Within the Mahāyāna vision, a small constellation of bodhisattvas comes to embody the path of universal awakening in especially vivid ways. Foremost among them is Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of boundless compassion, renowned for responding to the cries of suffering beings and often portrayed in many forms across different cultures. Complementing this compassionate ideal is Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva of transcendent wisdom, whose flaming sword symbolizes the cutting away of ignorance and whose scripture represents perfect knowledge. Together, these two figures express the inseparable union of compassion and wisdom that lies at the heart of the Great Vehicle.

Alongside them stands Samantabhadra, who personifies practice, vows, and the concrete implementation of the Dharma in daily conduct. If Mañjuśrī represents insight and Avalokiteśvara the heart’s response, Samantabhadra represents the steady, disciplined enactment of those insights through great vows and virtuous activity. Kṣitigarbha, by contrast, is known for an especially radical vow: not to realize Buddhahood until the hell realms are emptied, thus becoming a guardian of those in states of extreme suffering, including the deceased and vulnerable beings such as children. This figure highlights the Mahāyāna conviction that no realm of existence is beyond the reach of compassionate resolve.

Maitreya occupies a distinctive place as the future Buddha, presently understood as a bodhisattva dwelling in Tuṣita heaven and destined to appear in a later age when Śākyamuni’s teaching has faded. Maitreya’s presence in the tradition points to the long arc of the bodhisattva path, stretching across vast spans of time for the sake of beings yet to come. Vajrapāṇi, embodying the Buddha’s power and protective strength, rounds out this core group as a guardian of the Dharma and remover of obstacles, often depicted in a dynamic, even wrathful, form that serves compassion by clearing hindrances. In some Mahāyāna and especially Vajrayāna contexts, Tārā also appears as a central female bodhisattva of compassion and swift aid, with forms such as Green and White Tārā associated with protection and long life.

Taken together, these bodhisattvas present a kind of spiritual mandala: wisdom, compassion, practice, protective power, radical salvific vows, and future Buddhahood are all given emblematic form. Different regions and lineages may emphasize one or another of these figures, yet they all serve as mirrors in which practitioners can contemplate and cultivate the qualities needed for universal liberation. Through devotion to these bodhisattvas, the practitioner is gently invited to see that what they represent—unbounded compassion, fearless wisdom, and tireless resolve—is not merely external, but the deepest potential of one’s own mind.