Statue art of Mahakala Mahakala Six-Armed Mahakala originally came from Khyungpo Nenjor, the founder of the Shangpa Kagyu, and spread to all the lineages—Sakya, Nyingma, and Gelugpa—as well as various Kagyu lineages. Nowadays he is favored by the Gelugpa order of Tibetan Buddhism, and in this manifestation is considered to be a fierce and powerful emanation of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. He is adorned with the crown of five skulls represents the transmutation of the five negat