As guardian of wisdom his image is often placed in the temple hall on Śākyamuniʼs left, with Samantabhadra 普賢 on the right as guardian of law, the latter holding the Dharma, the former the wisdom or exposition of it; formerly they held the reverse positions. He is often represented with five curls or waves to his hair indicating the five wisdom peaks 五智; his hand holds the sword of wisdom and he sits on a lion emblematic of its stern majesty: but he has other forms. He is represented as a youth, i. e. eternal youth.

His present abode is given as east of the universe, known as 淸涼山 clear and cool mountain, or a region 寶住 precious abode, or Abode of Treasures, or 寶氏 from which he derives one of his titles, 寶相如來. One of his dhāraṇīs prophesies China as his post-nirvāṇa realm. In past incarnations he is described as being the parent of many buddhas and as having assisted the Buddha into existence; his title was 龍種上佛 the supreme Buddha of the nāgas, also 大身佛 or 神仙佛; now his title is 'the spiritual Buddha who joyfully cares for the jewel'  歡喜藏摩尼寶精佛: and his future title is to be 'Buddha universally revealed'  普現佛. In the 序品 Introductory Chapter of the Lotus Sutra he is also described as the ninth predecessor or Buddha-ancestor of Śākyamuni. He is looked on as the chief of the bodhisattvas and represents them, as the chief disciple of the Buddha, or as his son 法王子.

Hīnayāna counts Śāriputra as the wisest of the disciples, Mahāyāna gives Mañjuśrī the chief place, hence he is also styled 覺母 mother, or begetter of understanding. He is shown riding on either a lion or a peacock, or sitting on a white lotus; often he holds a book, emblem of wisdom, or a blue lotus; in certain rooms of a monastery he is shown as a monk; and he appears in military array as defender of the faith. His signs, magic words, and so on, are found in various sūtras. His most famous center in China is Wutai shan in Shansi, where he is the object of pilgrimages, especially of Mongols. The legends about him are many. He takes the place in Buddhism of Viśvakarman as Vulcan, or architect, of the universe. He is one of the eight Dhyāni-bodhisattvas, and sometimes has the image of Akṣobhya in his crown.

He was mentioned in China as early as the fourth century and he frequently appears in the Lotus Sutra, especially as the converter of the daughter of the Dragon-king of the Ocean. He has five messengers 文殊五使者 and eight youths 八童子 attending on him. His hall in the Garbhadhātu maṇḍala is the seventh, in which his group numbers twenty-five. His position is northeast. There are numerous sūtras and other works with his name as title, e.g., the Gayaśīrṣa sūtra 文殊師利問菩提經, translated by Kumārajīva 384–417: and its 論 Tīkā of Vasubandhu, translated by Bodhiruci 535. The name Manchuria is said to derive from Mañjuśrī. Mañjuśrī is transliterated as 文殊師利, 滿殊尸利, 曼殊室利, 濡首菩薩, and 滿祖室哩. 文殊 is also used for Mañjunātha, Mañjudeva, Mañjughoṣa, Mañjuṣvara, et al (Skt. mañju-ghoṣa, mañju-svara; Tib. 'Jam dpal).

References:

Somekawa, Eisuke, Michihiko Komine, Tenyū Koyama, Hisao Takahashi, and Takayuki Hirosawa. 1993. Mandara zuten 曼荼羅図典 . Tokyo:  Daihōrinkaku.