护法尊唐卡大图

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顶礼护法圣众尊

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Tibet

1800 - 1899

Gelug Lineage

45.70x31.10cm (17.99x12.24in)

Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton

Collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Begtse Chen, (English: the Great Coat of Mail. Sanskrit: Prana Atma), the main protector for the Hayagriva cycle of practice.

Fiercely wrathful, with one face and two hands, red in colour, he stares with three round eyes and a gaping mouth with exposed fangs, orange hair flowing upward. In the right hand held aloft is a sword, with the left he holds a heart to the mouth while cradling a spear with a pendant, bow and arrows in the bend of the elbow. Adorned with a crown of five skulls, gold and jewel ornaments, he is attired in body armour, variously coloured garments and boots. With the right leg bent atop a blue horse and the left straight atop a human corpse, he stands above a multi-coloured lotus blossom surrounded by the flames of wisdom fire. Three large white skullcups filled with offerings are presented in front.

At the top center is Lama Tsongkapa with the two principal students seated at the right and left.

Surrounding the central wrathful figure are 29 butcher daemons - forming the outer retinue, red in colour with one face and two hands. Holding various instruments, butchering knives and the like, they are engaged in the work of carving the flesh from corpses, dancing and cavorting in various postures.

At the bottom center is the principal protector of the Bon religion, Sipe Gyalmo, Queen of the World, dark blue in colour with three faces and six hands, riding a mule.

Within the Sarma Schools the practice of Begtse Chen, sometimes known as red Mahakala, was popularized by Marpa Lotsawa and Sachen Kunga Nyingpo the respective early founders of Kagyu and Sakya; later the practice was taken up by the Gelugpa School.

Lineage from India: Vajradhara, Mahadeva, Nyi Od Drakpa, Dawa Nagpo, Shridhara Krashu, Nyen Lotsawa Dharma Drag, Kha'u Chokyi Gyaltsen, Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092-1158), etc. Alternately from Nyen Lotsawa to Marpa Lotsawa Chokyi Lodro (1012-1099), etc.

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1. Panjarnata Mahakala
A. Mahasiddha Virupa
B. Mahasiddha Dombi Heruka
C. Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo
D. Lama
E. Lama
F. Lama
2. Kalachakra
3. Akshobhya Hevajra (Panjara Tantra)
4. Vairochana Hevajra (Panjara Tantra)
5. Ratnasambhava Hevajra (Panjara Tantra)
6. Amitabha Hevajra (Panjara Tantra)
7. Amoghasiddhi Hevajra (Panjara Tantra)
8. Chakrasamvara
9. Hevajra (Two arms, Hevajra Root Tantra)
10. Hevajra (Four arms, Root Tantra)
11. Hevajra (Six arms, Root Tantra)
12. Samputa Vajrasattva (Samputa Tantra)
13. Vajra Nairatmya (Root Tantra)
14. Kurukulla (Root Tantra & Panjara)
15. Bhutadamara Vajrapani (Panjara)
16. Chanda Maharoshana/Achala
17. White Prajnaparamita (Panjara)
18. Yellow Vajra Tara (Panjara)
19. Maitreya, Bodhisattva
20. Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva
21. Orange Marichi
22. Yellow Vasudhara
23. Yellow Jambhala (Panjara)
24. Brahmarupa Mahakala.

Panjarnata, Vajra Mahakala (Tibetan: dor je nag po chen po, gur gyi gon po. English: the Great Vajra Black One, Lord of the Pavilion), special protector of the Hevajra cycle of teachings and principal protector of the Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism. This form of Mahakala arises from the 18th chapter of the Vajrapanjara exclusive explanatory tantra. The Vajrapanajara Tantra is exclusive to the Hevajra Root Tantra whereas a tantra such as the Samputa is an explanatory tantra shared between the Hevajra and Chakrasamvara (and Yogini) root literature. (See Identification Key Page)

The unique iconographic feature of Panjaranata Mahakala as described in the Vajrapanjara Tantra and according to the special Lamdre literature of the Sakya Tradition is that here he has no ghandi stick laying across the forearms. In the other more common traditions of Panjara Mahakala, such as the Three Deity, Eight Deity etc., he is always depicted with the ghandi 'stick of emanation.'

The image of the painting shown here is really quite exceptional. It may not be to everybody's taste. The style is very strongly influenced by the Newar aesthetics of the Kathmandu Valley. This style was also very popular at the Ngor Ewam Monastery of Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo. Ngorchen is depicted in the upper left corner below the image of the meditational deity Kalachakra.

This painting is both unique and special, not because it is so clear and easy to follow, but rather because it represents precisely the form of Mahakala, a rare form, described in the Vajrapanjara Tantra. It also includes so many other deities described in that same tantra, deities special to the Hevajra system of practice - such as White Prajnaparamita, Yellow Vajra Tara, Bhutadamara Vajrapani, etc.

The unique iconographic feature of Panjaranata Mahakala as described in the Vajrapanjara Tantra and according to the special Lamdre literature of the Sakya Tradition is that he has no ghandi stick laying horizontally across the forearms. In the other more common Sakya traditions of Panjara Mahakala, such as the Three Deity, Eight Deity etc., he is generally depicted with the ghandi 'stick of emanation.' There are other exceptions to this ghandi stick rule but they are rare and not commonly found in art. The two main exceptions are for the Nagarjuna lineage form and the Ngog lineage form of Panjarnata.

As with most things related to Tantric Buddhism, there is some confusion regarding the name of this Mahakala. Specifically, the name 'panjara' or 'panjarnata' is referring to deities described in the Vajrapanjara Tantra. Therefore this form of Mahakala is the Vajrapanjara or Panjara form. However, generally speaking, there are other descriptions of this same form of Mahakala found in other tantras such as the Twenty-five Chapter and Fifty Chapter Mahakala Tantras. So, how are we to understand this?

Now it comes down to appearance. If the Mahakala form has one face and two hands, squat, holding a curved knife and skullcup at the heart, and generally (but not always) holding a ghandi stick across the forearms, then it is said colloquially and in Tibetan literature that this is Panjaranata Mahakala, or the panjara form of Mahakala despite the original source text. It is likely that this came about because the Vajrapanjara Tantra and the Hevajra Tantra were so well known as early Tantric literary works and practice traditions. Because the panjara name was so well known and represented the one face, two armed, form of Mahakala, it is therefore most likely that the name panjara came to be applied to all forms of Mahakala that had this same appearance.

Central Tibet

1400 - 1499

Sakya Lineage

49.50x40.60cm (19.49x15.98in)

Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton

Collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

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Tibet

1400 - 1499

Sakya and Buddhist Lineages

122x70cm (48.03x27.56in)

Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton

Collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Panjarnata, Vajra Mahakala (Tibetan: dor je nag po chen po, gur gyi gon po. English: the Great Vajra Black One, Lord of the Pavilion), special protector of the Hevajra cycle of teachings and principal protector of the Sakya Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

肃火斤

顶礼玛哈嘎拉圣尊.

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