The Bodhisattva Monju (Manjushri) with Five Topknots

The Bodhisattva Monju (Manjushri) with Five Topknots

Unidentified

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This painting portrays a variant form of the bodhisattva Monju known as Monju with Five Topknots (Gokei Monju). He is imagined as a boy sitting cross-legged on a lotus pedestal atop a lion. He carries a sword, used to cut through ignorance, and a lotus, above which hovers a scroll representing the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. The five topknots symbolize five buddhas who are said to embody five types of cognition.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Bodhisattva Monju (Manjushri) with Five TopknotsThe Bodhisattva Monju (Manjushri) with Five TopknotsThe Bodhisattva Monju (Manjushri) with Five TopknotsThe Bodhisattva Monju (Manjushri) with Five TopknotsThe Bodhisattva Monju (Manjushri) with Five Topknots

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.