CATURBHUJA MAHAKALA, THE POWERFUL PROTECTOR OF WISDOM

Estimated Value:

600 € - 1.000 €

Result:

1.942 € incl. Premium and VAT

Description:

Tibet, ca. 1800
53,8 x 43,2 cm ohne Montierung, R.
Silk thangkas are less common, and more perishable. They have a more restrained colour effect, due to the lack of chalk grounding. Inscription: Mantra in Sanskrit Measurements: The Dharma Protector Mahakala, of whom there are over sixty different emanations, is considered the active compassion aspect of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, the fulfiller of the aspirations of all sentient beings. His appearance in this emanation is night-black. He wears one face and has six arms. He stares fearfully with three red-suffused eyes. His mouth is open, showing his sharp fangs, his tongue is curled, he laughs loudly. His eyebrows and beard are fiery, as is his ruffled hair - in which a green snake coils - behind his fivefold crown of wisdom. Letting out a fearsome roar of thunder, he destroys all enemy gods and obstacles and pauses in the midst of a blazing fire of wisdom. His first pair of hands holds a cleaver and a blood-filled skull bowl, symbolic of the realisation of method and wisdom. His second pair of hands holds a prayer wreath of fifty dried human skulls strung on human entrails, the heads representing 'form' and the entrails symbolising the illusory nature of all phenomena. The trident staff in the uppermost left hand impales the three geristes - avarice, hatred and pride. The right hand of the third pair of hands plays a damaru - double skull drum, - the sound of which is said to summon buddhas, bodhisattvas and dakinis, and the left hand holds a vajra rope, for catching and binding enemies. The deity is richly decorated with gold ornaments and corpse ash (bone ornaments), and a snake hangs from her neck. With both legs, Mahakala stands above the king of the enemy gods - Ganapati, on a sprawling lotus on whose stamens lies the sun disc. Legend has it that to counter the confusion of the mind, Avalokiteshvara created himself as a wrathful Mahakala. He utters the dark blue syllable "Hum" and transforms into this dark, powerful protector. This serves the practitioner solely for the removal of disturbing influences and protection from external, internal and secret obstacles on the path of enlightenment. Its four powers are: taming, enriching, attracting and destroying harmful things. According to Buddhist conception, Mahakala tames the mind, enriches it with wisdom, attracts good conditions and destroys anything obstructive. He fulfils all sincere wishes that support the desire for liberation. Four attendants support Mahakala in his guidance and protective function for the practitioner. To the left of Mahakala appears Trakshad, of blue body colour, riding a horse. He holds a lance in his right hand and a kapala in his left. Below is the brown coloured Jinamitra with Damaru and Kapala. On the right is the depiction of the blue-coloured Takkriraja, holding Damaru and Kapala in his hands. Below Takkriraja rides Kshetrapala, on a bear - he is considered the "Lord of the Graveyards". In the lower left corner, a many-armed elephant deity - Ganapati - is visible. He stands above a jewel-spouting mongoose. In the lower centre, the four-armed female deity Krukulle is dancing. She is an apparition of the red-coloured Tara. The deity holds a bow and arrow formed from flowers. In the right corner a tantric deity appears in union with Prajna. Both are red coloured and wear fivefold crowns. The male deity holds an iron phurba in his lower hands. The right hand held upwards wields a vajra axe. This deity is a manifestation of Vajrakilaya. Silk, gouache, original silk satin border.
Old South German private collection, according to tradition acquired at Schoettle Ostasiatica in the 1970s - Partly stained and minor wear, framed under glass

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