A Network of Compassion: The Transmission and Development of the Cult and Iconography of Cakravarticintāmaṇi Avalokiteśvara Across the Maritime Silk Routes

This article examines the cult surrounding an esoteric form of Avalokiteśvara, known by different names across regions, such as Cakravarticintāmaṇi, Cintāmaṇicakra, Ruyilun Guanyin, and Nyoirin Kannon. Through an analysis of Sanskrit, Chinese, and Japanese textual sources, the study explores the complex transmission of this cult from India to Southeast Asia and East Asia via the Maritime Silk Routes. As the cult spread, variations in its iconography emerged in different regions. The study highlights how, in India, the bodhisattva was depicted with specific attributes, which were reinterpreted in Southeast Asia. In China and Japan, further modifications appeared, with Chinese representations emphasising the six-armed form that later influenced and matured in Japanese iconography. Additionally, the texts reveal that Cintāmaṇicakra was introduced to royal courts as part of state rituals to ensure the acquisition and preservation of sovereignty. This association with kingship and state protection contributed to the deity’s prominence across the region. The culmination of this transmission occurred in Japan, where Cintāmaṇicakra remains a revered deity to this day. The article concludes that from the 7th to 9th centuries, Buddhist monks were instrumental in spreading the cult of Cakravarticintāmaṇi. As a result, the iconography evolved in response to regional artistic traditions, creating distinct yet interconnected forms of the bodhisattva across the Maritime Silk Routes.