AVALOKITESHVARA PADMAPANI
Description
The worship of Avalokiteshvara amongst the Buddhists of the Mahayana sect became quite popular from the early 5th–6th century CE. Fa Hien has recorded that the Mahayanists in Mathura were in the habit of presenting offerings to the Prajnaparamita, to Manjushri and to Avalokiteshvara. He also mentions that the miraculous statues of this most popular and helpful Bodhisattva were found in large numbers in Kashmir.
The image displays influences from various quarters including Central Asia, Bengal, Tun-Huang images from China but has a distinct style of its own. The bodhisattva is standing on a lotus pedestal, holding a lotus flower with a long stem in his left hand. His right hand is in the varada mudra offering blessings to the devotees. His three-peaked tiara distinctly shows an image of the Dhyani Buddha as enjoined by the Sadhana-mala. He is wearing a prominent flower garment reaching right up to the ankles as is generally seen. He is decked with several ornaments such as the karna-phool, anklets, flowers tucked on top of the ears and necklaces. The mrigacharma tied in a reef knot in front of his chest covers his entire right shoulder. The ends of his dhoti reaching up to his knees are arranged between his legs in a chevron pattern. The curls of his hair fall down on his shoulders. The pedestal had an opening on the rear probably to keep the shasha as was customary with the Vajrayana Buddhists.
Gift from the Collection of Smt. Amaravati Gupta
Collection
Buddhist Art
Object Type
Sculpture
Material
Bronze
Schools/Culture/Period
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Technique
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Date
10th century CE
Location
Kashmir
Dimension
68.2 x 21.1 x 12.6 cms.