Mahakala in Buddhism – The Great Wrathful Dharampala

This article is about who is Mahakala in Buddhism, The Etymology of the word Mahakala, His iconography, various forms, and the stories of his origin.

Homage to Mahakala, the Great Black One,

Wrathful emanation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

Homage to Mahakala,

whose implements are The skull-cup of blissful wisdom

and the knife Of penetrating methods severing negativity,

The Black Lord of ferocious appearance

Whose voice causes all on the earth to tremble.

O Mahakala, you appear in the form of a terrible demon

In order to overcome the endless hosts of demons.

Like the first day of the new moon,

You herald the destruction of the forces of darkness.

Protective lord, whose fangs are love, compassion, equanimity and joy,

Whose body blazes with fires of wisdom,

Your mantra is like the roar of a lion

Causing the jackals of evil to scatter.

Just as the angry yak catches its enemies on its horns

And then shakes the very life out of them,

Similarly do you destroy the inner forces

By which we obstruct our own path to liberation!

(Homage paid to Mahakala by the First Dalai Lama excerpt from https://enlightenmentthangka.com/blogs/thangka/mahakala-understanding-the-practice-of-mahakala)

Etymology of the Word Mahakala

The term ‘Maha’ translates to ‘Great,’ and ‘Kala’ means ‘time’ or ‘death.’ Together, they form the word ‘Mahakala,’ which describes this deity who transcends both time and death.

Who is Mahakala in Buddhism?

Mahakala is the protector of Dharma (Dharamapala) in all sects of Mahayana Buddhism. His images are in many Buddhists Viharas and temples. He embodies the essential principles of protection, transformation, and spiritual power with a fierce demeanor and a dynamic nature.

Mahakala represents an active force empowering practitioners to confront and overcome both inner and outer obstacles on their journey to enlightenment. His wrathful expression symbolizes the intensity required to cut through negativity, ignorance, and delusion.

His fierce appearance serves as a reminder that spiritual growth often demands facing one’s fears and embracing challenges. Mahakala’s multifaceted character reflects the complexity of the spiritual path, highlighting the balance between power and compassion, destruction and creation.

As a protector of Buddhist teachings, Mahakala incorporates transformative energy, providing practitioners with spiritual strength and courage to persevere on their path to awakening. He serves as a guiding force, encouraging practitioners to embrace their inner strength while cultivating compassion and wisdom. The power of his fiery demeanor exists to guide spiritual seekers who fall victim to deception, delusion, or lack confidence in their abilities to change, grow, and find their most positive place in the world.

Mahakala as the Lord of Tents

When Tibetans initially began praying to Mahakala for protection, they were a nomadic people, living in tents and constantly moving from place to place. For them, Mahakala remains the “Lord of the Tent,” highlighting His popularity and the vital role He played in the survival and protection of the historically nomadic Tibetan people. He is a protector of religious law, and his masks are ubiquitous in temples, monasteries, and private homes throughout Tibet.

How to recognize the Deity

Mahakala almost always wears a crown of five skulls, symbolizing the transmutation of the five negative afflictions of human nature into five pearls of wisdom. Below are the five negative vices and their corresponding transformed wisdom forms:

• Ignorance transforms into the wisdom of reality.
• Pride becomes the wisdom of sameness.
• Attachment becomes the wisdom of discernment.
• Jealousy becomes the wisdom of accomplishment.
• Anger becomes mirror like wisdom.

Mahakala and His various forms

There are numerous variations in representing Mahakala, each with distinct qualities and aspects. The most notable variation in his manifestations and depictions is the number of arms, but other details vary as well. For instance, Mahakala is often dark blue, symbolizing the steady and enduring nature of dharma. However, the black form of Mahakala is also popular, and sometimes he is of white color too.

Most of the time, he has one head, but he can also appear with multiple heads. He can also be without genitals, standing on varying numbers of objects, holding various implements, and adorned with different accessories.

Among his many forms, the two-armed, four-armed, six-armed, and sixteen-armed manifestations are the most popular.

Iconography of two-armed Mahakala – Bernagche Mahakala

The two-armed Mahakala, also known as Bernagchen, is the manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion. Bernagchen’s name translates to “Black-Cloaked Mahakala”, the main protector of the Karmapa and the special protector of the Karma Kagyu (Kamtsang) School of Tibetan Buddhism.

Two-armed Mahakala has a stout body with short, thick limbs. A crown of five skulls adorns His flaming hairs. This crown symbolizes the transmutation of the five poisons – anger, desire, ignorance, Jealousy, and pride – into five wisdoms. He is bedecked with ornaments of serpents and a garland of severed heads.

