Mahakala Esoteric Buddhist Pendant. Protection. Hand carved in deer antler. Rare piece. Mounted on an adjustable cord.

Mahakala Esoteric Buddhist Pendant. Protection.

Hand carved in deer antler.

traditional Japanese netsuke work. Deer antler is of course harvested at fall once a year in the spring.

It is a unique piece not mass-produced by machine. The pigments for the paint are obtained thanks to crushed minerals such as lapis lazuli. Dimension of the pendant: 47mm in height, 35mm in width, 35mm in depth Weight of 60 grams

Rare piece. Mounted on an adjustable cord.

MAHAKALA

Called the "Great Black", Mahakala is peculiar to Tibet and is called Mong-po, and was accepted as the tutelary deity of Mongolia in the 17th century under the name of Yeke Gara, under Tibetan influence.

Its Chinese name, Dahei Wang or Dahei Tian (大黒天) is only the transcription of the Sanskrit name maha (big-Da in Chinese), Kala (black-Hei) adding Wang meaning king. Dahei Wang 大黑王 The Great Black King, or Dahei Tian Great Black Sky. Mahakala has never been worshiped in China itself.

In Japan, mainly in the Shingon school, where his image would seem to come from Mongolia, and responding to the name of Daikokuten (大黒天, Great Black Sky) or simply Daikoku (Great Black), he does not have the same symbolism and was venerated from the 17th century as one of the 7 deities of happiness with Ebisu, Benzai Ten, Bishamon ten, Fukurokuju, Jurôjin and Hotei, a heterogeneous group formed of deities belonging to both Buddhism and Chinese Taoism artificially created in the 17th century by the monk Tenkai died in 1643 (Postumed name Jigen Daishi) In Tibet Mahakala is both a Dharmapala and a protective god (Yi dam).

The Dharmapala are the protectors of the Dharma, guardians of the teachings. This name designates the deities assuming the task of protecting the practitioners and the teachings in Vajrayana and Dzogchen. Very numerous and divided into several classes, these protectors constitute an impressive set of deities, either male or female.

Some having a peaceful appearance, most showing a corruced appearance, thus showing their powers and their devotion to the protection of the secret teachings and ensuring the dispelling of obstacles on the spiritual path. Two major classes of protectors are distinguished: Protectors of wisdom or supra mundane, of which the group of Mahakala is a part, and mundane protectors. The group of Mahakala comprises 75 forms all wrathful of which 6 are the most important.