SHIVA & BUDDHA’s Integration in Buddhism

Dr Uday Dokras PhD Stockholm

Mahākāla is a deity common to Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism. In both religions, Mahākāla is a fierce
manifestation of Shiva and is the consort of the goddess Mahākālī; he most prominently appears in
the Kalikula sect of Shaktism. Mahākāla also appears as a protector deity known as
a dharmapala in Vajrayana, Chinese Esoteric, and Tibetan Buddhism and also in
the Chàn and Shingon traditions. He is known as Dàhēitiān and Daaih'hāktīn  in Mandarin and
Cantonese, Daeheukcheon in Korean, Đại Hắc Thiên in Vietnamese, and Daikokuten  in Japanese.
Mahākāla is a Sanskrit bahuvrihi of mahā "great" and kāla "time/death", which means "beyond time" or
death

Mahākāla and companionsShiva (Hinduism)

Dharmapala (Buddhism)( RIGHT PIC)Two-armed Mahakala, Eastern India, circa 1100.

According to Shaktisamgama Tantra, the spouse of Mahakali is extremely frightening. Mahakala has
four arms, three eyes and is of the brilliance of 10 million black fires of dissolution, dwells in the midst of
eight cremation grounds. He is adorned with eight skulls, seated on five corpses, holds a trident, a drum, a
sword and a scythe in his hands. He is adorned with ashes from the cremation ground and surrounded by
numbers of loudly shrieking vultures and jackals. At his side is his consort symbolized as Kālī. Both
Mahakala and Kālī represent the ultimate destructive power of Brahman and they are not bounded by any
rules or regulations. They have the power to dissolve even time and space into themselves and exist as
Void at the dissolution of the universe. They are responsible for the dissolution of the universe at the end
of Kalpa. They are also responsible for annihilating great evils and great daemons when other gods,
Devas and even Trimurtis fail to do so. Mahakala and Kali annihilates men, women, children, animals,
the world and the entire universe without mercy because they are Kala or Time in the personified form

