Item: Manjushri (Bodhisattva & Buddhist Deity) - White (Siddhaikavira)

Manjushri, Sita (Tibetan: jam pal kar po. English: the White One of Glorious Melodious Speech): the bodhisattva of wisdom, from the Siddhaikavira Tantra in the tradition of Mati Panchen.

Sanskrit: Manjushri Tibetan: Jam pal yang

"...Holy Manjushri with a body white like the colour of a heap of moon jewels, one face and two hands, the right in supreme generosity and the left holding the stem of an utpala with the thumb and forefinger, fully blossoming above the ear, supporting the 100,000 verse Perfection of Wisdom book. Seated with the feet in vajra posture. The hair is bound in five tufts. Wearing white silk upper garments and various silks below. A youth of twice eight years, complete with the thirty-two signs of a great being and the eighty excellent marks..." (Lobzang Palden Tanpa'i Nyima, the 4th Panchen Lama, 1782-1853. Excerpt from the Rinjung Gyatsa, Part I, folio 829).

Beautiful, youthful and calm of expression, white of colour, he has one face and two hands. The hair is piled on the crown of the head with some falling loose across the shoulders. The right hand extended forward rests atop the knee performing the mudra (gesture) of supreme generosity with the palm open and fingers extended. At the heart, delicately held between the fingers of the left hand, a green lotus stem rises above the left shoulder supporting a white blossom topped with the Prajnaparamita sutra. A gold and jewel crown, red and yellow hair ribbons, large looped earrings, a choker, short and long necklaces, bracelets and anklets beautifully adorn the body. Draped across the upper arms and lower torso is a blue silk garment with an orange inner liner. The lower body is covered with a short orange skirt lined with yellow. The legs are folded in vajra posture, right over left, above a moon disc and pink flower blossom seat rising from a blue lotus pond. He sits surrounded by a circle of pastel pink accented with radiant green. A bright red aureola surrounds the head; further encircled by a large rainbow sphere and pink blossoms.

A small image of red Vajravarahi stands above in a dancing posture, surrounded by orange wisdom flames. Lama Tsongkhgapa sits above accompanied by the two principal disciples Khedrup and Gyaltsab.

At the top center is the primordial buddha Vajradhara, blue in colour with the hands folded at the heart. An Indian adept (Sanskrit: mahasiddha) sits at the right and left.

At the bottom center is the enlightened protector Shadbhuja Mahakala with Shri Devi Magzor Gyalmo on the left and Yama Dharmaraja on the right.

The Siddhaikavira (Solitary Hero) Tantra was first translated into Tibetan in the 11th century at the time of Lord Atisha and is classified as a Kriya Tantra. It describes numerous forms of Manjushri along with a host of other deities both peaceful and wrathful: Sarasvati, Jambhala, Vasudhara, Achala, etc.

Lineage: Lord Manjushri, Acharya Jetari, Maha Pandita Mati, Kashmiri Pandita Shakyashri, Bodhishri, Devashri, Sanggye Zhonnu, Sonam Sherab, Khenchen Sherab Gonpo, Sharchen Yeshe Gyaltsen (Ludingpa), Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (1382-1456), etc.

Jeff Watt 11-2000

Thematic Sets
Buddhist Deity: Manjushri, White, Main Page
Painting: Copies & Facsimiles
Collection of Shechen Archives: Gallery I
Buddhist Deity: Manjushri (Painting Masterworks)
Buddhist Deity: Manjushri, White (Blue Robe) Palpung Composition
Buddhist Deity: Manjushri, White (Siddhaikavira Tantra)
Buddhist Deity: Manjushri Religious Context
Buddhist Deity: Manjushri Main Page