Item: Avalokiteshvara (Bodhisattva & Buddhist Deity) - Amoghapasha (Unfailing Lasso)

Amoghapasha, Five Deities (Tibetan: don yo shag pa. English: Unfailing Lasso): one of five paintings depicting an illustrated top register and then the main portion of the composition of each painting is the Amoghapasha Dharani Sutra written on a black background. (See deity identification key).

At the center of the register sits Lokeshvara (Avalokiteshvara), white, with one face and two hands. Standing at the immediate left is Red Amoghapasha followed by the wrathful red Hayagriva. On the right stand the two female deities, White Bhrikuti followed by the wrathful black Ekajati. These five deities constitute the Five Deity Amoghapasha visualized as a (mandala).

Placed at the ends of the register, on the left side is Chaturbhuja Avalokiteshvara with four arms and on the right Khasarpani Lokeshvara with two arms.

Paintings such as these were created to overcome particular obstacles or inauspicious events. The donor could be an individual, a family, or a community either lay or monastic. The reason to paint and copy the Amoghapasha Dharani would generally be determined through a divination performed by a religious figure respected in the community.

Jeff Watt 1-2009