Dunkar Cave 1: Eleven-Headed Avalokitesvara

CHINA, Tibet, Ngari; Guge Kingdom

This mural, located on the south wall, depicts Eleven-Headed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva standing on a lotus pedestal and leaning to one side. Tight garments, ornaments, and stoles partially cover the body of the figure. The heads are arranged in tiers, with three peaceful faces at the bottom, seven wrathful faces above, and the head of Amitabha Buddha at the top. All the faces have arched eyebrows and small mouths and noses. Two of the six hands are joined in front of the chest, two are raised above the shoulders holding a lotus and a stole, and two are extended downwards, holding a vase and displaying the varada (wish-granting) mudra. A kneeling ghost catches dew drops that fall from the hand that forms the mudra. A large nimbus and a mandorla surround the Bodhisattva.
Two smaller Bodhisattvas flank Avalokitesvara. Both have nimbuses and stand upon lotus pedestals in tribhanga postures with their heads bowed and legs partially crossed. Their dark brown skin contrasts with the white-skinned Avalokitesvara.