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and Time is not bound by anything and Time does not show mercy, nor does it wait for anything or
anyone. In some parts of Odisha, Jharkhand and Dooars, (that is, in northern Bengal), wild elephants are
worshiped as Mahakala.
Mahakala is typically black in colour. Just as all colours are absorbed and dissolved into black, all names
and forms are said to melt into those of Mahakala, symbolising his all-embracing, comprehensive nature.
Black can also represent the total absence of colour, and again in this case it signifies the nature of
Mahakala as ultimate or absolute reality. This principle is known in Sanskrit as "nirguna", beyond all
quality and form, and it is typified by both interpretations. [11]
Bhairava
Mahakala is also known as Mahakala Bhairava in Hinduism, and many temples in India and Nepal are
dedicated solely for Mahakala Bhairava, for example at the temple in Ujjain, which is mentioned more
than once by Kālidāsa. The primary temple, place of worship for Mahakala is Ujjain. Mahakala is also a
name of one of Shiva's principal attendants (Sanskrit: gaṇa), along with Nandi, Shiva's mount and so is
often represented outside the main doorway of early Hindu temples.
In Chinese Buddhism
Mahākāla is mentioned in many Chinese Buddhist texts, although iconographic depictions of him
in China were rare during the Tang and Song periods. He eventually became the center of a flourishing
cult after the 9th century in the kingdoms of Nanzhao and Dali in what is now the province of Yunnan, a
region bordering Tibet, where his cult was also widespread. Due to Tibetan influence, his importance
further increased during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, with his likeness being displayed in the imperial
palace and in Buddhist temples inside and outside the capital. The deity's name translated as  'Great
Black Deva', with kāla being understood to mean 'black'.
In some texts, Mahākāla is described as a fearsome god, a "demon who steals the vital essence (of
people)" and who feeds on flesh and blood, though he is also said to only devour those who committed
sins against the Three Jewels of Buddhism. One story found in the Tang-era monk Yi Xing's commentary
on the Mahāvairocana Tantra portrays Mahākāla as a manifestation of the buddha Vairocana who
subjugated the ḍākinīs, a race of flesh-eating female demons, by swallowing them. Mahākāla released
them on the condition that they no longer kill humans, decreeing that they could only eat the  heart -
believed to contain the vital essence of humans known as 'human yellow - of those who were near
death. A tale found in Amoghavajra's translation of the Humane King Sūtra relates how a heterodox (i.e.
non-Buddhist) master instructed Prince Kalmāṣapāda (斑足王) to offer the heads of a thousand kings to
Mahākāla, the "great black god of the graveyard" if he wished to ascend the throne of his kingdom.
As time went by, Mahākāla also became seen as a guardian of Buddhist monasteries, especially its
kitchens. The monk Yijing, who traveled to Srivijaya and India during the late 7th century, claimed that
images of Mahākāla were to be found in the kitchens and porches of Indian Buddhist monasteries, before
which offerings of food were made:
There is likewise in great monasteries in India, at the side of a pillar in the kitchen, or before the porch, a
figure of a deity carved in wood, two or three feet high, holding a golden bag, and seated on a small chair,
with one foot hanging down towards the ground. Being always wiped with oil its countenance is
blackened, and the deity is called Mahākāla [莫訶哥羅, pinyin: Mòhēgēluō, M.C. (Baxter): mak xa ka la]
or the great black deity [大黑神, pinyin: Dàhēishén, M. C. (Baxter): dɑH xok zyin]. The ancient tradition
asserts that he belonged to the beings (in the heaven) of the great god (or Maheśvara). He naturally loves
the Three Jewels, and protects the five assemblies from misfortune. Those who offer prayers to him have
their desires fulfilled. At meal-times those who serve in the kitchen offer light and incense, and arrange
all kinds of prepared food before the deity. (...) In China the image of that deity has often been found in
the districts of Kiang-nan, though not in Huai-poh. Those who ask him (for a boon) find their wishes
fulfilled. The efficacy of that deity is undeniable.

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In China, the god was also associated with fertility and sexuality: during the Qixi Festival (a.k.a. the
Double Seventh Festival) held on the 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese calendar, married women
traditionally bought dolls or figurines called 'Móhéluó' ( 魔 合 羅 ) or 'Móhóuluó' ( 摩 睺 羅 ) - the term
probably deriving from 'Mahākāla' - in the hopes of giving birth to a child. Ritual texts also prescribe the
worship of Mahākāla to women looking for a male partner or to pregnant women.  In addition, he is also
commonly invoked as a protective deity in certain mantras, such as the Śūraṅgama Mantra and the
Mahamayuri-vidyarajñi-dharani contained in the Mahamayuri Vidyarajñi Sutra, which are popular
in Chan Buddhism tradition

1. Dàhēitiān (center) flanked by the bodhisattvas Samantabhadra (left) and Mañjuśrī (right). Baocheng

Temple, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
2. Mahakala Temple in Kunming, Yunnan, China

Belajar Sejarah Kerajaan Majapahit - Negara Besar yang Akhirnya Runtuh

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Dr. J.L.A. Brandes/ Nagarakretagama palm-leaf manuscript.

SHIVA –BUDDHA IN JAVA

A brief history of the kingdom of Majapahit. Majapahit kingdom was centered in East Java,
Indonesia, which stood about in 1293 to 1500 AD The empire reached its peak a highway empire
that controlled large areas in the archipelago during the reign of Hayam Wuruk, who reigned
from.1350.to.1389.

