Iconography

Manjushri is identified by his blue flaming sword, and this 4 armed depiction is properly called Caturbhuja-Manjushri, where in Caturbhuja means four armed. In general a sword in Buddhism represents the victory of enlightenment over the the hosts of Mara, the thundering forces of ignorance . So states Bodhicharyavatara; “As the blade of a sword cannot cut itself, neither does the mind know itself.” In other words our own minds deceive us and we must cut through our own self deception. Manjushri, meaning the Gentle Holy One, is the Bodhisattva personifying dynamic wisdom and transcendental knowledge. Depicted as an eternally young prince, he reflects the Buddhist belief that wisdom does not relate to age or accumulated experience. In Buddhism, wisdom is the result of cultivating the spiritual capacity that is the guide to finding the true heart of reality. His sword cuts through ignorance and brings wisdom, the ability to discriminate. His front right hand holds the sword, while his front left hand is in vitarkamudra, the Gesture of giving instruction. The right side is the male side and thus waving a sword is a male related action, whereas wisdom is female and so is displayed on the left side. His two back hands are in the gesture of banishing.

The crown of five points refers to the five Wisdoms of enlightenment: the similar, the alike, the different, the complete and the All-encompassing or transcendental. He wears the round earrings of the Queen, one of the seven precious possessions of Chakravartin. The term Chakravartin, or Wheel Turner
in Hinduism refers to an ideal ruler, but in Buddhism, Chakravartin has come to mean a Buddha whose all-encompassing teachings are universally true.  Chakravartin has an army of 4 divisions, infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots. Chakravartin is the lineage of 25 Kulika kings or enlightened monarchs, the 25th of which will finally defeat the "non-believers." The Precious Queen's heavy earrings are taken as a symbol of comprehension of the Buddha's teachings. The weight of the earrings would have caused the wearers earlobes to elongate. The long earlobes of all bodhisattvas are a symbol of their detachment from all things earthly. The Queen speaks the truth, using no frivolous words and holding no false vices. 

Manjushrikirti, is considered to have been an incarnation of Manjushri, was the 8th King of Shambala, and is the second incarnation in the lineage of the Panchen Lamas. Thus it is appropriate that this depiction is set in Shambala in front of the Palace of Kalapa. The 'Inner Shambhala' lies hidden in the body and mind, and the outer journey to Shambhala bears close relation to the advanced Completion Stage practice of Kalachakra, the physical obstacles on the way represent inner barriers that must be faced at the psychic centers. These barriers form the knots that block the proper energy flow through the psychic nervous system; as such, they correspond to mental defilements, such as ignorance and lust, that limit our awareness. Working one's way  through the chakras until one has opened them all and liberated the innermost mind from its imprisonment in the last reached - the heart center. In taking the inner journey to Shambhala, we strive to regain this direct awareness of a child with all its sense of wonder and awe. But we cannot do so by retreating in the past and attempting to become children again. We have lost the innocence that enabled us to experience the world directly. We cannot simply ignore or wish away the screen of preconceptions that now obscures our vision. We have to face ourselves and see what we have done to our minds. Only by becoming aware of our illusions and how we cling to them can we free ourselves from their power and awaken a fresh and direct awareness of the world around us. Rather than to go back, we have to go forward to a new and wiser innocence - one that combines the wonder of a child with the wisdom of a sage. By treating the ordinary events of daily life as we did the magical features of the journey to Shambhala, we may be able to uncover the hidden aspects of ourselves that we need to know in order to awaken the deeper mind.