The Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara, seated in the vajrāsana posture on a lotus throne done in black outline, supported by a cloud pedestal drawn the same way with the hour-glass silhouette of Mt. Sumeru. He has the regular number of forty arms, and two others besides which are raised behind the innermost halo and hold up the figure of Amitābha Buddha in a red robe. Above, an elaborate canopy hangs in mid-air; a large, flame-encircled jewel is at the top, and a smaller one decorates each of the four visible upturned points of the (probably octagonal) roof of the canopy. From the end points on right and left depend decorated chains; and three smaller chains are festooned over the longer part of a double curtain which hangs from the base of the canopy. The outer aureole of the divinity is white with a narrow gold rim; it takes in the lotus but not the cloud pedestal. The inner aureole is also white and is edged with white flames. The halo, which backs the head, is red and has no flames. The elaborate headdress of Avalokiteśvara contains a standing figure of the dhyani Buddha Amitābha. Avalokiteśvara, whose body is golden in color, wears a pale pink skirt, showing red at the folds, and over it a red scarf with gold folds. He is naked above the waist except for jewelry—anklets, bracelets on both upper and lower arms, necklace, earrings — and for two streamers of black hair which extend over his shoulders to the elbow. To the left stands Vasu Ṛṣi, with a staff like a shepherd's crook in his left hand, his right upraised to his forehead. He wears a white robe, and contrary to iconographical rules, gold and red jewelry. To the right is Śrī Mahādevī, holding a lotus. She wears a white robe and is decked out with a red and gold crown and a jeweled collar. In the foreground is a king, his hands in añjali mudrā. His skirt is much worn and shows underneath a fierce, red divinity, eight-armed, whose face and torso are hidden by the king, but whose arms are visible to each side. In spite of the evident fact that the king was painted afterward, over the "terrible one", this latter figure seems to be partially repainted. He is surrounded by flames done in black without a trace of color. In his proper upper left hand he holds a lasso; in the second, a single-pointed vajra; the third apparently rests on his left leg, which is in a cross-legged position; while the right leg is somewhat extended; the fourth and inner hand, hidden by the drawing of the king, probably made a mudrā with the corresponding hand on the other side. The upper right hand holds a three-pronged vajra; the second holds a rosary; the third makes a mudrā, and the inner fourth is hidden under the robes of the king. Attendant on this fierce divinity are two warriors of human shape, the one on the divinity's left having a pig's head over his own and the one opposite having an elephant's head over his human one. These figures are probably intended for the same personages we have seen elsewhere conceived somewhat differently, the one with the head of an elephant on a human body (Vināyaka) and the other with the head of a pig on a human body (Vajrāṅkuśā); see frame 93. The attributes held and the mudrās formed are: left outer hands 1. Sun 2. Spear 3. Skull on stick 4. Conch shell from which issues a cloud, half hiding a snake 5. Trident 6. Pole from which hangs unidentified object 7. Book 8. Weapon 9. Bowl 10. Lotus 11. Lasso 12. Makes varada mudrā left inner hands 13. Vajra, single-pointed 14. Drum 15. Jewel 16. Flask 17. Bow 18. Lotus 19. Makes añjali mudrā with the 19th right hand 20. Makes a form of vitarka mudrā right outer hands 1. Moon 2. Book 4. Palace [building] 5. Banner (?) 6. Shield 7. Box (?) 8. Hatchet 9. Wheel 10. Lotus 11. Flower or fruit spray 12. Jewel (2) right inner hands 13. Vajra, probably five-pointed 14. Buddha 15. Conch 16. Willow branch 17. Makes a form of vitarka mudrā 18. Lotus 19. Makes añjali mudrā with the 19th left hand 20. A hu or shaku
大悲觀世音菩薩。 Mahakaruna the Great Compassionate Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva |
Avalokiteśvara stands in a mountain landscape, above which are clouds in a blue sky, his feet on a grey lotus. He holds a willow spray in his right hand and a flask in his left. His aureole, which resembles a stone stela in shape, is gold in color, and his halo is grey. His flesh is gold. He wears a red robe and scarf; the folds are done in gold. To the right is a group of three figures, two attendants with chignons and an elaborately dressed individual holding a rosary in his left hand; on his robes the ya mark which is one of the symbols worn by the Chinese emperor. To the left is another group of three, two attendants like those opposite and a personage in gorgeous robes with a dragon design, holding a fan in his right hand. The two lords are presumably the two kings of the gods, Indra and Brahmā : they have the crowns, coiffures, and haloes of celestial beings, and are at the same time kings, for the two boy attendants given each hold up his long sleeves. In the foreground is water, with rocks to right and left and at the near edge of the picture. In the water are two snakes with their tails and necks intertwined to form a circle. To the right is a conch shell and to the left a fish with a wheel on its head. 救苦觀世音菩薩。 Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva who saves from suffering |
Avalokiteśvara, whose flesh is gold in color, stands on a grey lotus resting on a dragon pedestal. Two elaborate aureoles in black-and-white, with the central halo gold, back the divinity. Above is a canopy of three lotuses in black-and-white with hanging garlands of gold and red. Avalokiteśvara wears an elaborate red robe with gold folds, and is adorned by jewelry and a long, red scarf. In his red and gold headdress is a seated dhyani Buddha, Amitābha. He has four attendants: to the left a Bodhisattva in white robes holding a fan in his right hand; to the right, another holding a ju-i scepter. In the immediate foreground, to the right, is a Nāgini seated Western fashion on her coils. She has a crest of innumerable serpent heads. To the left is a warrior.
易長觀世音菩薩。 Yi zhang Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva Yi zhang might be a metafor for spritual perfection |