The kingdom of Majapahit Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that controls the final archipelago and is
considered as one of the greatest country in the history of Indonesia. Its power lies in Java,
Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Kalimantan, Indonesia to the east, although the territory is
disputed.
Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire is called
Nagarakretagama or Nagarakṛtāgama, also as Desawarnana or Deśavarṇana. It was written
on lontar as a kakawin by Mpu Prapanca in 1365 (1287 Saka year).
The Nagarakretagama contains detailed descriptions of the Majapahit Empire during its greatest
extent. The poem affirms the importance of Hindu–Buddhism in the Majapahit empire by
describing temples and palaces and several ceremonial observances. Nagarakretagama was
written as a puja sastra, a genre of Old Javanese literature of adoration and reverence, directed
mainly to King Hayam Wuruk. Prapanca did not shy away to expressed his admiration, even
bordering somewhat a cult, since he often invoked a divine quality of the king and his royal
family.
The poem portrays Kertanegara as a staunch Buddhist, described as "submissive at the
Feet of the Illustrious Shakya-Lion". Upon his death, the poem describes the deification of
Kertanegara in three forms: a splendid Jina, an Ardhanarishvara, and an imposing Shiva-
Buddha. Particularly for the Shiva–Buddha Deity, Prapanca praises him as "the honoured
Illustrious Protector of Mountains, Protector of the protectorless. He is surely, Ruler over

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the rulers of the world".

The Shiva–Buddha Deity is neither Shiva nor Buddha, but the Lord of the Mountains, or
the Supreme God of the Realm. This religious belief is indigenous to the Javanese
people who combined the Deities of two religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, into the same
God, the oneness of the Dharma, as is written in the Kakawin Sutasoma (see Bhinneka
Tunggal Ika). When Kertanegara was deified as Shiva–Buddha, he symbolised the
collective powers of the God of the Realm.

In 1894, the Dutch East Indies launched a military expedition against the Cakranegara royal
house of Lombok. That year, the Dutch took the manuscript as part of the valuable Lombok
treasure, war-booty from the destroyed palace of Mataram-Cakranagara in Lombok. The first
western scholar to study the manuscript was J.L.A. Brandes , a Dutch philologist. He
accompanied the KNIL expedition to Lombok in 1894, and is credited with saving the valuable
manuscripts collection of the Lombok royal library from being burnt in the chaos of the battle. A
generation of Dutch scholars participated in translating the poem.
Much of its historical value was due to its having been the product of priestly activities directed
at enhancing the magical powers of the ruler at the time. The manuscript is written on lontar
leaves. It was held in the library of Leiden University in the Netherlands, with inventory code
number L Or 5.023.
After its translation in the early 20th century, the Nagarakretagama became an inspiration and
foundation of the Indonesian independence movement.

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SE Asian cultures have witnessed a amalgamation of Hindu and Buddhist Divinities.Shiva was
absorbed into Tantric Buddhism as one of the deities guarding the Buddha. Shiva has as his
avatar Mahākāla, literally meaning “great” + “darkness or blackness”, which correspond to the
Chinese ideographs 大 + 黑 (Dà hēi). In the Buddhist pantheon, Shiva was thus transformed into
Dàhēi tiān 大 黑 天 , a brave protector of Buddhism from all demons against the virtues of
Buddha.

Eventually, when Shiva = Dàhēi 大 黑 reached Japan he was not only accepted as one of the
Buddhist Devas, but also merged with a Japanese god. The Japanese Shinto god Ōkuninushi 大
国主, could be read phonetically as Daikokunushi, very similar to the sound of Dàhēi 大黑 in the
Japanese phonetic reading ‘Daikoku’. In Japan Buddhism and Shinto belief are closely
connected and over time have influenced each other, becoming mixed together. Thus Daikoku 大
黒 can be both a Buddhist Deva and an avatar of Ōkuninushi.

