The youthful Bodhisattva Manjushri yielding a blazing sword of wisdom in his right hand and holding at his heart in his left the stem of an utpala lotus, amidst the petal of which rests a volume of the perfection of wisdom sutra, has long been an inspiration for Buddhist practitioners, scholars and writers. Because he embodies intelligence and wisdom amongst Tibetans we particularly encourage young children to pray to him in the hope that they will develop these qualities. There is an interesting story about one of the most commonly used prayers.  An Indian king once called together a number of great pandits and requested them each to compose a prayer Manjushri with a view to choosing the best among them. The pandits each applied all their skill and experience to their composition, but  when the results were compared they were all found to have written the same thing.

Som. P. Ranchen is professor and Chairman Department of English H>P> University, Shimla He has authored 14 books of poetry and 11 books in the area of psychology, religion, philosophy, myth, folk lore and political thought.