Avalokitesvara is one of the popular deities in
Buddhism. The word avalokita means ‘observes the sounds of the world’ and 'ishvara' is ‘lord’.
The deity is of Indian origin and is compared with Lord Vishnu and Padmapani, a Buddhist god. Different forms of this lord are found, which includes varieties with up to eleven heads.
The text Karanda-vyuha states that he views all beings with compassion and has a sympathetic attitude to all beings who are suffering from the evils of existence.
