Investigations on Mahakala the Great Black One and His Influence in China

　　ABSTRCT: The worship of Mahakala has a long history in China, and Chinese nationalities such as the Han, the Tibetan, the Mongolian, the Manchu, the Bai and the Yi have been under the influence of the Great Black One. Even nowadays, this god is still worshipped by the followers of Tibetan Buddhism and the Bais and the Yis in Yunnan. This paper consists of two parts. In the first part, this author, after analyzing related records kept in the literature of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), came to the conclusion that Mahakala, originally a deity of Brahmanism, derived from Mahesvara, was first mentioned in Buddhist scriptures roughly in the fifth or sixth century, and was then introduced into China as a protective god of Esoteric Buddhism in the seventh century. In the second part, this author mainly discusses the worship of the Great Black One among the followers of Acharyism in Yunnan and Tibetan Tantrism, and the influence of Mahakala in the interior of China during the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368).