Leaves from an Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra
Not on view
These two illuminated palm leaves are from a now-dispersed manuscript of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra, a text understood to contain the totality of Mahayana ideology in eight thousand verses. Above is Shadakshari Avalokiteshvara, a four-armed manifestation of the bodhisattva, which is associated with his six-syllable mantra popular across Tibet. Below, Avalokiteshvara is shown with six arms and sitting with one leg pendant in the posture of a god, referring to his accessible presence in a celestial sphere.
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