Thangka of an eleven-headed Avalokiteshvara

This thangka, a scroll painting on cloth, was designed to be hung in a monastery or private shrine. Easily rolled for storage or transport, thankas are used as meditational tools. The central deity is Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, who takes a form with 11 heads and multiple arms, emphasizing his boundless knowledge and ability to help innumerable devotees at once. The bodhisattva is shown emanating from a chorten or stupa (a structure that holds relics—a model of which is seen in the case behind), which represents the historical Buddha; celestial Buddhas are depicted in surrounding heavenly roundels. Below, earthly beings make offerings to Avalokiteshvara.