The KÃÂraá¹Âá¸Âavyà «ha Sà «tra ("The Basket's Display", Full Sanskrit: ÃÂryakÃÂraá¹Âá¸Âavyà «hanÃÂmamahÃÂyÃÂnasà «tra, Tibetan: ['phags pa] za ma tog bkod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo; ; Jyutping: fat6 syut3 daai6 sing4 zong1 jim4 bou2 wong4 ging1) is a MantrayÃÂna sà «tra which extols the virtues and powers of Avalokiteà Âvara, who is presented here as a primordial cosmic overlord (a kind of adibuddha figure) and as the source of numerous Indian deities.
The KÃÂraá¹Âá¸Âavyà «ha was compiled at the end of the 4th century or beginning of the 5th century CE. It exists in Chinese translation (at Taishà  Tripiá¹Âaka no. 1050) and in Tibetan (Tohoku no. 116). This sutra is particularly notable for introducing the mantra Om mani padme hum and also teaching the important Cundi dharani.
Alexander Studholme writes that the KÃÂraá¹Âá¸Âavyà «ha Sà «tra presents the great bodhisattva Avalokiteà Âvara (Lokeà Âvara) as a kind of supreme lord of the cosmos and as the progenitor of various heavenly bodies and divinities (such as the Sun and Moon, the deities Shiva and Vishnu, etc.).
According to the KÃÂraá¹Âá¸Âavyà «ha Sà «tra, many Indic deities were born from Avalokiteà Âvara bodhisattva's body, such as:
Avalokiteà Âvara himself is linked in the versified version of the sutra to the first Buddha, the Adi-Buddha, who is 'svayambhu' (self-existent, not born from anything or anyone). Studholme comments:<blockquote>Avalokitesvara himself, the verse sutra adds, is an emanation of the Adibuddha, or 'primordial Buddha', a term that is explicitly said to be synonymous with Svayambhu and Adinatha, 'primordial lord'.</blockquote>
The sutra introduces the Buddhist mantra, Om Mani padme Hum, which it states can lead to liberation (moksha) and eventual Buddhahood. In the sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha states, "This is the most beneficial mantra. Even I made this aspiration to all the million Buddhas and subsequently received this teaching from Buddha Amitabha."
Alexander Studholme sees this famous mantra as being a declarative aspiration, possibly meaning 'I in the jewel-lotus', with the jewel-lotus being a reference to birth in the lotus made of jewels in the Buddhist Eternal Paradise or Pure land 'Sukhavati' of Buddha Amitabha. The mantra is the very heart of Avalokiteà Âvara (the supreme Buddha of Compassion) and can usher in Awakening. A. Studholme writes:
<blockquote>Om Manipadme Hum, then, is both the paramahrdaya, or 'innermost heart', of Avalokiteà Âvara ... It is also ... a mahavidya, a mantra capable of bringing about the 'great knowledge' of enlightenment itself ...</blockquote>
The KÃÂraá¹Âá¸Âavyà «hasà «tra also sees the mantra as the pith or condensed expression of all "eighty four thousand Dharmas". Because of this it is called "the grain of rice of the Mahayana", and reciting it is equivalent to reciting numerous sutras.
After presenting the Mani mantra, the ' also presents the dhÃÂraá¹Âë of Cundë, which occurs towards the end of the sà «tra. This occurs as Seventy million Buddhas appear and recite Cundë DhÃÂraá¹Âë which is: This event causes "a pore in AvalokitesvaraâÂÂs body to open and reveal in brilliant illumination a vast multitude of world systems (T. 1050: 20.63a)" according to Gimello.
The sutra also describes a specific maá¹Âá¸Âala (the á¹£aá¸Âaká¹£arë mạá¸Âala, mandala of the six syllable one) with AmitÃÂbha Buddha at the center, a bodhisattva named MahÃÂmaá¹Âidhara on his right and the goddess á¹¢aá¸Âaká¹£arë MahÃÂvidyàon his left:
<blockquote>It should be square with a circumference of five cubits. Draw AmitÃÂbha in the centre of the maá¹Âá¸Âala. To create the body of TathÃÂgata AmitÃÂbha, sprinkle powder made from precious sapphire powder, emerald powder, ruby powder, crystal powder, and powdered silver and gold. On his right create Bodhisattva MahÃÂmaá¹Âidhara. On his left draw á¹¢aá¸Âaká¹£arë MahÃÂvidyÃÂ, who has four arms and is white like the autumn moon. She is adorned with various adornments and holds a lotus in her left hand. Draw a jewel upon that lotus. Draw a jewel rosary in her left hand. Portray the palms of two hands being placed together in the gesture named the lord-of-all-kings. Draw a vidyÃÂdhara beneath the legs of á¹¢aá¸Âaká¹£arë MahÃÂvidyÃÂ. Draw him holding a smoking stick of incense in his right hand and a basket filled with various adornments in his left hand. Draw the four mahÃÂrÃÂjas at the four doors of the maá¹Âá¸Âala. Draw them holding their individual offerings. Place vases filled with various precious jewels at the four corners of the maá¹Âá¸Âala.</blockquote>
This á¹£aá¸Âaká¹£arë mạá¸Âala has also been found in other sources like the SÃÂdhanamÃÂlàand in a stele found by Indian archeologists. In the SÃÂdhanamÃÂlàand in this stele, Avalokiteà Âvara is at the center of the mandala instead of Amitabha, and he is flanked by Maá¹Âidhara bodhisattva and á¹¢aá¸Âaká¹£arë MahÃÂvidyÃÂ.
According to a Tibetan legendary tradition, the text of KÃÂraá¹Âá¸Âavyà «hasà «tra arrived in a casket from the sky unto the roof of the palace of the 28th king of Tibet, Lha Thothori Nyantsen, who died in the fifth century C.E., in southern Tibet. This coincides with one version of dating of the KÃÂraá¹Âá¸Âavyà «hasà «tra, somewhere in the 4th or perhaps early 5th century, however it seems more likely that the sutra has originated in Kashmir, due to closeness to characteristics to Kasmiri tantric traditions of the time and to Avataá¹Âsakasà «tra earlier associated with the Central Asian regions.
The KÃÂraá¹Âá¸Âavyà «hasà «tra was also an influential text on Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, which makes use of both the Mani mantra and the Cundi dharani.