In Buddhist art, he is often depicted alongside the Buddha and Maudgalyāyana, with Śāriputra usually depicted on the Buddha's right hand side and Maudgalyāyana usually depicted on the Buddha's left hand side. According to Nyanaponika Thera, this imagery symbolizes the relative positions they held in life, with Śāriputra being the Buddha's right hand monk. In Mahayana Buddhism this iconography of flanking the Buddha on his right and left is sometimes used for other figures as well, such as the Mahayana "bodhisattvas" Samantabhadra and Mañjuśrī, or the disciples Ānanda and Mahākāśyapa. In Burma, Śāriputra is believed to grant wisdom to worshippers, and is one of eight "arhats" commonly shown devotion to in protective rituals.