Four-Faced Wrathful Protector Mahakala as Chaturmukha Mahakala, 19th century, Tangka, ink and color on cloth, Further research needed, Mahakala is an emanation of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Spiritual Wisdom. He is often shown with four faces in different colors, four arms, and two legs, and he wears a belt of human heads and a tiger skin. The four women dancing in the foreground represent dakinis, heavenly women who may act as muses for spiritual attainment. Here, their ungainly appearances and gruesome actions are meant to spur a state of greater consciousness

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Photo credit: © Artokoloro / Alamy / Afripics
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