{"product_id":"six-armed-mahakala-black-gold-thangka","title":"Six-Armed Mahakala Black \u0026 Gold Thangka – Framed Tibetan Wall Art","description":"\u003ch3\u003eSix-Armed Mahakala\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSix-Armed Mahakala (Tibetan: Gonpo Chakdrukpa) is one of the great protectors of the Buddhist teaching in Tibet, understood as a wrathful form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. He is shown in his classic form: dark blue, three-eyed, crowned with five skulls, his hair flaming upward, six arms spread wide, standing in a blaze of fire. This is a black and gold thangka.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe design\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1. A wrathful face.\u003c\/strong\u003e The face is opened last, as thangka painters say. His is fierce by design: three round eyes, bared fangs, a crown of five white skulls and hair rising like smoke. In Tibetan art this anger is never aimed at people. It is compassion that has stopped being gentle, turned against what harms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2. Six arms.\u003c\/strong\u003e His six arms fan out on both sides, and his two principal hands meet at his heart over a skull cup. Garlands, jewelled armlets and a snake ornament are set with red glass crystals, so the dark body catches the light wherever you stand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3. The figure beneath his feet.\u003c\/strong\u003e He stands on a white, elephant-headed figure lying on a lotus and sun seat, as he is traditionally shown. Smaller attendant figures move through the flames around him, among them a red figure at the upper left and smaller figures at the base.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4. Black and gold.\u003c\/strong\u003e The ground is black, almost entirely filled with flames and clouds drawn in fine gold line. In Tibet black and gold together carry a sense of dignity and mystery. The piece shown is framed in Ink \u0026amp; Gold brocade, black and silver.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e5. Hand finishing.\u003c\/strong\u003e The image is printed on heavy card from our own drawing; elderly lay Buddhists at a temple set every crystal by hand and trace the outlines in gold glitter, about two days for each piece.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe meaning\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMahakala, \"the Great Black One\", is a dharmapala, a protector of the teaching. Six-Armed Mahakala is especially associated with the Shangpa and Gelug traditions, and his image is often kept near the entrance of a shrine room or monastery. For practitioners he is a guardian of practice. In the home he is a powerful, dramatic image, black and gold and fire, and a reminder that compassion is not always soft.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eEvery thangka is also an offering\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach one is finished at a temple, by elderly lay Buddhists who practise there. Part of every order goes back to that temple. So what you bring home is not only a thangka: you have also made an offering.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSize \u0026amp; details\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eFrame\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e55 × 71 × 12 cm (21.7 × 28 × 4.7 in), 4 kg\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eImage\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e40.2 × 56.2 cm (15.8 × 22.1 in)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003ePrint\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHeavy card, from our own drawing, to traditional proportions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eHand work\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGlass crystals and gold glitter outlines, set by elderly lay Buddhists at a temple\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eFraming\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSilk brocade frame-within-a-frame, wood frame, acrylic front\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eBrocade\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eInk \u0026amp; Gold · Night Sky · Crimson Cloud · Warm Sun\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eHanging\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eReady to hang\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eDispatch\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFinished to order, ships in 3–5 business days\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eDelivery\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e10–14 business days by air, tracked, free, duties paid\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMay what harms you find a guardian in the way.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTemple consecration (optional, +US$100):\u003c\/strong\u003e choose \"Temple consecration\" above. Your thangka is placed in the temple's main hall overnight and consecrated by the monks with chanting the next morning; we send you photos and a short video of it in the hall (the ceremony itself may not be filmed). The full US$100 is offered to the temple. Consecrated thangkas ship in 5–7 business days and are final sale unless they arrive damaged. We make no claim that consecration protects or changes anything.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kangrinboqe Sacred Art","offers":[{"title":"Ink \u0026 Gold \/ Standard","offer_id":67867651047697,"sku":"TK-MAH-01-BG","price":570.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Night Sky \/ Standard","offer_id":67867651080465,"sku":"TK-MAH-01-IN","price":570.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Crimson Cloud \/ Standard","offer_id":67867651113233,"sku":"TK-MAH-01-CR","price":570.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Warm Sun \/ Standard","offer_id":67867651146001,"sku":"TK-MAH-01-SA","price":570.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ink \u0026 Gold \/ Temple consecration","offer_id":67898934493457,"sku":"TK-MAH-01-BG-TC","price":670.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Night Sky \/ Temple consecration","offer_id":67898934526225,"sku":"TK-MAH-01-IN-TC","price":670.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Crimson Cloud \/ Temple consecration","offer_id":67898934558993,"sku":"TK-MAH-01-CR-TC","price":670.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Warm Sun \/ Temple consecration","offer_id":67898934591761,"sku":"TK-MAH-01-SA-TC","price":670.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0980\/9179\/4705\/files\/six-armed-mahakala-thangka-1-01-white.jpg?v=1792917611","url":"https:\/\/kangrinboqesacredart.com\/products\/six-armed-mahakala-black-gold-thangka","provider":"Kangrinboqe Sacred Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}