36 
J. PL. Vogel— Triloknath. 
[No 1, 
Since the construction of the Central Asian trade road the number 
of pilgrims must have considerably increased. When travelling in 
Kullu one often meets sddhus , who after visiting the hot springs of 
Manikarn in the Parbati valley, cross the Rotang-pass and wander 
down “ the wild and willowed shore ” of Bhaga and Candrabhaga in 
order to reach the celebrated tirtha. When I visited the place on the 
17th August it happened that the annual meld was just going on. So 
I had a good opportunity of satisfying myself that the deity of this 
place is equally honoured by the Buddhists of Lahul, Ladakh and 
Basahir as by the Hindus of Camba, Kullu and other parts. The 
variety of type and dress displayed by the numerous pilgrims would be 
highly interesting to the ethnologist. Though their devoutness is of 
at somewhat peculiar sort, manifesting itself chiefly in dancing and 
drinking, the question rises: Who is the devatd , who attracts 
people so different in race and religion to his remote and inaccessible 
shrine P 
It has already been stated by the Rev. Mr. Heyde, late of the 
Moravian Mission at Kyelang, that the Triloknath of the Candrabhaga 
valley is no other than the Bodhisattva Avalokite^vara. 
An inspection of his image fully confirmed this statement. The 
position of the legs (mahdrdjct-lzld) at once suggests a Bodhisattva? 
though it is noticeable that not the right but the left leg is hanging 
down. The six arms have the following mudras and laksanas: R. 
upper abhaya , R. middle aksamdld, R. lower vara , L. upper trigula, L- 
middle (resting in lap) sarpa, L. lower mangalakaldga . The number of 
arms, their position and attributes seem rather exceptional, if compared 
with the Nepalese miniatures, discussed so ably by M. Foucher. The 
absence of the padma especially would almost raise a doubt as to its 
identity with Avalokite 9 vara. But from the same author it appears 
that the number of arms is anything but fixed and that six-armed 
images of Avalokita are not unknown. 1 Moreover, there is the 
varamudra, a main characteristic of this Bodhisativa, whilst the snake 
also occurs among the attributes of one of M. Foucher’s miniatures 
(PI. IV, 6). To remove all doubt it will only be necessary to state that 
the image of Triloknath in its mukuta shows a cross-legged figure : the 
Dhyani-buddha Amitabha. The image is of white marble, a material, 
which I did not find used anywhere else in the Kullu sub-division, 
“the Hindu Trinity’* and explained as “the three lords of the world.” The Hindu 
Trinity occupies a larger place in the imagination of the West than in the religious 
belief of India. Sanskrit Trilokanatha of course can only mean “ Lord of the three 
worlds.” 
1 Foucher, l.c., p., 97 sqq. Cf. Waddell, 1 c,, pp. 58 and 79 No. 12. 
