e that it was not a religious centre but a mountain in the
south of which Buddhists in the north wrote with little precision.[26]
There is no evidence that Avalokita was first worshipped on this
Potalaka, though he is often associated with mountains such as Kapota
in Magadha and Valavati in Kataha.[27] In fact the connection of
Potala with Avalokita remains a mystery.

Avalokita has, like most Bodhisattvas, many names. Among the principal
are Mahakaruna, the Great Compassionate one, Lokanatha or Lokesvara,
the Lord of the world, and Padmapani, or lotus-handed. This last
refers to his appearance as portrayed in statues and miniatures. In
the older works of art his figure is human, without redundant limbs,
and represents a youth in the costume of an Indian prince with a high
jewelled chignon, or sometimes a crown. The head-dress is usually
surmounted by a small figure of Amitabha. His right hand is extended
in the position known as the gesture of charity.[28] In his left he
carries a red lotus and he often stands on a larger blossom. His
complexion is white or red. Sometimes he has four arms and in later
images a great number. He then carries besides the lotus such objects
as a book, a rosary and a jug of nectar.[29]

The images with many eyes and arms seem an attempt to represent him as
looking after the unhappy in all quarters and stretching out his hands
in help.[30] It is doubtful if the Bodhisattvas of the Gandhara
sculptures, though approaching the type of Avalokita, represent him
rather than any other, but nearly all the Buddhist sites of India
contain representations of him which date from the early centuries of
our era[31] and others are preserved in the miniatures of
manuscripts.[32]

He is not a mere adaptation of any one Hindu god. Some of his
attributes are also those of Brahma. Though in some late texts he is
said to have evolved the world from himself, his characteristic
function is not to create but, like Vishnu, to save and like Vishnu he
holds a lotus. But also he has the title of Isvara, which is specially
applied to Siva. Thus he does not issue from any local cult and has no
single mythological pedigree but is the idea of divine compassion
represented with such materials as the art and mythology of the day
offered.

He is often accompanied by a female figure Tara.[33] In the tantric
period she is recognized as his spouse and her images, common in
northern India from the seventh century onwards, sh