A bronze figure of Panjarnata Mahakala

TIBET, 15TH/16TH CENTURY

Details

A bronze figure of Panjarnata Mahakala
Tibet, 15th/16th century
Standing over a prone figure on a double-lotus base with beaded rims, holding a chopper in his right hand and a skullcup in his left, the staff supported on his forearms, wearing multiple necklaces, a garland of heads, snakes encircling his ankles, wrists and earlobes, the face with full lips and large eyes topped by a skull crown behind which the flaming red hair is drawn into a high chignon, the base incised with a floral pattern on the bottom and reverse, sealed and incised with a double-vajra
3¼ in. (8 cm.) high

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Lot Essay

The staff resting across the deity's forearms is called a gandhi, a magical stick from which all other forms of Mahakala are thought to emanate. Panjarnata Mahakala is the special protector of the Hevajra cycle of Tantras; his iconography and rituals are found in the 18th chapter of the Vajra Panjara Tantra and also in chapters 25 and 50 of the Mahakala Tantras.

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