| Mahakala | |
|---|---|
God of Time, Maya, Creation, Destruction and Power | |
 Mahākāla and companions | |
| Affiliation | Shiva |
| Abode | Śmaśāna (but varies by interpretation) |
| Weapon | Khanda, Trishula, Hammer (in Japanese depictions) |
| Consort | Parvati as Mahakali |
Mahākāla (Sanskrit: महाकाल) is a deity common to Hinduism and Buddhism.[1]
In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as a Dharmapāla ("Protector of the Dharma") and a wrathful manifestation of a Buddha, while in Hinduism, Mahākāla is a fierce manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva and the consort of the goddess Mahākālī;[1] he most prominently appears in the Kalikula sect of Shaktism.[2][3][4]
Mahākāla appears as a protector deity in the various traditions of Vajrayana Buddhism, like Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Shingon, and Tibetan Buddhism.[1] He is known as Dàhēitiān and Daaih'hāktīn (大黑天) in Mandarin and Cantonese, Daeheukcheon (대흑천) in Korean, Đại Hắc Thiên in Vietnamese, and Daikokuten (大黒天) in Japanese.
- ^ a b c Bryson (2017), p. 42.
- ^ Magee (n.d.).
- ^ Bhattacharya Saxena (2011).
- ^ Johnson (2009), p. [page needed].