Mahakala Panjarnatha – “Protector of the pavilion”
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India and Nepal
Orientation 3
Wall object 10

ABP 071

 Code: ABP 071

  Country: Tibet (central)

  Style: Nepalese School

  Date: 1350 - 1450

  Dimensions in cm WxHxD: 46 x 51,5

  Materials: Distemper on cotton

Pañjaranata Mahakala (Gurgyi Gönpo) – “Protector of the Pavillion”

This painting depicts a famous aspect of the protective deity Mahakala, “The Great Black Protector of the Pavillion” (Gurgyi Gönpo in Tibetan). Black-skinned with coarse limbs, he displays all the characteristics of wrathful deities. Richly adorned with macabre ornaments, a silk scarf swirls around him. His hands hold the curved blade and blood-filled skull cup, and a staff rests in the crook of his arms. He looks like a corpulent dwarf crouching over a corpse. The painting represents him in a swirling blaze of fire in the midst of charnel grounds, surrounded by his four main assistants. His retinue is in the lower register, while above him are the masters of the transmission lineage. This specific form of Mahakala is attached to the yidam Hevajra, primarily revered by the Sakya school