His gaping red mouth, protruding bloodshot eyes, and third eye in the middle of his forehead convey his wrathful expression and fiery radiance. His blood-soaked red mouth signifies his active role in eliminating evils. The three eyes symbolize his knowledge of the past, present, and future, and the third eye represents his omniscience, the ability to see through the illusions of the material world.

In his right hand, he holds a menacing Kartari, a ritual chopper, symbolizing the cutting of ego-clinging or ego-attachments. In his left hand, he holds a blood-filled skull cup, symbolizing the subjugation of demonic forces.

Mahakala sits or stands on a human corpse, symbolizing the defeat of negative patterns. In some images, he carries a trident (trishul) in his right hand, symbolizing the three Jewels of Buddhism—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Mahakala wears a tiger skin, symbolizing the purification of desire.

Iconography of Four-armed Mahakala

The four-armed Mahakala resembles the two-armed Mahakala in all details except for the number of arms and the symbols he displays in his additional hands. In this form, he carries the Kartari (ritual chopper) and Kapala (skull) in his primary hands, and a flaming sword and a khatvanga(club) in the secondary pair.

The khatvanga is a ritual staff with three human heads at the upper end, representing the overcoming of the three roots of evil: greed (raga), ill-will (dvesha), and delusion (moha). The sword is the flaming weapon of transcendental wisdom (prajna) with which Mahakala destroys ignorance.

Various four-armed Mahakalas serve as the primary protectors of the Karma Kagyu, Drikung Kagyu, and Drukpa lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. They also hold importance to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The four arms of this Mahakala manifestation carry out one of the four good deeds, or karmas, which are His blessing to His practitioners:

• Pacify sickness, remove obstacles, and troubles.
• Increase one’s life, good qualities, and wisdom.
• Bring people to the Dharma by enticing whatever practitioners of the Dharma require.
• Destroy ignorance, skepticism, and confusion.

Iconography of six-armed Black Mahakala

Six perfections

The Gelug order of Tibetan Buddhism reveres the six-armed Mahakala, also known as Nyingshuk. In this manifestation, Mahakala is the fierce and powerful emanation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion. His six arms signify the successful completion of the six perfections (shad-paramita). These six perfections are:

• The perfection of generosity (dana-paramita)
• Morality (shila-paramita)
• Peace (shanti-paramita)
• Vigor (virya-paramita)
• Meditation (dhyana-paramita)
• Insightful Wisdom (prajna-paramita)

Symbolic significance of different elements in six hands of Mahakala

He holds different elements in each arm, each with symbolic significance:

• First right hand: Holds a curved knife (Kartari). In Mahakala’s symbolism, the curved knife cuts through the life veins of enemies, such as oath-breakers and hindering spirits.
• Primary left hand: Holds a skull cup filled with the heart-blood of these enemies.
• Next right hand: Holds a damaru, an hourglass drum. It signifies the primordial sound from which all manifested existence originates. Its sound arouses devotees from their ignorant state and guides them to the path of Dharma.
• Uppermost right hand: Holds a rosary of skulls, representing his ongoing work for the good of all beings.
• Another left hand: Holds a trident, symbolizing the three Jewels of Buddhism—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
• Final left hand: Holds a noose for pulling back those who stray from the path of Dharma.

Limbs of Mahakala

The six-armed Mahakala outstretches his left leg and bends his right leg at the knee. The former symbolizes his accomplishments for the benefit of others, while the latter represents those for himself.

An elephant-headed entity lying crushed under his legs symbolizes our instinctive, primary animal force and urge, which, when unleashed, can be extremely destructive. However, these cravings can also be highly beneficial to our self-development and realization when we master and moderate them. Buddhist texts warn that a herd of elephants appearing in dreams signifies the potential release of long-suppressed, instinctive, and irrepressible forces.

His Eyes

The sun-disc on which Mahakala stands symbolizes his illumination of the darkness of ignorance, while the lotus beneath this disc signifies purity untouched by samsara. The blazing fire surrounding him represents his powerful energy that consumes all neurotic states of mind. Additionally, his three organs of vision express his ability to see the past, present, and future. His wide-eyed stare at the world signifies his agony at the current state of affairs.

The snake ornaments

Snakes slither across his body as ornaments and as the sacred thread of Brahmins. These writhing serpents serve as metaphors for the stirring of our psychic instinctive, and primordial energy. Mahakala adorns these serpents to demonstrate that he has tamed the emotions that impede a devotee’s spiritual progress, harnessing them to enhance the devotee’s spiritual achievements.

Significance of black color

The six-armed Mahakala is black in color. As black absorbs all colors, the black color of Mahakala signifies the deity’s all-embracing and welcoming nature. Black also symbolizes the complete absence of color, highlighting Mahakala’s importance as the ultimate or absolute reality. It represents the idea of nirguna, which is beyond all qualities and forms.

