Mahākāla

Mahākāla (mgon po nag po)

• The supramundane and wrathful protector deity Mahākāla is considered to have seventy-two or seventy-five distinct forms, of which the most important are: Six-armed Mahākāla (?Saḍbhuja mahākāla), Four-armed Mahākāla (Caturbhuja mahākāla), Panjaranātha (mgon po gur), Vyagra-vāhana Mahākāla (mgon po stag zhon), Bhagavān Mahākāla (mgon po legs ldan), Raudrāntaka Mahākāla (mgon po trak sad), and Black-cloaked Mahākāla (dgon po ber nag can). See Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet, pp. 38-67. GD (from the Glossary to Tibetan Elemental Divination Paintings)