Mahâkâla

The Mi nyag royal family, including one of its most famous translators, Mi nyag lo tsa ba Rtsa mi Sang rgyas grags pa (fl 12th c.), actively sponsored religious activity associated with Mahâkâla. When we consider what made this tradition attractive to the Mongols who eliminated the Mi nyag dynasty, one short religious text by this translator is very revealing. It is called “The Instructions of the Glorious Mahâkâla: The Usurpation of Government (dpal nag po chen po’i man ngag rgyal srid ‘phrog pa) and describes how to overthrow a state and take power, giving past examples and a guide to the necessary practices.

Sources:
Elliot Sperling. “Rtsa-mi lo-tsā-ba Sangs-rgyas grags-pa and the Tangut Background to Early Mongol-Tibetan Relations,” in Per Kvaerne, ed., Tibetan Studies. Proceedings of the 6th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oslo, 1994, p. 805.