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Mahākāla (, ) is a deity common to Hinduism and Buddhism.
In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as a ("Protector of the Dharma") and a Wrathful deities of a The Buddha, while in Hinduism, Mahākāla is a fierce manifestation of the Hindu deities Shiva and the consort of the goddess Mahakali; he most prominently appears in the sect of Shaktism.
Mahākāla appears as a protector deity in the various traditions of Vajrayana Buddhism, like Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Shingon Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism. He is known as and (大黑天]]) in Mandarin and Cantonese, (대흑천) in Korean, Đại Hắc Thiên in Vietnamese, and (大黒天]]) in Japanese.
is a [[Sanskrit]] [[bahuvrihi]] of '''' "great" and '''' "time/death", which means "beyond time" or death.
means "Great Black One". "Protector" is also used to refer specifically to Mahākāla.
Both Mahākāla and Kālī represent the ultimate destructive power of Brahman 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 the Hindu cosmology. They are responsible for the dissolution of the universe at the end of each kalpa. They are also responsible for annihilating great evils and great demons when other Hindu deities, devas, and even fail to do so. Mahākāla and Kālī annihilate men, women, children, animals, the world, and the entire universe without mercy because they are Kala or Time 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. In some parts of Odisha, Jharkhand, and Dooars (that is, in East Bengal), wild elephants are worshiped as manifestations of Mahākāla.
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 as ultimate or absolute reality. This principle is known in Sanskrit as , beyond all quality and form, and it is typified by both interpretations.
Mahākāla is commonly regarded as the emanation of different beings in different cases, such as Hevajra, Vajradhara, Amitabha, and Avalokiteshvara or Akshobhya Buddha. Different tantric cycles, like Guhyasamaja and Chakrasamvara, each contain Mahakala as an emanation of their central Buddha deity.
Mahākāla is almost always depicted with a crown of five skulls, which represent the transmutation of the five kleśās (negative afflictions) into the five 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.
Mahākāla is also an important deity in East Asian Buddhism, where he is generally known as a protector figure. In Japanese Buddhism, Mahākāla transformed into a more friendly wealth and luck deity, known as Daikokuten.
In a Vajrayana text translated during the Tang dynasty, the mantra of Mahākāla appears as:
Oṃ Mahākālāya svāhā. Vairocana Sutra Lotus Platform Matrix Assembly Compassion Mandala Liturgy (She Da Piluzhena Cheng Fo Shenbian Jia Chi Jing Ru Lianhua Tai Cang Hai Hui Bei Sheng Man Tu Luo Guangda Niansong Yi Gui Gongyang Fangbian Hui) 攝大毘盧遮那成佛神變加持經入蓮華胎藏海會悲生曼荼攞廣大念誦儀軌供養方便會
The same mantra also appears in a Tibetan text from Dunhuang. This mantra (or rather, its Sino-Japanese form: On Makakyaraya sowaka), is the main mantra of this deity in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism.
Pañjaranātha Mahakala "Mahakala, Lord of the Tent", an emanation of Manjusri, is a protector of the Sakya school.
These are the primary protectors of the Karma Kagyu, Drikung Kagyu, Drukpa Lineage and the Nyingma of Tibetan Buddhism. A four-armed Mahakala is also found in the Nyingma school, although the primary protector of the Dzogchen (Skt: Mahasandhi) teachings is Ekajati.
The White Six-Armed Mahakala (Skt: ; ) is popular among Mongols Gelugpas.
He eventually became the center of a flourishing cult after the 9th century in the kingdoms of Nanzhao and Dali Kingdom in what is now the province of Yunnan, a region bordering Tibet, where his cult was also widespread. Due to Tibetan influence, his importance further increased during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, with his likeness being displayed in the imperial palace and in Buddhist temples inside and outside the Khanbaliq. Mahakala remains a central figure in the minority Buddhist tradition of Azhaliism.
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 the Three Jewels of Buddhism.
One story found in the Tang-era monk Yi Xing's commentary on the Mahāvairocana Tantra portrays Mahākāla as a manifestation of the Buddhahood Vairocana who subjugated the Dakini, 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 the heart - believed to contain the vital essence of humans known as 'human yellow' () - of those who were near death. A tale found in Amoghavajra's translation of the Humane King Sūtra relates how a heterodox (i.e. non-Buddhist) master instructed Kalmashapada (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.
As time went by, Mahākāla also became seen as a guardian of Buddhist monasteries, especially its kitchens. The monk Yijing, who traveled to Srivijaya 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:
In China, the god was also associated with fertility and sexuality: during the Qixi Festival (a.k.a. the Double Seventh Festival) held on the 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese calendar, married women traditionally bought dolls or figurines called or - the term probably deriving from 'Mahākāla' - in the hopes of giving birth to a child.
Ritual texts also prescribe the worship of Mahākāla to women looking for a male partner or to pregnant women.
In addition, he is also commonly invoked as a protective deity in certain mantras, such as the Śūraṅgama Mantra and the Mahamayuri-vidyarajñi-dharani contained in the Mahamayuri Vidyarajñi Sutra, which are popular in Chan Buddhism tradition.
The name of the Moheluo doll, a popular toy during the Song dynasty and Yuan dynasty, is said derive from transliteration of Mahākāla.
The Japanese also use the symbol of Mahakala as a monogram. The traditional pilgrims climbing the holy Mount Ontake wear tenugui 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 golden mallet, otherwise known as a magic money mallet, and is seen seated on bales of rice, with mouse nearby (mice signify plentiful food).
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