Six-Armed Manjusri

INDIA

The Bodhisattva is dressed in the Kashmiri style of a young prince. The figure wears a three-leafed floral crown from which neat braids spill onto the shoulders. The urna is inlaid with turquoise and the eyes with silver, while black outlines about the eyes and eyebrows emphasize those features. Various types of jewelry adorn the body and a sacred thread hangs diagonally across the torso. The hands on the left hold various objects such as the triratna symbol and prayer beads while the lowest hand is held in varada (wish-granting) mudra. The hands on the right side hold a lotus, a sutra manuscript, and a piece of fruit. The weight of the body is placed on the left leg as the figure poses gracefully on a double lotus pedestal. A peacock behind the leg is gazing up at the Bodhisattva from below.