2-739-660 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Samantabhadra, 1100s. In the last chapter of the Lotus Sutra, one of the principal Buddhist texts, the great Bodhisattva Samantabhadra is described advancing to earth, riding on a six-tusked elephant, and proclaiming himself protector of the faithful. More frequently, he is shown with Bodhisattva Manjusri as the attendants of Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha). This scroll is probably the left panel in a triptych (group of three paintings) portraying these deities.