Item: Stupa (Buddhist Reliquary) - Baudhanath

Stupa: in the design of Baudhanath in the Kathmandu Valley, resting on a giant ornate elephant and lion supported throne, four smaller stupas at the sides represent the four directions and the Eight Auspicious Symbols hover in the sky. Centrally placed on the dome is Avalokiteshvara with 11 faces and eight hands. Kirtimukha faces are placed at both sides. Along the bottom are food offerings, lamps, music and the like.

Sanskrit: Chaitya Tibetan: Chor ten

At the top left is Lama Tsongkapa, Panchen and Dal Rinpoche all wearing monastic robes and yellow pandita hats. At the right side are Sitatapatra, White Tara and Green Tara. All are seated beneath a rainbow sphere against a pale blue sky and white billowing clouds.

Jeff Watt 4-2000

Catalogue: Art of Buriatia, Buddhist Icons from Southern Siberia, p.17. Spink, 1996.