Mount Potalaka (traditional Chinese:補陀洛伽山 or 普陀洛迦山;simplified Chinese:补陀洛伽山 or 普陀洛伽山;pinyin:Bǔtuóluòjiā Shān or Pǔtuóluòjiā Shān,Japanese: 補陀洛Fudaraku-san), which means "Brilliance",[1] is themythical dwelling of the BuddhistbodhisattvaAvalokiteśvara, said to exist in the seas south ofIndia.
The mountain is first mentioned in the final chapter of theAvataṃsaka Sūtra, theGaṇḍavyūha Sūtra, where the chapter's protagonist journeys to seek the advice of Avalokiteśvara.
The Japanese scholar Shu Hikosaka, on the basis of his study of Buddhist scriptures, ancientTamil literary sources, as well as field surveys, proposed the hypothesis that the ancient Mount Potalaka, the residence of Avalokiteśvara described in theGaṇḍavyūha Sūtra andXuanzang’sGreat Tang Records on the Western Regions, is the real mountainPotikai or Potiyil situated near the town ofAmbasamudram in theTirunelveli District of the Indian state ofTamil Nadu. The mountain is located in an area within theSingampatti Zamindar Forest.[2] Shu also says that Mount Potiyil/Potalaka has been a sacred place for the people of South India from time immemorial.[2]
With the spread of Buddhism in the region beginning at the time of the great kingAśoka in the third century BCE, it became a holy place also for Buddhists who gradually became dominant as a number of their hermits settled there. The local people, though, mainly remained followers ofHinduism.[3]
Later Japanese Buddhists, such as the JapaneseYogacaramonkJōkei, espoused aspiring rebirth on Mount Potalaka as an easier way to attain progress on the Buddhist path than the more well-knownpure land ofAmitābha.[4]
Places named after Mount Potalaka include: