The Kalachakra mandala is definitely one of the most eye-catching thangka painting and appreciated for the symbolic elements that compose it and the visual representation of important teachings of traditional Tibetan Buddhism.
However, as explained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, many mistaken interpretations have circulated among people who viewed the Kalachakra mandala simply as a work of art.
The Kalacakra tantra is considered the most advanced practice of Vajrayana tradition. This complex system of teachings was originated in India and incorporated into Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

The Dalai Lama himself attends to a series of rituals called “Kalachakra empowerment initiation” and the creation of the Kalachakra mandala is used as a visual textbook for Buddhist practitioners.
The Kalacakra initiation is based on the concepts of time (kala) and cycles (chakra) and, before approaching these rituals, the disciple should have acquired knowledge of the three principal aspects of the Mahayana doctrine: Samsara, Bodhichitta and emptiness.

Indian Astro-Science: dKar-rTsis

This form of astro-science derives its name from the place of its origin, rGya-dKar or ‘white expanse’ — the traditional Tibetan name for the Indian sub-continent. Conjecture suggests that this derives from the perception of a vast country of people wearing white clothing. The system has two features, the Kālacakra Astro-Science and the Astro-Science of Arising Vowels.

Kālacakra Astro-Science: Dus-‘Khor sKar-rTsis
The Kālacakra Astro-Science is a principal feature of Tibetan Astro-Science. It reveals the mode of existence of nature and all the phenomena of dependent-arising as it is in its ultimate sense. Herein it is clearly demonstrated how the universe and its beings are generated and concluded in the five elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. The movement of the Sun, the Moon, the planets and the constellations are presented via Sa-Ris — arithmetical calculations traced in sand — and their subsequent effects are also displayed. The convergence of the Kālacakra Astro-Science with the pre-existent forms of astro-science strengthened the intellect and logic of ‘Tibetan Astro-Science’ and soon it turned out to become an independent and complete system of astro-science.

There are two parts in Kālacakra Astro-Science. The first is the identification of the numbers and the digits along with the designation of the planets, the constellations, the months and time. The second is the computation of the movements of the planets and constellations. The latter contains sections on the Five Components of the Calendar, Pañcāήga (Lnga-bsDus), namely the weekday, Vāra (gZa’), the lunar day, Tithi (Tshes), the constellation, Nákșatra (sKar), the conjunction, Yoga (sByor-Ba) and the Practical, Karaņa (Byed-Pa). Another section deals with the movement of the five planets (Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn) on account of The Three Systems of Days, the Solar-day (Nyin-Zhag), the Lunar-day (Tshes-Zhag) and the Zodiacal-day (Kyim-Zhag). It further deals with the shadowy planet named sDra-gCan (the nodes of the moon’s orbit) and its effects of solar and lunar eclipses. It also reveals about the position of the planets and their relation with a person born at that particular time, the Ascendant (Dus-‘Byor), and about the globular earth and the globular space (gNam-Sa’i Go-La). All these classifications are present in this form of Tibetan Astro-Science which is then extrapolated through the rational analysis of scholar-astro science practitioner.

On the full moon of the third lunar month, the Iron-Dragon year, 881 B.C., the Lord Buddha preached the Kālacakra Tantra at the stupa of Dhanyakataka in South India — at Amravati in Andhra Pradesh. It was preached to a large number of followers headed by Shambhala’s First Dharma King, Dawa Sangpo (Suchandra). The king then explained the ‘Mūla-Tantra of Kālacakra’ (Dus-‘Khor rTsa-rGyud) to his son, the Second Dharma King of Shambhala, Lhawang (Sureśvara). The teachings then passed on to the successive five Dharma Kings of Shambhala and reached the first Kalkī King of Shambhala, Rigden Jampel Dakpa (Yaśas). He preached the ‘Laghu-Tantra of Kālacakra’ (Dus-‘Khor bsDus-rGyud) — the abridged form of the Mūla-Tantra — and it has been passed to this day to the 21st Kalkī King of Shambhala, Rigden Magagpa (Aniruddha). The second Kalkī King of Shambhala, Rigden Padma Karpo, composed a commentary on the Laghu-Tantra known as Vimalaprabhā (Dri-Med-‘od). The Laghu-Tantra and Vimalaprabhā are both still visible to our naked eyes among the numerous Buddhist texts and serve as key treatises in the study of Tibetan Buddhism and other fields like Tibetan Astro-Science and Medicine.

It was during the transition period between the 11th Kalkī King of Shambhala, Rigden Gyalka (Aja), and Shambhala’s 12th Kalkī King, Rigden Nyima (Sūrya), that this Tantra spread in Tibet in 1027 A.D. The Indian sages, Tsilupa and Dueshappa, had received the teachings from the Shambhala king, and Tibetan scholar-translators — including Gijo Dawai Oser, Ra Choerab, and Khache Panchen — translated it into Tibetan script. Since then the Kālacakra Astro-Science has flourished in the Land of Snow for almost a millennium and developed as the backbone of the pre-existing Ancient Tibetan Astro-Science and Elemental Astro-Science. The Kālacakra Tantra consists of the External Kālacakra, dealing with the motions of the celestial bodies; the Internal Kālacakra, dealing with the inner movements of the energies in a human body; and the Alternate Kālacakra, which deals with the meditational stages of development and completion.

The Astro-Science of Arising Vowels: dByangs-‘Char
Based upon astrological findings, this form of astro-science is cast to solve various human requirements for pacifying, enriching, subjugating and undertaking wrathful activities. Each of the 16 vowels — the seed of all letters — are condensed in the nature of the elements and then they manifest in various astrological computations. There are many different dByangs-‘Char ‘cakras’ for various human activities. These cakras carry information about the well-being of a ruler and his subjects, the harvest, weather, epidemics and much other information about the year.

There are references about the Astro-Science of Arising Vowels in the Kālacakra Astro-Science and also it was preached by the manifested forms of Avalokiteshvara and Tara as the Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati. First preached in the realm of the gods, this form of astro-science was then brought to our human world and later reached Tibet in the 12th century. The story is that once-upon-a-time there was a war between the gods and the demi-gods. Indira, the king of the gods, went to Shiva for help and took instructions on how to defeat the demi-gods. The gods then defeated the demi-gods and so this highly secret Tantra (instruction) remained with the gods. It is also known as gYul-rGyal-rGyud, the Tantra of Victory upon War. Upon the skilful request of his consort, Parvati, Shiva preached the concise form of the Tantra, suitable for human followers in order to clarify the doubts of worldly beings.

The Tantra flourished in the human realm via the chief of the attendants, Karmasiddhi Utpala. Later it was transported and translated into Tibetan language in the 12th century by the Indian scholar, Pandita Jaya Ananda, and the Tibetan scholar translator, Lo Sherab Rinchen. The teaching then passed on successively to the lineage gurus like Jamgon Mipham, who is the author of Kun-gZigs dByangs-‘Char Chen-Mo Shel-Gyi Me-Long, a major treatise on the Astro-Science of Arising Vowels.