Mahakala

Mahakala
God of Time, Maya, Creation, Destruction and Power
Mahākāla and companions
AffiliationShiva
AbodeŚmaśāna (but varies by interpretation)
WeaponKhanda, Trishula,
Hammer (in Japanese depictions)
ConsortParvati 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.