Dharma Jewels

Four-Armed Mahākāla

4 min read

(chant)

Text

HŪṂ
From glorious mount Malaya,
From the red field in the blood lake Koka,
From the charnel ground of Matraṃ Rudra,
I invite the great protector.
Like a rain cloud adorned with lightning,1
Please enter this place of practice.
SAMAYA JAḤ2

The vajra3 mahākāla
Is savage and terrifying.
Holding a hooked knife4 with your first right hand,
Holding a skull cup of blood5 with your first left hand,
Brandishing a sword6 with your second right hand,
Thrusting a khaṭvāṅga7 with your second left hand,
You, the warrior with a tiger skin round your waist,
Are surrounded by your retinue, with the Raven-Headed One among them.

In accordance with your vajra oath
Proclaimed before the great Trungpa, Künga Namgyal
At the hermitage of Dorje Khyung Dzong
Protect the heart teachings of the Kagyü.
The evil beings with two tongues who pervert the dharma8
And delight in disrupting the teachings—9
Eat them as your food, O black protector.10
By the fierceness of your compassionate wrath,
Instantly accomplish the karmas
Of pacifying, enriching, magnetizing, and destroying.
Lead the faithful holders of the Practice Lineage11
To the state of Vajradhara.
OṂ MAHĀKĀLĀYA DEVA-RAKṢHA SAMAYA HO BALIṂ TE KHĀHI

Explanation

Overview

This chant was written by Trungpa Rinpoche in 1975 at the Boston Dharmadhatu.

Further Resources

The Myth of Freedom by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Footnotes

  1. Mahakala is characteristically black or extremely dark blue: the comparison to a rain cloud immediately establishes his vast, dark, looming form. A rain cloud is heavy with power and potential. It gathers in the sky before a storm and carries water capable of nourishing the earth. The lightning represents his instantaneous and fierce activity. Sudden, brilliant, and tremendously powerful. A thunderstorm is terrifying in appearance, but ultimately capable of clearing the atmosphere and bringing what it needed for growth. In tantric imagery, a cloud adorned with lightning combines contrasting qualities: darkness + brilliance, stillness + sudden movement, terrifying appearance + life-giving rain. This imagery helps visualize the deity’s arrival, as this particular line is an invocation inviting the Mahakala into the practice space. ↩

  2. Samaya ↩

  3. Here ‘vajra’ indicates the uncompromising quality of the Four-Armed Mahakala ↩

  4. A symbol of enriching ↩

  5. A skull cup of amrita, the intoxicating nectar of the gods, which is a means of pacifying ↩

  6. A way of magnetizing or gathering together energies. Generally represents the sharp double edge of prajna or intellect, which cuts through the concepts of self and phenomena in one stroke. The sword need not strike; just by its being waved, the energies are rallied. ↩

  7. Destroys or subdues ↩

  8. “Perverting the dharma” essential means turning dharma into something that serves the ego. Deliberately misleading others with spiritual lies, using spiritual teachings for egoic gain, saying what is convenient rather than what is true, sectarian disruption, preventing opportunities for others to experience spiritual growth due to jealousy, etc. “Two tongues” can also represent the mind’s own duplicity: one part says “I practice dharma”, while another part pursues ego and resentment. ↩

  9. This refers to those of us who cause distortion of the teachings not by random accident, but by explicit intention. “Evil” means succeeding in creating enormous harm, and taking satisfaction in deception, thinking oneself very clever for being able to take advantage of spiritual seekers. Under the power of pride, envy, aggression or desire this appears justified. “Disrupting the teachings” can also include internal forces that prevent genuine learning: indulgence in spiritual pride, self-deception, distraction, cynicism, etc. ↩

  10. Wrathful deities are depicted devouring, consuming, and trampling obstructive forces. The imagery here is that the obstacle is consumed and transformed into the energy of the protector. Rather than seeing an evil thing outside me that must be destroyed, this is about the awakened protector converting obstruction into fuel for enlightened activity. Asking Mahakala to eat them as food means asking awakened awareness not just to suppress obstructing energies, but to transform them. ↩

  11. This is an epithet applied to the Kagyü lineage, which emphasizes a strong allegiance to meditation practice. It can also be applied to the Nyingma lineage. ↩

Backlinks