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Ashtamangala

Ashtamangala: first row (left to right): parasol, pair of golden fish, conch; second row: treasure vase, lotus; Last row: infiniteknot, victory banner and wheel.

The Ashtamangala (Sanskrit Aṣṭamaṅgala, Tibetan: བ་ ཤིས་གས་བད་, THL: Trashi Takgyé   ;*[1]*[2] Chinese:  吉祥八宝 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:   ག་མཚན་, THL: chaktsen) are yidam and teaching tools. Not only do these at-tributes, these energetic signatures, point to qualities ofenlightened mindstream, but they are the investiture thatornaments these enlightened“qualities”(Sanskrit: guṇa;Tibetan: ཡོན་ཏན་, THL: yönten ). Many cultural enumera-tions and variations of the Ashtamangala are extant.

Groupings of eight auspicious symbolswere originally used in India at ceremoniessuch as an investiture or coronation of a king.

An early groupingof symbolsincluded: throne,swastika, handprint, hooked knot, vase of jew-els, water libation flask, pair of fishes, liddedbowl. In Buddhism, these eight symbols ofgood fortune represent the offerings made bythe gods to Shakyamuni Buddha immediatelyafter he gained enlightenment.*[3]

1 In Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhists make use of a particular set of eight

auspicious symbols,   ashtamangala, in household andpublic art. Some common interpretations are given alongwith each symbol although different teachers may give

different interpretations:

1.1 Conch

Śaṅkha

The right-turning white conch shell (Sanskrit:   śaṅkha;Tibetan: ང་དཀར་གཡས་འིལ་, THL: dungkar yénkhyil  ) repre-sents the beautiful, deep, melodious, interpenetrating andpervasive sound of the dharma, which awakens disciplesfrom the deep slumber of ignorance and urges them toaccomplish their own welfare and the welfare of others.

The conch shell is thought to have been theoriginal horn-trumpet; ancient Indian mythicalepics relate heroes carrying conch shells. The

Indian god Vishnu is also described as hav-ing a conch shell as one of his main emblems;his shell bore the name Panchajanya meaning

1

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2   1 IN BUDDHISM 

“having control over the five classes of beings”.*[3]

In Hinduism, the conch is an attribute of  Vishnu alongwith the (Sudarshana Chakra.   Vaishnavism holds thatGautama Buddha is an avatar of Vishnu.

1.2 Endless knot

Endless knot 

The   endless knot   (Sanskrit:   śrīvatsa;   Tibetan:   དཔལ་བེ་,   THL:  pelbeu   )*[4]   denotes  “the auspicious markrepresented by a curled noose emblematical of love”.*[1]  Moreover, it represents the intertwining of wis-

dom and compassion, the mutual dependence of religiousdoctrine and secular affairs, the union of wisdom andmethod, the inseparability of śūnyatā“emptiness”andpratītyasamutpāda“interdependent origination”,andtheunion of wisdom and compassion in enlightenment (seenamkha). This knot, net or web metaphor also conveysthe Buddhist teaching of interpenetration.

1.3 Fish

The two goldfish (Sanskrit:   gaurmatsya;  Tibetan:   གསེར་ཉ་, THL: sernya  * [5]) symbolise the auspiciousness of allsentient beings in a state of fearlessness without dangerof drowning in saṃsāra. The two golden fishes are linkedwith the Ganges and Yamuna, and nadi, prana and carp:

The two fishes originally represented thetwo main sacred rivers of India - the Gangesand Yamuna. These rivers are associated withthe lunar and solar channels, which originate inthe nostrils and carry the alternating rhythmsof breath or prana. They have religious signif-icance in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist traditionsbut also in Christianity (the sign of the fish, the

feeding of the five thousand). In Buddhism,the fish symbolize happiness as they have com-plete freedom of movement in the water. They

Pair of golden fish

represent fertility and abundance. Often drawnin the form of carp, which are regarded in theOrient as sacred on account of their elegantbeauty, size, and life-span.*[3]

1.4 Lotus

The lotus flower, or  padma.

The lotus flower (Sanskrit:  padma; Tibetan: པད་མ་, THL: péma ), represent the primordial purity of body, speech,and mind, floating above the muddy waters of attachmentand desire.

