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Manjishree

Manjushree is the Bodhisattva of Wisdom and Knowledge (prajna). He sits in the middle of the thangka on a red lotus that rises up above the water. In his right hand, he is seen with a sword. His left hand in vitarkamudra, the gesture of giving instruction, while a book is lying on the lotus flower beside his left shoulder. Lower left and right, Avalokiteshvara as Shadakshari and Padmasambhava. At the top, in the center sits the historical Buddha Manjushri is closely associated with the goddess Prajnaparamita, who is not his partner, but the personification of knowledge, symbolized by the book on the lotus The entire background of the thangka portrays a green valley surrounded by mountains and boulders. Aside from the deities, the only living beings are pairs of deer and birds. According to legend, Manjushri came to Nepal from China over 2,000 years ago to worship the Adi Budhha. Surround by mountains, in the middle of the country, lay a large lake. In the middle of the lake bloomed a lotus on which the Adi Buddha, Swayambu, manifested himself as a flame. The bodhisattva smote the rocks with his sword near Chobar so that the water flowed away and the valley was able to be cultivated. The present-day Kathmandu Valley lies at the location of the former lake, as has been revealed geologically. He moved the lotus with the flame to a hill on the west side. Later, the stupa of Swayambunath was erected over it. Manjushri is depicted in red, yellow, golden yellow, white, or black, and almost always sits in lotus position.