Mahakala Seated in Royal Ease

Tibet

Not on view

Mahakala, a fierce manifestation of the compassionate bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, is the supreme guardian of the Buddhist dharma (teachings) for the Sakya monastic order. His wrathful nature destroys all negative forces impeding spiritual awakening. Here Mahakala is seated on a prostrate corpse, symbolizing the ignorance he destroys and displaying the tools he uses to achieve this end.

Mahakala Seated in Royal Ease, Stone with polychrome, Tibet

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.