Mahoraga was the trump card that Sukuna, who is now is Megumi’s body, was aiming to use against Gojo in their battle. And to a certain extent Mahoraga indeed was useful in the fight.
The shikigami did adapt to Gojo’s infinity/inviolability, giving Sukuna an upper hand for a short period of time.
At one point, Sukuna tried to push back Gojo using both Merged Beast Agito and Mahoraga. Well, Agito’s story has been settled, and based on what we saw in JJK chapter 235, Mahoraga too could have gotten the short end of the stick.
So, did Gojo really manage to exorcise the strongest shikigami from the Ten Shadows Cursed Technique? The answer might not be as simple as you are expecting it to be.
Is Mahoraga Dead in JJK?
Based on what we saw in chapter 235, Mahoraga is dead. The shikigami was exorcised by Satoru Gojo using his Unlimited Purple.
If you notice closely, you’ll see Mahoraga’s wheel slowly being disintegrated by Gojo’s destructive blast.
Related: Is It Mahoraga or Makora? Ending the JJK debate!!
So, does that mean Sukuna can no longer use the strongest shikigami from the ten shadows technique again. Well, there is a miniscule possibility that Sukuna managed to deactivate his technique before Mahoraga was completely destroyed.
However, if we are to believe what Kusakabe says later in the chapter, it certainly seems that Mahoraga’s fate has been sealed. What if Kusakabe is just a self insert for Gege in the whole Gojo vs Sukuna fight!
In the past, when Great Serpent and Divine Dog were destroyed Megumi was surely not able to summon them later.
That said, I am pretty sure there is room for doubts here. Because this is not the first time that the shikigami is being destroyed by an opponent.
Not to take anything away from Mahoraga, but the shikigami had tough luck with his opponents, just like a certain volcano headed cursed spirit.
Related: How did Sukuna kill Gojo in JJK 236?
Not the first time…
If you’d just rewind a bit, back to the Shibuya arc (ahh yes the trauma), then you’ll remember that Sukuna had burnt Mahoraga to cinders and defeated him back then.
However, that didn’t keep the shikigami completely dead. Sukuna was able to summon the shikigami again, once he took over Megumi’s body.
Well, there could be two reasons why this happened.
The first is that Sukuna only destroyed Mahoraga as a part of an exorcism which was required to tame the shikigami. And the process itself became void, because Sukuna, an external party, interfered in it.
If you remember, Megumi summoned Mahoraga keeping only him and the creepy Haruta Shigemo involved in the exorcism. However, Sukuna took over once he realized that Megumi’s life was in danger and ended up defeating Mahoraga in the process.
It is highly possible that shikigami who are not tamed, don’t stand a chance to be destroyed completely as a part of their ritual.
Now, the second reason is a bit of a stretch, and involves me overthinking the details a bit.
If you closely observe the panels after Mahoraga was defeated, you’ll notice that Sukuna rolls Mahoraga’s wheel playfully – an indication that the shikigami had been defeated.
However, the fact that the wheel was not destroyed could suggest that Mahoraga had not been killed per se by Sukuna in the battle. Also, when he throws the wheel away, the wheel seemed to go back into the shadows.
This made me come to the conclusion that Mahoraga was not exactly “destroyed” or “dead” after the fight with Sukuna.
Because the ones that were destroyed, didn’t showcase an effect of going back into the shadows. Take a look at Agito or the Great Serpent!
So, can Mahoraga be summoned again?
Let’s come back to the main question now!
From what I pointed out before, there is a start difference between how Mahoraga’s wheel disintegrated during the fight with Gojo and how it stayed on after the fight with Sukuna.
In chapter 235, we see signs of the Dharmachakra (oh that’s just Mahoraga’s wheel) getting disintegrated. It most probably didn’t go back into the shadows.
So, going by that logic (and whatever else I mentioned above) Mahoraga is gone for good. Kudos Kusakabe sensei.
And because this particular defeat is quite different from what Mahoraga experienced at Sukuna’s hand, there is no way Megumi would be able to summon Mahoraga again.
So to answer in short – No, Mahoraga can no longer by summoned by Megumi or Sukuna in the future. The shikigami is gone!
Gojo single handedly destroyed 4 of Megumi’s remaining 8 shikigami. So all that he is left now is with Divine Dogs, Toad, Rabbit Escape the Max Elephant! Well’s Unknown Abyss up next?
What are your thoughts on Mahoraga’s death in Jujutsu Kaisen? Do you think there is any chance that we’ll see the shikigami again? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Or you could reach out to me on Reddit/Tumblr!
Ok it’s clear it is dead…but when a shikigami is destroyer,others can inherit his abilities…so,can any other shikigami that hasnt been killed inherit his abilities?
There are certain rules that govern the merging of shikigami of the Ten Shadows technique, and to be honest Akutami has not given us the slightest hint about those rules. So for now, all we can do is assume. It is possible that Mahoraga’s powers merged with some other shikigami. However, until it is revealed in the manga, it will be hard to say which one.
On the other hand, the fact that Sukuna did not mind merging Mahoraga with any other shikigami, when he did go to the extent of creating Merged Beast Agito, might point to the fact that it is mostly a stand-alone beast. Only time can tell at this poiunt