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Mahakali (painting no. 400)
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'Queen of the Weapon Army' (Magzor Gyalmo), with one face and two hands, holding aloft a vajra stick in the right hand and a skullcup in the left, held to the heart. Above the head is a peacock canopy. She rides a donkey; standing in the middle of an ocean of blood. At the top center is the Tantric primordial Buddha, Vajradhara; to the left, the wrathful ishtadevata Rakta Yamari and on the right is a Sakya Lama. Scattered throughout the lower areas of the painting are numerous attendants and wild animals. This subject, often commonly ascribed as Shri Devi (who has four hands), is in fact the main attendant to Shri Devi and they are two different deities with different histories and personalities. 'The Queen of the Weapon Army' is the wrathful aspect of the very peaceful goddess Sarasvati (Yang Chenma). This is indicated in the painting with Rakta Yamari, a wrathful form of Manjushri, painted in the upper corner. Any serious undertaking of the practice of 'The Queen of the Weapon Army' is always done with a self-visualization of some wrathful form of Manjushri. She is always a protector and is also used for divination rituals. Most Tibetan Schools have some form of this deity. The method of painting is called 'nag thang,' gold outline on a black background. Jeff Watt 4-98
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Photographed Image Copyright © 1999 Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation
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