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Ashtamangala Ashtamangala different interpretations: 1.1 Conch Ashtamangala: first row (left to right): parasol, pair of golden fish, conch; second row: treasure vase, lotus; Last row: infinite knot, victory banner and wheel. The Ashtamangala (Sanskrit Aṣṭamaṅgala, Tibetan: བ་ , THL: Trashi Takgyé ;*[1]*[2] Chinese: 吉 ཤིས་གས་བད་ 祥八宝 Jíxiáng bā bǎo) are a sacred suite of Eight Auspi- cious Signs endemic to a number of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The symbols or “symbolic attributes”(Tibetan: , THL: chaktsen ག་མཚན་ ) are yidam and teaching tools. Not only do these at- tributes, these energetic signatures, point to qualities of enlightened mindstream, but they are the investiture that ornaments these enlightened“qualities”(Sanskrit: guṇa; Tibetan: , THL: yönten ). Many cultural enumera- ཡོན་ཏན་ tions and variations of the Ashtamangala are extant. Groupings of eight auspicious symbols were originally used in India at ceremonies such as an investiture or coronation of a king. An early grouping of symbols included: throne, Śaṅkha swastika, handprint, hooked knot, vase of jew- els, water libation flask, pair of fishes, lidded The right-turning white conch shell (Sanskrit: śaṅkha; bowl. In Buddhism, these eight symbols of Tibetan: , THL: dungkar yénkhyil ) repre- 䝴ང་དཀར་གཡས་འིལ་ good fortune represent the offerings made by sents the beautiful, deep, melodious, interpenetrating and the gods to Shakyamuni Buddha immediately * pervasive sound of the dharma, which awakens disciples after he gained enlightenment. [3] from the deep slumber of ignorance and urges them to accomplish their own welfare and the welfare of others. 1 In Buddhism The conch shell is thought to have been the original horn-trumpet; ancient Indian mythical Tibetan Buddhists make use of a particular set of eight epics relate heroes carrying conch shells. The auspicious symbols, ashtamangala, in household and Indian god Vishnu is also described as hav- public art. Some common interpretations are given along ing a conch shell as one of his main emblems; with each symbol although different teachers may give his shell bore the name Panchajanya meaning 1 2 1 IN BUDDHISM “having control over the five classes of beings” .*[3] In Hinduism, the conch is an attribute of Vishnu along with the (Sudarshana Chakra. Vaishnavism holds that Gautama Buddha is an avatar of Vishnu. 1.2 Endless knot Pair of golden fish represent fertility and abundance. Often drawn in the form of carp, which are regarded in the Orient as sacred on account of their elegant Endless knot beauty, size, and life-span.*[3] The endless knot (Sanskrit: śrīvatsa; Tibetan: དཔལ་ , THL: pelbeu )*[4] denotes “the auspicious mark 1.4 Lotus བེ荴་ represented by a curled noose emblematical of love” .*[1] Moreover, it represents the intertwining of wis- dom and compassion, the mutual dependence of religious doctrine and secular affairs, the union of wisdom and method, the inseparability of śūnyatā “emptiness”and pratītyasamutpāda“interdependent origination”, and the union of wisdom and compassion in enlightenment (see namkha). This knot, net or web metaphor also conveys the Buddhist teaching of interpenetration. 1.3 Fish The two goldfish (Sanskrit: gaurmatsya; Tibetan: གསེར་ , THL: sernya *[5]) symbolise the auspiciousness of all ཉ་ sentient beings in a state of fearlessness without danger of drowning in saṃsāra. The two golden fishes are linked with the Ganges and Yamuna, and nadi, prana and carp: The lotus flower, or padma. The two fishes originally represented the The lotus flower (Sanskrit: padma; Tibetan: , THL: པད་མ་ two main sacred rivers of India - the Ganges péma ), represent the primordial purity of body, speech, and Yamuna. These rivers are associated with and mind, floating above the muddy waters of attachment the lunar and solar channels, which originate in and desire. the nostrils and carry the alternating rhythms of breath or prana. They have religious signif- icance in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist traditions 1.5 Parasol but also in Christianity (the sign of the fish, the feeding of the five thousand). In Buddhism, The jewelled parasol (Sanskrit: chatraratna; Tibetan: རིན་ the fish symbolize happiness as they have com- , THL: rinchenduk *[1]), which is similar in rit- ཆེན་ག䝴གས་ plete freedom of movement in the water. They ual function to the baldachin or canopy. It represents the 1.7 Dharmachakra 3 iconographic representation of the treasure vase is often very similar to the kumbha, one of the few possessions permitted a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni in Theravada Bud- dhism. The wisdom urn or treasure vase is used in many empowerment (Vajrayana) and initiations; 1.7 Dharmachakra Jewelled parasol protection of beings from harmful forces, illness; repre- sents the canopy or firmament of the sky and therefore the expansiveness and unfolding of space and the element æther; represents the expansiveness, unfolding and pro- tective quality of the sahasrara; under the auspice of the precious parasol all take refuge in the dharma. 