c. Third quarter of 5th century

Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion

A bodhisattva is an enlightened being who delays his own release from the cycle of time to help others attain enlightenment. The meditating Buddha in the crown of this bodhisattva identifies the larger figure as Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion, who knows the suffering of all beings and helps to alleviate it.

This masterpiece was carved at Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon after his enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. The artist worked for the powerful Gupta dynasty that ruled most of northern India from the early 300s to the mid-500s. Gupta artists developed specific characteristics for buddhas and bodhisattvas—a slender body barely covered in clinging drapery, pouting lips, and eyes lowered in contemplation—that formed the basis for later Buddhist images all across Asia.