Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c37.3
Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c37.3
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c37.3
*Avalokiteśvara.* On Pl. XXII. King Vimala Dharma Sūrya I. is represented wearing a crown with a small image of Buddha upon the front of it. This was probably adopted from the small Dhyāni Buddha represented on the headdress of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. It appears also on the headdress of the very early alto-relievo figure of ‘Kushta Rāja’ at Veligama. The cult of Avalokiteśvara was well known in Ceylon in the ninth century. It is just possible that the Veligama figure itself really represents Avalokiteśvara.