Ekādaśamukha Avalokiteśvara

Eleven-Headed Avalokiteśvara. Tibet, c. 16th century.

Ekādaśamukha Avalokiteśvara. (T. spyan ras gzigs bcu gcig zhal; C. Shiyimian Guanyin; J. Jūichimen Kannon; K. Sibilmyŏn Kwanŭm 十一面觀音). “Eleven-Headed Avalokiteśvara.” One of the most common iconographic forms of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. This manifestation has eleven heads and is commonly shown with eight arms.

Himalayan Art Resources desribes one image of this form:

Peaceful in appearance, with eleven faces rising upward in groups of three, the 10th is wrathful and the face at the top is that of the buddha Amitabha. Each face has two eyes and a dot between the eyebrows... With 8 hands the first pair at the heart hold a precious jewel. The three right hands extended to the side are in the mudra of generosity, holding a Dharma wheel and a crystal prayer bead mala. The three on the left hold a water flask, a bow and arrow and a lotus blossom.

The Princeton Dictionary states:

While theories abound about why he has eleven heads, it is likely that the ten small bodhisattva heads topped by a buddha head represent the ten stages (daśabhūmi) of the bodhisattva path, along with the final attainment of buddhahood.

And also:

While this eleven-headed form is frequently found in later Buddhist art in Tibet, Nepal, and East Asia, an image from the Indian cave site of Kānheri is the only extant artistic evidence that this iconographic form is originally of Indian provenance.

Dhāraṇī

The Dhāraṇī of the Eleven Faced Avalokiteśvara is popular in East Asia and Tibet. Popular recordings of this dhāraṇī have been made by contemporary performing artists.

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 

Further reading

• Avalokiteshvara (Eleven Faces), Himalayan Art Resources
• Ekādaśamukha, Wikipedia