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The black background of the painting was made using ashes from a funeral pyre mixed with the pigment. This method is said to have been created by faithful students who used the ashes of their late teacher in paintings depicting the deities of the practices they were taught by their teacher.
Panjarnatha Mahakala
OriginCentral Tibet
Dateearly 18th century, ca. 1720
Dimensions54 5/8 × 34 3/8 × 1 3/8 in.
MediumPigments on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art
Object numberC2001.1.4
Himalayan Art Resources Number65004
DescriptionMahakala is the main protector of the Sakya tradition and a guardian deity in one of the main tantric practices, called the Hevajra Tantra. This form—Panjarnata, or “Great Black Lord of the Tent”—has a corpulent body and a large head with a menacing countenance. He holds his main attribute, a wooden staff, balancing it on his forearms. He wears a crown of skulls and a garland of severed heads. The black background of the painting was made using ashes from a funeral pyre mixed with the pigment. This method is said to have been created by faithful students who used the ashes of their late teacher in paintings depicting the deities of the practices they were taught by their teacher.
Not on view
13th-14th century
late 18th – early 19th century
15th century
17th century
16th century (ca. 1500)
16th century
19th century
19th century
First half of the 15th century
18th century
17th century