Himalayan Art Resources

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Potalaka Pureland - Updated

The Four-armed Lokeshvara (Chaturbhuja) is certainly the most popular and most common form of Avalokiteshvara found in art. As a sub-group amongst the different forms there is also the additional context of the Potalaka Pureland with Lokeshvara seated at the center of the composition.


Potalaka is an island believed to be located somewhere in the Indian ocean off the coast of Western India. In China, Potalaka is found as Puto Island just two hours south of Shanghai. Puto Island was visited in the past by Tibetan teachers such as Karma Pakshi and Zangpo Pal as early as the Yuan period.