There are many various images of Manjushri during the Pala period, and some Bodhisattvas are also relatively famous. The most striking features of the images of Manjushri during the Pala period in India are one face and two arms. Many-faced and many-armed image. Among the statues of Manjusri with one side and two arms, there are seated statues and standing statues. In terms of the number of extant statues, there are more seated statues than standing ones.
Most of the standing Manjusri statues have their right hand hanging down to give the wish seal, their left arm bent at the elbow, and holding an Ubala flower on the left side of the body. The flower sometimes carries scriptures. The standing Manjusri may stand with both legs straight, or with the center of gravity slightly on one leg, and the body appears in a subtle S-shaped arc.
The two-armed statue of Manjusri includes a standing figure, sometimes alone, sometimes accompanied by smaller attendants. There are four types of attendants: two male attendants, one male attendant, one male and female attendant, and two female attendants. When the attendants are two male deities, they are usually Yama Deka and Shancai Boy, such as a statue of Manjusri hidden in the Forbidden City.
The two-armed statue of Manjusri includes a standing figure, sometimes alone, sometimes accompanied by smaller attendants. There are four types of attendants: two male attendants, one male attendant, one male and female attendant, and two female attendants. When the attendants are two male deities, they are usually Yama Deka and Shancai Boy, such as a statue of Manjusri hidden in the Forbidden City.
The most victorious Manjusri has two arms. He rides on a lion as a game mount, with his hands in the Dharma seal on his chest. On the left side of his body is an Upala flower, and there are scriptures on the flower. In some sculptures, the left and right sides of Manjusri's body are Upalas carrying scriptures. The lion that Manjusri rides is sometimes larger in size, and sometimes the lion is not shown directly under Manjusri's body, but is depicted on the pedestal and is smaller in size.
There is also a common posture of sitting with two legs playing, with the right hand giving the wish seal, and the left hand holding an Upala flower. There may be scriptures on the flower. For example, a gold and bronze statue from the Pala period in the Qing Palace collection is often mistaken for Guanyin. In the same grotto, Guanyin and other Bodhisattvas often have the same posture, but they hold different flowers. This shows that this posture was around the 9th century. There is a certain degree of purity in the Bodhisattva statues.
It can be seen from the above that the images of Bodhisattvas are diverse, which also proves that the ancient people's craftsmanship was very powerful, and these Bodhisattvas also have an untouchable status in people's hearts. It is a more important belief for people.