Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is the Buddhist embodiment of compassion. He is often portrayed as an elegant and gracious youth. The cult of Avalokiteshvara worship originated in India and spread across Asia, along with other Buddhist philosophies and practices. In some places Avalokiteshvara eclipses the Buddha in importance. Buddhist rulers, such as Prince Shotoku in Japan and the Dalai Lama in Tibet, have been seen as incarnations of this saviour.

In Nepal, Buddhism flourished alongside Hinduism long after the religion had lost favour in India. Although the kings of the Early Malla period who ruled the Kathmandu Valley were Hindu, some of the greatest artistic achievements of the age were Buddhist. This gilt copper figure is adorned with semi-precious stones. The bodhisattva stands in the graceful three-bend pose (tribhanga) and his right hand makes the vitarka mudra, or gesture of discourse. His other hand may have originally held a lotus stem, an attribute associated with Avalokiteshvara. In the Nepalese Buddhist tradition, images such as this were intended to assist with meditation. The fine condition of the sculpture suggests that it might have been stored in a monastery where such images were wrapped in protective robes.

Text © National Gallery of Australia, Canberra 2010

From: Ron Radford (ed), Collection highlights: National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2008