Potala Palace (པོ་ཏ་ལའི་ཕོ་བྲང) was named after Mount Potalaka, the sacred abode of Chenrezig (sanskrit: Avalokiteshvara), the Bodhisattva of compassion. It has been identified in different ages as the residence of Tibet’s two illustrious emanations of Chengrezig – Songtsen Gampo and Dalai lama.