Tibetan Thangka Buddhist painting Mahakala 6 Arms Dharmapala Tibet 18th century

Buddhist painting known as a Tibetan Thangka* depicting the wrathful deity Makahala** with six arms and 3 eyes, standing on an elephant (symbolizing Ganesh) and surrounded by flames, from the 18th century.
This thangka is in good condition, in its original state. It is protected on the front by a worn fabric door.
Please note: a few stains, slight accidents, traces of folding due to winding, dirt and wear from the passage of time on the paint, the silk around it is worn and torn in places, see photos.
We have other thankha for sale on this site.
* A thangka
also spelled "tangka", "thanka" or "tanka", literally "thing that is unrolled", "scroll "1, is a painting, drawing or fabric on canvas originating in India and characteristic of Tibetan Buddhist culture. They come in all sizes, from portable thangkas that can be rolled up and unrolled by means of two chopsticks passed through hems, to monumental thangkas designed to be unrolled on a hillside or thangka wall, and which can reach several dozen meters in height. The subjects of thangkas are Buddhist. They may represent :
mystical symbolic diagrams (mandala) ;
a bhavacakra (wheel of karmic existence);
deities from Tibetan Buddhism or the Bön religion, sometimes in connection with elements of history;
portraits of tulkus or lamas of high rank in the monastic hierarchy; they are sometimes accompanied by their benefactors or protectors.
Thangkas are most often intended as meditation aids. The subject is depicted in the center, surrounded by subordinate figures who form part of his retinue, his various divine forms and so on. The most important deities of the pantheon are represented in the upper part. The lower part is reserved for various offerings and the guardian deities of the Law. Mountains are also depicted, an element of traditional Tibetan iconography.
** Mahakala
(in Tibetan Ginpo) "the great time" or Nagpo Chenpo (in Tibetan) "the great black" is considered by Tantric Buddhism to be a form of the Hindu god Shiva converted to Buddhism. He is one of the Dharmapala, guardians of the Law, who protect the doctrine and its institutions from enemy forces. A protector, in particular, of the Kagyupa school (oral transmission) and the Dalai Lama, Mahakala has a fearsome physique. Originally, various legends describe him as waging war against the World and persecuting humans. The bodhisattva Vajrapani is said to have converted him to Buddhism. He often appears in monasteries, on the walls above the entrance doors to assembly halls. He can take on a wide variety of forms, but most often appears in a ferocious guise, wickedly displaying his fangs. Its skin is generally blue or black, with flames surrounding it. At the top of his skull is his lineage head, the jina, Akshobhya. His three eyes symbolize clear understanding of past, present and future activities, and his crown of five skulls represent the five poisonous disillusions - anger, desire, ignorance, jealousy and pride - transformed into wisdom by the five Buddha families. He is waving six (more rarely four) arms whose hands brandish objects symbolizing the completion of the six perfections. In his central hands, he holds a cleaver to sever ego attachment and a blood-filled skullcap (kapala) to show his subjugation of evil actors. The knife and cup also demonstrate the inseparable nature of bliss and emptiness, the tantric union of method and wisdom. His forearms enclose a mace (Sanskrit: Gada) arranged horizontally. His other right hand holds a string of skulls, symbolizing his activity in the interest of beings, and in the third a damaru (drum) with which he exercises control over all classes of dakini. His left hand brandishes a trident adorned with skulls, symbolizing his power over the three spheres of existence - desire, form and the formlessness of domains - and the third, a lasso with which he catches those who stray from the path of Dharma and would break their vows or the brakes of the whims of their confused minds. A portly, pot-bellied figure clad in elephant or tiger skin and girded with skulls, he is depicted treading on an elephant, which can be likened to the god Ganesh, defender of Brahmanism, or to the Hindu deity Vajrabhairava.
Dimensions
Total dimensions 74 cm x 41.5 cm painting (without red border) 35 cm x 26.5 cm

Reference : G40 77

All photos on :
www.antiques-delaval.com

Ref: P39BZBCF0W