Mahakala is a wrathful emanation of Avalokiteshvara. According to the Mahakala Tantra, Avalokiteshvara — overwhelmed by the suffering of beings despite his vow to save them all — manifested this fierce dark form to protect the dharma through wrathful compassion, destroying obstacles that gentle means cannot overcome.
Daikokuten, Mahākāla, and Tibetan Mahakala are transmissions of the same wrathful Buddhist protector deity — originally Shiva’s fierce aspect, absorbed into Buddhism as a dharmapāla and carried to Japan and Tibet where the figure diverged dramatically in iconography.
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