摩诃迦罗考

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

摩诃迦罗(大黑天)崇拜在中国有悠久的历史,汉、藏、蒙、满、白、彝等多个民族都曾蒙其影响,而且至今仍是藏传佛教信徒和云南白、彝民众的崇拜对象。本文分两部分:第一部分,通过对唐代文献的有关记载分析考证,认为摩诃迦罗原为印度婆罗门教神明,脱胎于大自在天;约五六世纪进入佛教典籍,7世纪成为密教护法神而传入中国。第二部分则主要介绍了云南阿吒力教和藏传密教中的大黑天崇拜情况,并论述了元代摩诃迦罗崇拜在内地的影响。

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 nowa- days, 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 Dy- nasty （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 pro- tective 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）.