(South and Central Asian mythology)

A bodhisattva who like Avalokitesvara receives worship as a divinity in Mahayana Buddhism. In Nepal and Tibet the bodhisattva has been accorded the rank of a Buddha. He is a popular deity and looked upon as the bringer of civilization to the Himalayas. His concern is to lead suffering beings to enlightenment; the fetters of ignorance and desire break before his blow. In his terrific aspect he is ‘the annihilator of Yama, the lord of death’. The archetype of wisdom, Manjusri holds in his hands a sword and a book. In China he became an important bodhisattva, texts about him being translated some time before 420. Just as the Dalai Lama is regarded by Tibetans as an incarnation of Avalokitesvara, so outstandingly wise rulers in East Asia have been regarded as incarnations of Manjusri.

A Dictionary of World Mythology. Copyright © Arthur Cotterell 1979, 1986, 2003. All rights reserved.