055
The Benefactor, Gurgyi Gonpo ("Angry- One- of- the-Tent") and
other forms of Mahakala ("Great Black/Time")
Thangka, painting
Cotton support with opaque mineral pigments in waterbased (collagen) binder
24.0 x 26.0 inches
Central Tibet
Ca. 17th or 18th century
Sakya pa style
This painting, made for the Sakya sect, shows several emanations of Mahakala, the great protector of Tibetan Buddhism. The central deity is Panjara, or Gurgyi Gonpo, "Angry-one-of-the-tent." On Panjara's right occurs Brahmanrupa, who is Mahakala in the form of a Hindu holy man. He is identified by his beard and the thigh bone trumpet in his hair-knot. On his left, the guardian goddess, Shri Devi, better known as Palden Lhamo in Tibet, is shown riding on her khyang.
Chaya Chandrasekhar
Museum #: 94.006 [= 93.14 (on frame)]
Huntington Archive Image Scan #: T1058