Description
Sahasrabhuja Avalokitesvara is handpainted on cotton canvas by a Thangka artist from Nepal. The size of this thangka is 107 x 71 cm and its weight is 0.1kg. Lokeshvara is a multi-armed form of Avalokiteshvara that seems to have been popular in Nepal since the Middle ages.
Avalokiteshvara presented at the center of the thangka. Three Vajrapani are presented at the bottom of the Avalokiteshvara in the thangka.
Iconography of Avalokiteshvara
Avalokiteshvara is the mystery in the center of the world lotus. All his limbs are white. He has one face and wears a saffron dress.
He is wearing an antelope skin symbolizing that he is extremely compassionate to suffering sentient beings. He has eight hands, the right showing the gesture of fearlessness and the boon granting gesture. He is holding the noose and the string of beads, the left holding a trident, a scripture, a white lotus, and a water pot.
Iconography of Vajrapani
Three Vajrapani are presented at the bottom of the Avalokiteshvara in the thangka. Vajrapaṇi is one of the earliest bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of the Buddha and rose to symbolize the Buddha’s power.
Vajrapani is pictured dancing wildly within a halo of flames which represents transformation. He holds a vajra (thunderbolt) in his right hand which emphasizes the power to cut through the darkness of delusion. Vajrapani looks wrathful, but as a representation of the enlightened mind. He is completely free from hatred.
Mantra of Vajrapani
The mantra of Vajrapani is om vajrapani hum phat.
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