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 Daikoku
(left) as a young god shows that he keeps a touch of his past as Mahākāla. Daikoku (right) in one of his most popular
manifestations. Ofuda harikomichō : Daiei Toshokanzō お札貼込帳 : 大英図書館蔵]. British Library, 16007.d.1(2), 41-44 and
16007.d.1(5), 74-80

Ōkuninushi is the god of the completed construction of the world situated between heaven and
hell, known in Japanese as the ’Ashihara no Nakatsukuni 葦原中国’, which literally means “The
middle country of reed beds”, and which represents the physical land of Japan. Ōkuninushi
builds the land mass and the villages, introduces farming and treats the sick. He blesses all good
relationships and lives in Izumo. Once a year, all Japanese gods assemble at his great shrine and
have an annual meeting to report to each other – a sort of divine summit meeting!

However, there are a few exceptions, such as Ebisu 恵比寿. He stays at his own shrines to keep
his eyes on people who are praying, as well as to watch over the vacant shrines whose gods have
departed to attend the great shrine in Izumo.

Ebisu is an indigenous Japanese Shinto god, who has not been combined with other religious
figures. Japan is surrounded by seas so it is natural for the ancient Japanese to worship the sea.
Ebisu is often symbolised by marine flotsam. He represents visitors from across the sea and is
the god of what the sea brings forth. Ebisu is often associated with Hiruko 蛭子.

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1. Ebisu fishing. Coin-shaped charm. British Museum 1884,0511.2414
2. Ebisu (top) and Daikoku (bottom). Illustrated by Ogino Issui 荻野一水.Zuan hyakudai 圖案百題. Kyoto: Unsōdō 京
都 : 芸艸堂, 1910. British Library ORB.30/788

Hiruko was born as the imperfectly formed child of Izanagi and Izanami as they were trying to
form the land of Japan. Hiruko did not have a firm enough body to become an island such as
Awaji island or Shikoku island. He was placed in a tiny boat and abandoned to the sea. Hiruko
survived this trial and was eventually washed ashore. This legend led to Hiruko being linked to
visitors from the sea bringing forth sea resources, and eventually Ebisu was identified as Hiruko.

Ebisu is also associated with Kotoshironushi 事代主, one of the sons of Ōkuninushi 大国主,
who loves fishing and is deeply connected with the sea. Kotoshironushi was the key deity in
Ōkuninushi’s negotiations with Upper Heaven (Takamagahara 高天原), to reach agreement to
pass on the role of rule of Japan to the descendants of the Sun Goddess. In return Ōkuninushi
insisted that a great shrine be built for him in Izumo. Therefore Ebisu, who is associated with
Kotoshironushi, plays an important role in patrolling while all the other gods are meeting at his
father’s shrine.

Daikoku and Ebisu continued to develop and build up Japan, bringing a rich variety of produce
from land and sea which led to the accumulation of wealth and the evolution of society. It
therefore makes sense to the Japanese - and those interested in Japan and its culture - that
Daikoku and Ebisu, the chief guardian deities of happiness and good fortune, should constantly
turn up in the shape of charms or amulets. https://scroll.in/article/821322/how-is-a-japanese-
deity-of-good-fortune-linked-to-hindu-god-shiva

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Mahakala (known as Daikokuten 大黑天) enjoys an exalted position as a household deity in Japan,
as he is one of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japanese folklore.
The Japanese also use the symbol of Mahakala as a monogram. The traditional pilgrims climbing the
holy Mount Ontake wear tenugui on white Japanese scarves with the Sanskrit seed syllable of
Mahakala.
In Japan, this deity is variously considered to be the god of wealth or of the household, particularly
the kitchen. He is recognised by his wide face, smile, and a flat black hat, in stark contrast to the
fierce imagery portrayed in Tibetan Buddhist art. He is often portrayed holding a golden mallet,
otherwise known as a magic money mallet, and is seen seated on bales of rice, with mice nearby
(mice signify plentiful food).

The statue of Harihara, the god combination of  Shiva  and  Vishnu. It was the mortuary deified portrayal of
Kertarajasa. Originally located at Candi Simping, Blitar, the statue is now preserved at the National Museum
of Indonesia.

Unlike the HARIHARA- an integration of Shiva and vushnu, no common diety as a

structure has evolved