Caturbhuja Avalokiteśvara
Caturbhuja Avalokiteśvara (T. སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་ཕྱག་བཞི་པ་; English: "Four-armed Avalokiteśvara").[1][2] A form of Avalokiteśvara with one face and four arms.[1][3]
There are several forms of Caturbhuja Avalokiteśvara.[3] In one common form, his central hands form the “gesture of supplication” (añjalimudrā) while holding a "wish-fulfilling jewel" (cintāmaṇi); his left hand holds a lotus (padma), and his right hand holds a mala.[1]
In some images, the "wish-fulfilling jewel" is not actually shown.[4]
Name variations
Name variations for this form include:
- Caturbhuja Avalokiteśvara (Skt. Caturbhujāvalokiteśvara; T. སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་ཕྱག་བཞི་པ་; English: "Four-armed Avalokiteśvara")
- Cintāmaṇi Avalokiteśvara (Skt. Cintāmaṇyavalokiteśvara; English: "Wish-fulfilling Avalokiteśvara"), because the bodhisattva holds the "wish-fulfilling jewel" (cintāmaṇi)[1]
- Sadaksari-Lokeśvara (Skt. ṣaḍakṣarī-lokeśvara; T. yi ge drug ma),[5][6][7] because it is particularly associated with the six-syllable mantra (ṣaḍakṣarī-vidyā; om mani padme hum).[8] This form is also associated with the Kāraṇḍavyūha (the text that first teaches the six-syllable mantra). It is also associated with the Sādhanamālā, which includes sadhana practices for this form.[5][6]
Meaning of this form and connection to the six-syllable mantra
In his commentary on the six-syllable mantra (ṣaḍakṣarī-vidyā; om mani padme hum), Trijang Rinpoche (1901–1981) wrote:
Regarding mani padme, "Jewel Lotus" or "Lotus Jewel" is one of the names of the noble Avalokitesvara. The reason that he is called by that is that, just as a lotus is not soiled by mud, so the noble Avalokitesvara himself has, through his great wisdom, abandoned the root of samsara, all the stains of the conception of true existence together with its latencies. Therefore, to symbolize that he does not abide in the extreme of mundane existence, he holds a white lotus in his hand...He joins the palms of his two upper hands, making the gesture of holding a jewel to symbolize that, like a wish-granting jewel, he eliminates all the oppression of suffering for all sentient beings and bestows upon them all temporary and ultimate benefit and bliss.[9]
Three Deity Chaturbhuja
One of the earliest depictions of this manifestion is the "Three Deity Chaturbhuja", which originated in the Karandavyuha Sutra (the first text to present the om mani padme hum mantra).[3]
In this depiction, the central figure is Avalokiteshvara, white in colour, with four hands. At his right is the male attendant Manidharin, yellow in colour, and at the left, the female, Shadakshari, white in colour. Both are similar to Lokeshvara in colour, ornaments and appearance. Sometimes they are referred to as the son and daughter of Lokeshvara. Sometimes Shadakshari is referred to as the consort. The iconography for the two attendant figures is not consistent nor is it necessarily fixed in a single authoritative text. They can appear either white or yellow in colour and have either two arms or four. Often Manidharin appears with two arms and Shadakshari with four.[3]
Image gallery
Avalokiteshvara, Chaturbhuja - Four Hands - Main Page, Himalayan Art Resources
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Avalokiteśvara.
- ↑
སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་ཕྱག་བཞི་པ་, Christian-Steinert Dictionary
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Avalokiteshvara (Bodhisattva & Buddhist Deity) - Chaturbhuja (4 hands), Himalayan Art Resources
- ↑ Perhaps it is implied by the añjalimudrā?
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ṣaḍakṣarī Lokeśvara, Tibet Museum
- ↑ 6.0 6.1
Shadaksharilokeshvara, Wisdom Library
- ↑ Avalokiteshvara as Shadakshari Lokeshvara, The MET
- ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. ṣaḍakṣarī.
- ↑ Lopez (1988), p. 133.
Sources
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University- Lopez, Donald (1998). Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West. University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