Iconography of six-armed White Mahakala

The white Mahakala is popular among Gelugpas. He is a “wealth-giving deity” that supports the comfort and economic well-being of its Tantric practitioners. The white color of Mahakala in this form symbolizes purity, wisdom, and compassion.

According to His sadhana, the following description is accurate. “His body is white. His face is wrathful, and he has three eyes. He has six arms. His main right hand holds a wish-fulfilling jewel (Chintamani) mounted on a jewel-tipped handle in front of his chest.”

His skull bowl contains jewels rather than the mortal remains of his victims, and he wears a crown with five jewels instead of the traditional five skulls. He helps his devotees work harder and set the intention of prosperity as a desire to help family, community, and other sentient beings. He has mandala or clouds around him emphasizing his spiritual significance and connection to the cosmos.

The Stories about the origin of Mahakala

Mahakala originating from Dark Blue Hung Letter

Mahakala is the manifestation of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. From the heart of Arya Avalokiteshvara emerged a dark blue “Hung” letter, which transformed into the Instantaneous Protector of wisdom.

Buddha Amitabha addressed Mahakala and proclaimed, “Son of the family, you shall have the strength of the wrathful Yama, Lord of death. You shall have the mountain spirits, the yakshas, the devils and the demonesses as your messengers. You shall embody the great wrathful empowerments of body, speech, mind, qualities and activities of all the Buddhas throughout the three times”.

Ever since, Mahakala has remained the doctrine Protector of all the Buddha fields.

Story of Origin of White Mahakala

Lord Atisha once encountered an old man who was dying of starvation. With compassion in his heart, he offered the old man his own flesh to save him. However, the old man refused, saying he could not eat the flesh of a monk. In this moment of despair, the god of Compassion, Chengrezig, appeared to Atisha and manifested as White Mahakala to help alleviate the suffering and poverty of beings.

The Origin of Mahakala and His Role in Protecting the Buddha

Shakyamuni Buddha delivered his teachings on Dharma smoothly, believing they would benefit all sentient beings. However, as his teachings gained popularity, several local deities and spirits felt threatened by the propagation of Buddhism. These evil beings stirred chaos by placing obstacles on the practitioners and the Tathagata.

Mahakala was the most formidable one among these beings, as he was the personification of negativism and chaos. He was a disrupter who wanted to keep his realm safe from the influence of the Buddha’s teaching. Shakyamuni called upon Guru Padmasambhava to tame those evil and negative forces and restore the Dharma.

Although Mahakala was aggressive and powerful, Guru Padmasambhava soon recognized his transformational power and decided to use it for a good purpose. He paid respect to the Fierce One and invited him to join the side of the Dharma rather than oppose it. Through a series of teachings and powerful rituals, Padmasambhava urged Mahakala to see the sorrow of beings and the liberating capacity of the Buddha’s teachings.

Initially, Mahakala resisted Padmasambhava’s wisdom. However, over time, he realized that his strength should be used to guard, not disrupt, the Dharma. In a heroic pivot in his anger, as the Great Black One, Mahakala understood the nature of his energy and decided to protect the teachings of the Buddha.

Benefits of Mahakala Mantra

Repeating Mahakala’s mantra eliminates barriers to prosperity, confusion, doubts, and ignorance. His mantra can destroy all encroachments from adversaries, demons, evil, and dark magic. He is Tibet’s foremost guardian of the wisdom dharma. The blessings of Mahakala help remove barriers and challenges brought on by sadness and rage.

Additionally, chanting this mantra reduces uncertainty, doubts, and ignorance, and removes all obstacles to money flow. Mahakala can destroy all encroachments from enemies, demons, evil, and dark magic.

The merits accrued from the repetition of the Mantra of Mahakala are so numerous that all the Buddhas together cannot count them, even if they were to count without cessation for a number of days and nights.

Conclusion: Embracing Mahakala, the Protector and Transformer

Mahakala, in all his forms, serves as a vital guide on the path to enlightenment. By embracing his protective and transformative aspects—whether through the gentle energy of White Mahakala or the fierce presence of the Six-Armed Mahakala—practitioners can navigate the complexities of their spiritual journeys.

As devotees explore the various aspects of this divine deity, they realize that his teachings are not just about protection but also about transformation. Mahakala teaches the lessons of courage, compassion, and resilience. Whether facing external challenges or internal struggles, the Great Black One always guides his devotees and keeps them steady on their journey toward the path of Dharma.

References

Buddhist Deities and Masters – An introduction by Chandra B Sakya

The iconography of Nepalese Buddhism by Min Bahadur Shakya

The Indian Buddhist Iconography by Benoytosh Bhattacharyya

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