Potalaka

[Geoffrey Samuel]

In one of the Crystal Mirror volumes on Indian Buddhist history (ed
Tarthang Tulku), Potalaka is identified with Tirupati (i.e. the famous
Venkatesvara temple and pilgrimage site) in southern A.P., on the basis of
Ahir's Buddhism in S India - unfortunately I don't have the Crystal Mirror
volume here, and haven't yet had a chance to look at Ahir. It's an
intriguing identification, to say the least, especially since the
Venkatesvara deity was, according to legend, only conclusively determined
to be Vishnu by Ramanuja - I have no idea whether the iconography of the
image is consonant with its having been Avalokitesvara beforehand? But as I
say I haven't looked at Ahir and I don't know what arguments he uses to
support the identification, given that I gather this site was referred to
as Venkata from quite early on.

Of course, the name "Potala" for the Dalai Lama's palace at Lhasa is a
secondary derivation, based on the identification of the Dalai Lama with
Avalokitesvara. For the Tibetans, the "original" Potala(ka) was the hilltop
palace of Avalokitesvara in S India (or wherever), not the building at
Lhasa. Perhaps the same is true for the Chinese island of Pu-to.

Geoffrey Samuel

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*                                                                       *
*  Geoffrey Samuel                                                      *
* (until 12/97) Department of Religious Studies                   OM    *
* Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YG, UK                     MA    *
* Email: G.B.Samuel at lancaster.ac.uk                               NI    *
* Fax: +44-1524-847039                                            PAD   *
*                                                                 ME    *
* (from 1/98) Department of Sociology and Anthropology            HUM   *
* University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia                    HRIH  *
* Email: sogbs at cc.newcastle.edu                                         *
* Fax: +61-2-4921 6902                                                  *
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