| Mahakala | |
|---|---|
God of Time, Maya, Creation, Destruction and Power | |
 Mahākāla and companions | |
| Affiliation | Shiva |
| Abode | Śmaśāna (but varies by interpretation) |
| Weapon | Khanda,Trishula, Hammer (in Japanese depictions) |
| Consort | Parvati asMahakali |
Mahākāla (Sanskrit:महाकाल,pronounced[mɐɦaːˈkaːlɐ]) is adeity common toHinduism andBuddhism.[1]
In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as aDharmapāla ("Protector of theDharma") and awrathful manifestation of aBuddha, while in Hinduism, Mahākāla is a fierce manifestation of theHindu godShiva and the consort of thegoddessMahākālī;[1] he most prominently appears in theKalikula sect ofShaktism.[2][3][4]
Mahākāla appears as a protector deity in the various traditions ofVajrayana Buddhism, likeChinese Esoteric Buddhism,Shingon, andTibetan Buddhism.[1] He is known asDàhēitiān and Daaih'hāktīn (大黑天) in Mandarin and Cantonese,Daeheukcheon (대흑천) in Korean,Đại Hắc Thiên in Vietnamese, andDaikokuten (大黒天) in Japanese.
Mahākāla is aSanskritbahuvrihi ofmahā "great" andkāla "time/death", which means "beyond time" or death.[5]
Tibetan:ནག་པོ་ཆེན་པོ།,THL:nak po chen po means "Great Black One".Tibetan:མགོན་པོ།,THL:gön po "Protector" is also used to refer specifically to Mahākāla.
According toShaktisamgama Tantra, the spouse ofMahākālī is extremely frightening. Mahākāla has four arms, three eyes and is of the brilliance of 10 million black fires of dissolution, dwells in the midst of eightcremation grounds (śmaśāna). He is adorned with eighthuman skulls, seated on five corpses, holds atrident (triśūla), a drum, a sword, and a scythe in his hands. He is adorned with ashes from the cremation ground and surrounded by numbers of loudly shrieking vultures and jackals. At his side is his consort, symbolized as Kālī.
Both Mahākāla and Kālī represent the ultimate destructive power ofBrahman and they are not bounded by any rules or regulations. They have the power to dissolve even time and space into themselves, and exist as the Void at thedissolution of the universe. They are responsible for the dissolution of the universe at the end of eachkalpa. They are also responsible for annihilating great evils and great demons when othergods,devas, and evenTrimurtis fail to do so. Mahākāla and Kālī annihilate men, women, children, animals, the world, and the entire universe without mercy because they areKala orTime in the personified form, and Time is not bound by anything, and Time does not show mercy, nor does it wait for anything or anyone.[2][6] In some parts ofOdisha,Jharkhand, andDooars (that is, ineastern Bengal), wild elephants are worshiped as manifestations of Mahākāla.[3][4]
Mahākāla is typically depicted blue or black in colour. Just as all colours are absorbed and dissolved into black, all names and forms are said to melt into those of Mahākāla, symbolising his all-embracing, comprehensive nature. Black can also represent the total absence of colour, and again in this case it signifies the nature of Mahākāla asultimate or absolute reality. This principle is known in Sanskrit asnirguna, beyond all quality and form, and it is typified by both interpretations.[7]
Mahakala is also known asMahakala Bhairava in Hinduism, often depicted with four arms and three eyes, he is associated with time, creation, destruction, and power.[8] Many temples in India and Nepal are dedicated solely for MahakalaBhairava, for example at the temple inUjjain, which is mentioned more than once byKālidāsa. The primary temple, place of worship for Mahakala is Ujjain. Mahakala is also a name of one of Shiva's principal attendants (Sanskrit:gaṇa),[9] along withNandi, Shiva's mount and so is often represented outside the main doorway of earlyHindu temples.
