Stakna Monastery: Eleven-Headed, Eight-Armed Avalokitesvara

INDIA, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh

Stakna Monastery is built on the bank of the Indus River approximately 25 km away from the town of Leh in Ladakh. A monastery of the Drukpa Kagyu school, it was founded in 1580 by the Bhutanese scholar Jamyang Palkar with funds provided by Jamyang Namgyal, the ruler of Ladakh. The monastery contains a large number of murals which, based on the style, color schemes, and their current condition, were probably painted during the 19th century.
Eleven-Headed, Eight-Armed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva stands on a lotus pedestal. The heads, colored red, blue, or white, are arranged in five tiers. At the top there is a red head thought to be that of Amitabha Buddha. The central white head has arched eyebrows, narrowed eyes, and hair that hangs down over the shoulders.The body is adorned with ornaments; stoles are draped over the arms and hover in the air beside the colorful dhoti. Two of the hands join palms in front of the chest; the remaining hands hold various objects including prayer beads, a Dharma wheel, a lotus, a bow and arrow, and a vase. The Bodhisattva is backed by a blue aureole and a brown mandorla. A specially shaped nimbus surrounds all of the heads.