Shadbhuja (six-armed) Mahakala is known as a prominent protector of the Buddhist teachings, whose fierce presence is directed against all negative forces that hinder the pursuit of the Buddhist path to enlightenment. In his six-armed form, Shadbhuja Mahakala is considered to be a wrathful emanation of Avalokiteshvara.
The present work is a very fine example with a vibrant color palette, exquisite depictions, and sophisticated techniques. The six-armed Mahakala stands in alidhasana with his right leg bent and left leg straight, pressing down on Ganapati, the elephant-headed deity. Holding a ritual axe and a blood-filled skull cup filled in his primary hands, a double-sided drum and a lasso in his secondary arms, the fiery deity is surmounted by a mass of layered blazing flames, with a rosary and a trident slung from his tertiary arms, and an elephant skin stretched out at his back. He wears a fearsome expression with three eyes, fangs, and flame-like hair flowing upward under a five-skull crown. There are other retinue figures with flaming halos encircling Shadbhuja Mahakala. At the top is the tantric primordial Buddha, the Vajradhara, and to the left, Magzor Gyalmo, the female Buddhist protector, seated on a mule riding through the sea of swirling blood. The blue figure of Kshetrapala, protector of Mahakala’s dwelling place, is seated on a bear in the center of the lower register of the painting, while Raudrantika (also named Trakshe), is seated on a horse to his left.
Mahakala has a number of distinctive forms of representation and appearance, with a variation of body colors, postures, hand attributes, and retinue deities. The present thangka, following the inherited traditions of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, illustrates a dynamic composition with exceptional fineness of line and brushstroke, particularly the rendering of the layered flame nimbuses, hair, and textured garments. For the stylistic traditions, compare to a related 18^th-19^th century Tibetan thangka depicting Shadbhuja Mahakala, sold in our London rooms on 12 May 2015, lot 126. Another similar painting, in the 18^th/19^th Yonghegong-style, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, on 2 December 2021, lot 1029.