Mahakala Chagshipa

[cck123]

Hello Friends,

do you know something about the four armed Mahakala?
I saw him on a thangka in sitting posture surrounded by many
dakinis, so he looked quite different to the two armed/six armed
Mahakalas i know so far.

It's difficult to get infos on that, probably because the wang isn't given freely...

Chris

[Losal Samten]

Now commonly known as protector of the Chakrasamvara teachings, Kagyu and Karmapas but there's also Nyingmapa kama and terma and are secondary guardians in Dzogchen.

[ngodrup]

There are many, many forms of Mahakala.
I'm guessing the one you are looking at is the 'basic' Kagyu form.
The four arms relate to the four tantric karmas-- pacifying, enriching,
magnetizing and destroying. I think they do a general recitation, but the
more detailed practice is reserved for drupdra.

[conebeckham]

There is a torma offering and recitation, pretty similar to the short Chagdrupa "Tor Du" if you know that one, for ChagZhipa that is done daily, in Kamtsang, when one is doing Cakrasamvara practice......and Ngodrup is correct, this is normally done in retreat.

There are, as noted, many, many other forms of Mahakala, including other 4 armed forms.

[heart]

Here you go:

http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=421" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

/magnus