Jokhang Temple Central Hall Simhanada Shrine: Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara

CHINA, Tibet, Lhasa

The Karandavyuha Sutra describes this form of Avalokitesvara as having “a hundred and thousand arms, a hundred and thousand eyes, and eleven heads. The Bodhisattva’s wisdom is as deep and profound as the four great seas.”
The eleven heads of the figure are arranged according to the traditional iconography of Tibetan Buddhism; in five tiers with the three bottom rows having three heads each, and two top rows having one each. The heads wear jeweled crowns while the body is clad in brocades. The center of each palm is adorned with an eye. Of the leading eight arms, the middle two hold a jewel, while the rest are in other mudras or hold Dharma instruments. The remaining arms are opened and splayed out as if forming a circular aureole. The whole composition is contained within a petal-shaped mandorla filled with cloud-like decorations.