Numerous traditions ofMahayana Buddhism rely on Mahākāla as a guardian deity (Dharmapala, "dharma protector"). Mahākāla is one of the most popular protector deities inTibetan Buddhism and he is also sometimes used as a meditational deity (yidam) in tantric Buddhist yogas. He is depicted in a number of variations, each with distinctly different qualities and aspects. He is generally depicted as a wrathful deity.[10]
Mahākāla is commonly regarded as the emanation of different beings in different cases, such asHevajra,Vajradhara,Amitabha, andAvalokiteshvara orAkshobhya Buddha.[11] Different tantric cycles, likeGuhyasamaja andChakrasamvara, each contain Mahakala as an emanation of their central Buddha deity.[12]
Mahākāla is almost always depicted with a crown of five skulls, which represent the transmutation of the fivekleśās (negative afflictions) into thefive wisdoms. He also wears a garland consisting of fifty severed heads, the number fifty is in reference to the number of letters in the Sanskrit alphabet and is symbolic of the pure speech of Buddha.[13]
Mahākāla is also an important deity inEast Asian Buddhism, where he is generally known as a protector figure. InJapanese Buddhism, Mahākāla transformed into a more friendly wealth and luck deity, known asDaikokuten.[citation needed]
In aMantrayana text translated during theTang Dynasty, the mantra of Mahākāla appears as:
Oṃ Mahākālāya svāhā.[14]
The same mantra also appears in a Tibetan text fromDunhuang.[15] This mantra (or rather, its Sino-Japanese form:On Makakyaraya sowaka), is the main mantra of this deity in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism.[16][17]
The two-armed "Black-Cloaked Mahakala" (Wylie:mgon po ber nag chen) is a protector of theKarma Kagyu school clad in the cloak of amāntrika "warlock". His imagery derives from terma of the Nyingma school and was adopted by the Karma Kagyu during the time ofKarma Pakshi, 2nd Karmapa Lama. He is often depicted with his consort,Rangjung Gyalmo. He is often thought to be the primary protector, but he is in fact the main protector of theKarmapas specifically. Four-Armed Mahakala is technically the primary protector. Six-Armed Mahakala (Wylie:mgon po phyag drug pa) is also a common dharmapala in the Kagyu school.
Pañjaranātha Mahakala "Mahakala, Lord of the Tent", an emanation ofMañjuśrī, is a protector of the Sakya school.
There are various Four-Armed Mahakalas (Skt.Chaturbhūjamahākāla,Wylie:mgon po phyag bzhi pa, "The Great Black Vajra Lord with Four Hands"), one popular depiction comes from the Arya linegae ofGuhyasamaja.[12]
These are the primary protectors of theKarma Kagyu,Drikung Kagyu,Drukpa Lineage and theNyingma of Tibetan Buddhism.[12] A four-armed Mahakala is also found in the Nyingma school, although the primary protector of theDzogchen (Skt:Mahasandhi) teachings isEkajati.
Nyingshuk came from Khyungpo Nenjor, the founder of theShangpa Kagyu, and spread to all the lineages (Sakya,Nyingma, andGelug) and to the Kagyu lineages. There are alsoterma lineages of various forms of Six-Armed Mahakala. Nyinghsuk, though derived from the Shangpa, is not the major Shangpa one; it is in a dancing posture rather than upright, and is a very advanced Mahakala practice.
The White Six-Armed Mahakala (Skt:Ṣadbhūjasītamahākāla;Wylie:mgon po yid bzhin nor bu) is popular amongMongolian Gelugpas.
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Mahākāla is mentioned in manyChinese Buddhist texts, although iconographic depictions of him inChina were rare during theTang andSong periods. The deity's name was bothtranscribed intoChinese characters as摩訶迦羅 (pinyin:Móhējiāluó;Middle Chinese (Baxter):mwa xa kæ la) andtranslated as大黑天 (pinyin:Dàhēitiān;lit. 'Great BlackDeva', withkāla being understood to mean 'black'; M. C. (Baxter):dɑH xok then).
He eventually became the center of a flourishing cult after the 9th century in the kingdoms ofNanzhao andDali in what is now the province ofYunnan, a region borderingTibet, where his cult was also widespread. Due to Tibetan influence, his importance further increased during theMongol-ledYuan dynasty, with his likeness being displayed in the imperial palace and in Buddhist temples inside and outside thecapital.[18][19] Mahakala remains a central figure in the minority Buddhist tradition ofAzhaliism.
