Chaturbhuja Mahakala – The "Four-armed Great Black One"
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Aisle
Orientation 1
Wall object 3
ABP 012
Code: ABP 012
Country: Tibet
Style:
Date: 1600 - 1700
Dimensions in cm WxHxD: 47 x 69
Materials: Gouache on cotton
Chaturbhuja Mahakala – The "Four-armed Great Black One"
Corpulent and menacing, the protector Mahakala, the Great Black One, is sitting on the recumbent body of defeated enemies. The first pair of hands hold a black fruit and a skull cup, while he wields a sword and a trident with the second pair of hands. Of dark blue colour, his face bears the expression of awakened wrath: his mouth is wide open, his eyes are bulging and his hair is standing on end. His naked body is clad only in a loincloth of tiger skin. He wears the bone ornaments of the charnel grounds. As a dynamic manifestation of compassion, this protector defends the teachings of the Buddha and Buddhist practitioners against all kinds of external and internal obstacles.
Placed above Mahakala in the sky are the tutelary deity and four human masters identified by inscriptions as masters of the Jonang lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The lower range gathers wrathful offerings in the centre surrounded by four manifestations of Jambhala, the God of Wealth. The representation of a natural landscape indicates a Chinese stylistic influence.
Corpulent and menacing, the protector Mahakala, the Great Black One, is sitting on the recumbent body of defeated enemies. The first pair of hands hold a black fruit and a skull cup, while he wields a sword and a trident with the second pair of hands. Of dark blue colour, his face bears the expression of awakened wrath: his mouth is wide open, his eyes are bulging and his hair is standing on end. His naked body is clad only in a loincloth of tiger skin. He wears the bone ornaments of the charnel grounds. As a dynamic manifestation of compassion, this protector defends the teachings of the Buddha and Buddhist practitioners against all kinds of external and internal obstacles.
Placed above Mahakala in the sky are the tutelary deity and four human masters identified by inscriptions as masters of the Jonang lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The lower range gathers wrathful offerings in the centre surrounded by four manifestations of Jambhala, the God of Wealth. The representation of a natural landscape indicates a Chinese stylistic influence.