Amoghapasa Avalokitesvara

NEPAL

This artwork depicts a form of Avalokitesvara much revered in Nepal. The Bodhisattva holds an “unfailing noose” of compassion used to rescue sentient beings.
The six-armed figure has three heads and an openwork nimbus decorated with flames. Each head wears a crown, while the body is decorated with jewelry and a stole. The skirt is secured with a jeweled belt. The attributes held in the hands are, in clockwise direction, a vase, a noose, a trident, a whisk and a lotus. One hand is raised in vitarka (teaching) mudra. A figure lying on the lotus pedestal is trampled underfoot.
A Buddha figure in front of the Bodhisattva holds an alms bowl and makes the bhumisparsa (earth-touching) mudra. The Buddha is flanked by crowned figures holding attributes and making various mudras. Elephants at the corners uphold the platform on which they sit. The stand has Sanskrit inscriptions along the base.