers of evil. He is a symbol of the fierce power of Akshobhya who reduces to dust demons and forces adverse to Dharma. He is the Great Mahakala with one ferocious face, in contradistinction to Junior Mahakala with four faces. He is represented with a body of dark-blue, one face, three eyes, two hands, hair standing on end and a crown of skulls with central Buddha head; jewels and snakes. He is standing as a squat compact figure upon a corpse. He holds a vajra chopper and a white skull bowl full of the blood and guts of demons turned into elixir. He carries across the crooks of his elbows an ornamented wooden gandi gong, used in Buddhist monasteries to call the monks to assemblies, symbolizing his vow to protect Nalanda monastic university and hence by extension all Buddhist monasteries. Gandi, moreover is used for beating the hours in monasteries. It is a terrifying club which punishes everyone offending the sanctity of the word. He watches over the fulfillment of vows and promises, and thereby guarantees faith. The supreme vow is pursuing supreme enlightenment. If a person does not fulfill this Vow, he will be devoured by the dark world of instincts that pull him away from redeeming light. He is surrounded by his messengers (dutas), who are hags, jackals, a flock of crows, birds, and other animals of prey; Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Siddhas, other forms of Mahakala and Palden Lhamo etc. The ornaments worn so elegantly on his blue body and gigantic head include jewel-encrusted gold crown, necklace, earrings, and anklets, accompanied by an equally elaborate set of delicately detailed armbands, legbands, and bracelets, all of carved human bone. Floral white scarf, garlands of severed human heads and snakes and the chalk-white four-skull crown complement the bone ornaments and his glowing eyeballs and gleaming teeth. Each of these specifically symbolizes the conquest of a particular type of obstruction of enlightenment.

Mahakala takes terrific forms and conquers the most horrible realms of existence. As a fierce manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, Mahakala helps beings overcome all negative elements, especially spiritual ones, personified and symbolized by the panoply of fearsome creatures over which he becomes Lord. He wears his grisly ornaments to show his indefatigable determination to redeem even the horrible. This particular forms of Mahakala, easily recognized by the wooden gong he carries across his arms. This form seems to have connection with the myth wherein Mahakala promised Shakyamuni Buddha himself that he would always protect the Buddhist monasteries and community. As mentioned above the wooden gong (gandi) he holds was used since most ancient times to summon the monks and nuns to assemblies.

Around the upper borders are two wrathful deities, Vasudhara, Vajrasattva, Ushnishvijaya, Vajradhara, a Bodhisattva, Chenrezig and Green Tara. Along the bottom, from left are blue-complexioned wrathful deities with at centre Bodhisattva Samantabhadra attended by Naga king and devotees. The bottom right corner depicts a devotee couple with folded hands.

This is a powerful manifestation of Mahakala. The drawing and colour-combination are brilliant. The painting is very much suitable for sadhana and ritual.

Select Bibliography

Alice Getty, Gods of Northern Buddhism, Tokyo, 1962

J.C. Huntington and D. Bangdel, The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, Ohio, 2004

Lokesh Chandra, Transcendental Art of Tibet, Delhi, 1996

Marylin M. Rhie & Robert A.F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, Thames and Hudson, 1996

Marylin M. Rhie & Robert A.F. Thurman, Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1999

Rob Linrothe & Jeff Watt, Demonic Divine: Himalayan Art and Beyond, New York, 2004

This description is by Dr. Shailendra K. Verma, whose Doctorate thesis is on "Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (From its inception to 8th century A.D.)".

Click Here to View the Thangka Painting along with its Brocade

Free Shipping. Delivered by to all international destinations within 3 to 5 days, fully insured.

Unveiling the Divine Art: Journey into the Making of Thangkas

A Thangka is a traditional Tibetan Buddhist painting that usually depicts a Buddhist Deity (Buddha or Bodhisattva), a scene, or a mandala. These paintings are considered important paraphernalia in Buddhist rituals. They are used to teach the life of the Buddha, various lamas, and Bodhisattvas to the monastic students, and are also useful in visualizing the deity while meditating. One of the most important subjects of thangkas is the Bhavacakra (the wheel of life) which depicts the Art of Enlightenment. It is believed that Thangka paintings were developed over the centuries from the murals, of which only a few can be seen in the Ajanta caves in India and the Mogao caves in Gansu Province, Tibet. Thangkas are painted on cotton or silk applique and are usually small in size. The artist of these paintings is highly trained and has a proper understanding of Buddhist philosophy, knowledge, and background to create a realistic and bona fide painting.

The process of making a thangka begins with stitching a loosely woven cotton fabric onto a wooden frame. Traditionally, the canvas was prepared by coating it with gesso, chalk, and base pigment.

After this, the outline of the form of the deity is sketched with a pencil or charcoal onto the canvas using iconographic grids. The drawing process is followed in accordance with strict guidelines laid out in Buddhist scriptures. The systematic grid helps the artist to make a geometrical and professional painting. When the drawing of the figures is finalized and adjusted, it is then outlined with black ink.

Earlier, a special paint of different colors was made by mixing powdered forms of organic (vegetable) and mineral pigments in a water-soluble adhesive. Nowadays, artists use acrylic paints instead. The colors are now applied to the sketch using the wet and dry brush techniques. One of the characteristic features of a thangka is the use of vibrant colors such as red, blue, black, green, yellow, etc.

In the final step, pure gold is coated over some parts of the thangka to increase its beauty. Due to this beautification, thangkas are much more expensive and also stand out from other ordinary paintings.

Thangka paintings are generally kept unrolled when not on display on the wall. They also come with a frame, a silken cover in front, and a textile backing to protect the painting from getting damaged. Because Thangkas are delicate in nature, they are recommended to be kept in places with no excess moisture and where there is not much exposure to sunlight. This makes them last a long time without their colors fading away. Painting a thangka is an elaborate and complex process and requires excellent skills. A skilled artist can take up to 6 months to complete a detailed thangka painting. In earlier times, thangka painters were lamas that spent many years on Buddhist studies before they painted.