Padmasambhava – "The Lotus-Born" as an Indian pandita

Sitting legs crossed in meditation atop a lotus flower blooming above a lake, the master wears the triple monastic robes, his head covered with the pandita hat proper to Indian Buddhist scholars. His right hand holds a vajra scepter and his left rests in his lap in contemplation, supporting a skull cup. In the crook of his left arm stands the khatvanga or tantric staff. The appearance, posture and attributes identifies him as the famous tantric master Padmasambhava, also known in Tibet as the Second Buddha, and worshipped as the introducer of Buddhism in Tibet. Usually represented in royal garments with long hair and a little mustache, this particular form corresponds to one of his eight manifestations in India as a scholar. His presence on a lotus in the middle of lake refers to his name “Lotus-Born” as well as his miraculous birth in a lotus.
Above him are two unidentified Tibetan monks and the wisdom bodhisattva Manjushri.