In some texts, Mahākāla is described as a fearsome god, a "demon who steals the vital essence (of people)" and who feeds on flesh and blood, though he is also said to only devour those who committed sins against theThree Jewels of Buddhism.[20]
One story found in the Tang-era monkYi Xing's commentary on theMahāvairocana Tantra portrays Mahākāla as a manifestation of thebuddhaVairocana who subjugated theḍākinīs, a race of flesh-eating female demons, by swallowing them. Mahākāla released them on the condition that they no longer kill humans, decreeing that they could only eat theheart - believed to contain the vital essence of humans known as 'human yellow' (人黄,pinyin:rénhuáng) - of those who were near death.[21][22][23] A tale found inAmoghavajra's translation of theHumane King Sūtra relates how a heterodox (i.e. non-Buddhist) master instructedPrince Kalmāṣapāda (斑足王) to offer the heads of a thousand kings to Mahākāla, the "great black god of the graveyard" (塚間摩訶迦羅大黑天神), if he wished to ascend the throne of his kingdom.[24][25]
As time went by, Mahākāla also became seen as a guardian ofBuddhist monasteries, especially its kitchens. The monkYijing, who traveled toSrivijaya and India during the late 7th century, claimed that images of Mahākāla were to be found in the kitchens and porches of Indian Buddhist monasteries, before which offerings of food were made:[26]
There is likewise in great monasteries in India, at the side of a pillar in the kitchen, or before the porch, a figure of a deity carved in wood, two or three feet high, holding a golden bag, and seated on a small chair, with one foot hanging down towards the ground. Being always wiped with oil its countenance is blackened, and the deity is called Mahākāla [莫訶哥羅,pinyin:Mòhēgēluō, M.C. (Baxter):mak xa ka la] or the great black deity [大黑神,pinyin:Dàhēishén, M. C. (Baxter):dɑH xok zyin]. The ancient tradition asserts that he belonged to the beings (in the heaven) of the great god (orMaheśvara). He naturally loves the Three Jewels, and protects the five assemblies from misfortune. Those who offer prayers to him have their desires fulfilled. At meal-times those who serve in the kitchen offer light and incense, and arrange all kinds of prepared food before the deity. (...) In China the image of that deity has often been found in the districts ofKiang-nan, though not inHuai-poh. Those who ask him (for a boon) find their wishes fulfilled. The efficacy of that deity is undeniable.[27]
In China, the god was also associated with fertility and sexuality: during theQixi Festival (a.k.a. the Double Seventh Festival) held on the 7th day of the 7th month of theChinese calendar, married women traditionally bought dolls or figurines called 'Móhéluó' (魔合羅) or 'Móhóuluó' (摩睺羅) - the term probably deriving from 'Mahākāla' - in the hopes of giving birth to a child.[28][29][30]
Ritual texts also prescribe the worship of Mahākāla to women looking for a male partner or to pregnant women.[28]
In addition, he is also commonly invoked as a protective deity in certain mantras, such as theŚūraṅgama Mantra and the Mahamayuri-vidyarajñi-dharani contained in theMahamayuri Vidyarajñi Sutra, which are popular inChan Buddhism tradition.[31][32]
The name of the Moheluo doll, a popular toy during theSong andYuan dynasties, is said derive from transliteration of Mahākāla.[33]
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Mahakala (known asDaikokuten 大黑天) enjoys an exalted position as a household deity inJapan, as he is one of theSeven Lucky Gods in Japanese folklore.
The Japanese also use the symbol of Mahakala as a monogram. The traditional pilgrims climbing the holyMount Ontake weartenugui on white Japanese scarves with the Sanskrit seed syllable of Mahakala.
In Japan, this deity is variously considered to be the god of wealth or of the household, particularly the kitchen. He is recognised by his wide face, smile, and a flat black hat, in stark contrast to the fierce imagery portrayed in Tibetan Buddhist art. He is often portrayed holding a goldenmallet, otherwise known as a magic money mallet, and is seen seated on bales ofrice, withmice nearby (mice signify plentiful food).
In Sikhism Mahakal (ਮਹਾਕਾਲ) is used to refer toGod. In the textDasam Granth, which is attributed toGuru Gobind Singh,[34] Mahakal is applied as a name of God to emphasize his supremacy over all beings. In the section titledBachittar Natak, It states that in a previous incarnation the author was asadhumeditating in the Himalayan foothills on Mahakal before being called to take birth as Guru Gobind Singh.[35] Further verses the praise Mahakal. Verse 434 of theChaubis Avtar section states:
I will not first honor Ganesha [Ganesa], nor do I ever meditate upon Krishna or Vishnu (kisan bisan).
I have heard of but do not recognize them. I am absorbed in contemplation at His feet. (434)
Mahakal is my protector...[36]