1.6 Vase The dharmachakra The dharmachakra or “Wheel of the Law”(Sanskrit; Tibetan: , THL: chö kyi khorlo ) represents ཆོས་ི་འཁོར་ལོ་ Gautama Buddha and the Dharma teaching. This symbol is commonly used by Tibetan Buddhists, where it some- times also includes an inner wheel of the Gankyil (Ti- betan). Nepalese Buddhists don't use the Wheel of Law in the eight auspicious symbols. Instead of the dharmachakra, a fly-whisk may be used as one of the ashtamangala to symbolize Tantric manifesta- tions. It is made of a yak's tail attached to a silver staff, and used in ritual recitation and during fanning the deities in pujas. Prayer wheels take the form of a dharmacakra guise. The Sudarshana Chakra is a Hindu wheel-symbol. In Unicode the wheel is represented by U+2638 ☸. 1.8 Victory Banner The dhvaja (Sanskrit; Tibetan: , THL: gyeltsen ) ལ་མཚན་ “banner, flag”was a military standard of ancient Indian warfare. Within the Tibetan tradition, a list of eleven Treasure vase different forms of the victory banner is given to repre- sent eleven specific methods for overcoming defilements. The treasure vase (Tibetan: , THL: Many variations of the dhvaja's design can be seen on the གཏེར་ ཆེན་ པོའི་ 孴མ་ པ་ terchenpo'i bumpa ) represents health, longevity, wealth, roofs of Tibetan monasteries to symbolise the Buddha's prosperity, wisdom and the phenomenon of space. The victory over four maras. 4 4 JAIN SYMBOLS 4. Parasol 5. Lotus flower 6. Bumpa 7. Golden Fish 8. Endless knot 3 Hindu symbols In Indian and Hindu tradition,*[7] the Ashtamangala may be used during certain occasions including: pujas, weddings (of Hindus), and coronations. The ashtaman- gala finds wide mention in the texts associated with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. They have been de- picted in decorative motifs and cultural artifacts. • The North Indian tradition lists them as: • lion called raja • bull called vrishaba • serpent called naga • pitcher called kalasa • necklace called vijayanti Dhvaja • kettle called bher • fan called vyajana 2 Sequences of symbols • lamp called deepa*[8] Different traditions order the eight symbols differently. • The South Indian tradition lists them as: Here is the sequential order of the Eight Auspicious Sym- • fly-whisk bols of Nepali Buddhism: • full vase 1. Endless knot • mirror • elephant goad 2. Lotus flower • drum 3. Dhvaja • lamp 4. Dharmacakra (fly-whisk in Nepali Buddhism) • flag 5. Bumpa • a pair of fish. 6. Golden Fish • The list also differs depending on the place, region, and the social groups. 7. Parasol 8. Conch 4 Jain symbols The sequential order for Chinese Buddhism was de- fined*[6] in the Qing dynasty as: In Jainism too, the Ashtamangala are a set of eight aus- picious symbols. There is some variation among different 1. Dharmacakra traditions concerning the eight symbols. In the Digambara tradition, the eight symbols are: 2. Conch 3. Dhvaja 1. Parasol 5 Adinath image with Ashtamangala 2. Dhvaja 3. Kalasha 4. Fly-whisk Six out of eight, Ashtamangala, Fragment of a Jain Vijnaptipa- 5. Mirror tra, Brooklyn Museum 6. Chair 6 Notes 7. Hand fan 8. Vessel [1] Sarat Chandra Das (1902). Tibetan-English Dictionary with Sanskrit Synonyms. Calcutta, India: mainly used in In the Śvētāmbara tradition, the eight symbols are: buddhismBengal Secretariat Book Depot, p.69 [2] Source: bkra-shis-rtags brgyad. 1. Swastika [3] Source: (accessed: January 18, 2008) Archived January 2. Srivatsa 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. 3. Nandavarta [4] Source: Dpal be'u 4. Vardhmanaka (food vessel) [5] Source: gser nya 5. Bhadrasana (seat) [6] Zhou Lili.“A Summary of Porcelains' Religious and Aus- picious Designs.”The Bulletin of the Shanghai Museum 7 6. Kalasha (pot) (1996), p.133 7. Darpan (mirror) [7] Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0-500- 8. Pair of fish 51088-1) by Anna Dallapiccola [8] Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam, ed. India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information 5 See also and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 70. • Dzi bead 7 References • Eight Treasures (Chinese equivalent) • Iconography • Beer, Robert (1999). The Encyclopedia of Ti- betan Symbols and Motifs, (Hardcover). Shambhala • Mani stone Publications. ISBN 1-57062-416-X, ISBN 978-1- • Sandpainting 57062-416-2 6 8 EXTERNAL LINKS • Beer, Robert (2003). The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols, Shambhala Publications. ISBN 1-59030-100-5 8 External links • About The Eight Auspicious Symbols • Tibetan Buddhist Symbols 7 9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses 9.1 Text • Ashtamangala Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtamangala?oldid=703070546
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