The Grand Mahakala Puja and Sacred Protector Dance

Everyday at every monastery and the residence of the serious practitioners, offering pujas to the great protector Mahakala and entourage are performed in the evening without fail. And at every end of year, it is traditional for all Karma Kagyu Monasteries to perform the year-end Mahakala Grand Puja and Sacred Protector Dance. The puja normally lasts around 9 days starting at 3 am and usually ends at 12 mid-night. For conclusion, the Sacred Protector Dance called Gonpo Cham would be performed for 2 days by sometimes as many as hundreds of lamas in

established monasteries, either as dancers or musicians. Many thousands of people from all over would turn up to participate and especially witness the Sacred Protector Dance, in the believe that by seeing, hearing and sincerely praying to the Sacred Protector Dance, and through the symbolic burning of the Mahakala torma at the end, all obstructive forces and evil activities to the Body, Speech and Mind would be destroyed and removed to usher in the New Year.

There are many forms of Mahakala, 4-arms, 6-arms, black, white and more. Each is prominent with one particular lineage. Mahakala Dorje Bernagchen (2-armed Vajra Black Cloaked one) and consort Mahakali is the special protector of the Karma Kagyu Lineage having protected all the Karmapas and Lineage Masters in their various activities. Even the 17th Karmapa Orgen Trinley Dorje, when performing his first public display of lama dance, chose to do the Mahakala dance while still in Tsurphu Monastery, Tibet.

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