1.5 Parasol

The jewelled parasol (Sanskrit:   chatraratna; Tibetan: རིན་ཆེན་གགས་, THL: rinchenduk  * [1]), which is similar in rit-ual function to the baldachin or canopy. It represents the

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1.7 Dharmachakra   3

Jewelled parasol 

protection of beings from harmful forces, illness; repre-sents the canopy or firmament of the sky and thereforethe expansiveness and unfolding of space and the elementæther; represents the expansiveness, unfolding and pro-tective quality of the sahasrara; under the auspice of theprecious parasol all take refuge in the dharma.

1.6 Vase

Treasure vase

The   treasure vase   (Tibetan:   གཏེར་ ཆེན་ པོའ་ི མ་ པ་,   THL:terchenpo'i bumpa ) represents health, longevity, wealth,prosperity, wisdom and the phenomenon of space. The

iconographic representation of the treasure vase is oftenvery similar to the kumbha, one of the few possessionspermitted a   bhikkhu or  bhikkhuni   in  Theravada Bud-dhism. The wisdom urn or treasure vase is used in manyempowerment (Vajrayana) and initiations;

1.7 Dharmachakra

The dharmachakra

The  dharmachakra or “Wheel of the Law”(Sanskrit;Tibetan:   ཆོས་ི་འཁོར་ལོ་,  THL:  chö kyi khorlo  ) representsGautama Buddha and the Dharma teaching. This symbolis 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 Lawin the eight auspicious symbols.

Instead of the dharmachakra, a fly-whisk may be used asone 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 deitiesin pujas.  Prayer wheels take the form of a dharmacakraguise. 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:   ལ་མཚན་, THL: gyeltsen )“banner, flag”was a military standard of ancient Indian

warfare. Within the Tibetan tradition, a list of elevendifferent forms of the victory banner is given to repre-sent eleven specific methods for overcoming defilements.

Many variations of the dhvaja's design can be seen on theroofs of Tibetan monasteries to symbolise the Buddha'svictory over four maras.

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4   4 JAIN SYMBOLS 

Dhvaja

2 Sequences of symbolsDifferent traditions order the eight symbols differently.

Here is the sequential order of the Eight Auspicious Sym-bols of Nepali Buddhism:

1. Endless knot

2. Lotus flower

3. Dhvaja

4. Dharmacakra (fly-whisk in Nepali Buddhism)

5. Bumpa

6. Golden Fish

7. Parasol

8. Conch

The sequential order for   Chinese Buddhism   was de-fined*[6] in the Qing dynasty as:

1. Dharmacakra

2. Conch

3. Dhvaja

4. Parasol

5. Lotus flower

6. Bumpa

7. Golden Fish

8. Endless knot

3 Hindu symbols

In   Indian   and Hindu tradition,*[7]   the Ashtamangalamay be used during certain occasions including:   pujas,weddings (of Hindus), and coronations. The ashtaman-gala finds wide mention in the texts associated withHinduism, 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 

•   kettle called bher 

•   fan called vyajana

•

  lamp called deepa*

[8]

•   The South Indian tradition lists them as:

•   fly-whisk

•   full vase

•  mirror

•   elephant goad

•   drum

•   lamp

•   flag

•  a pair of fish.

•   The list also differs depending on the place, region,and the social groups.

4 Jain symbols

In Jainism too, the  Ashtamangala are a set of eight aus-picious symbols. There is some variation among differenttraditions concerning the eight symbols.

In the Digambara tradition, the eight symbols are:

1. Parasol

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5

Adinath image with Ashtamangala

2. Dhvaja

3.   Kalasha

4. Fly-whisk

5.   Mirror

6. Chair

7.  Hand fan

8. Vessel

In the Śvētāmbara tradition, the eight symbols are:

1.   Swastika

2.   Srivatsa

3.   Nandavarta

4.   Vardhmanaka (food vessel)

5. Bhadrasana (seat)

6.   Kalasha (pot)7. Darpan (mirror)

8. Pair of fish

5 See also

•  Dzi bead

•  Eight Treasures (Chinese equivalent)

•   Iconography

•  Mani stone

•  Sandpainting

Six out of eight, Ashtamangala, Fragment of a  Jain Vijnaptipa-tra , Brooklyn Museum

6 Notes

[1] Sarat Chandra Das (1902).   Tibetan-English Dictionarywith Sanskrit Synonyms. Calcutta, India: mainly used inbuddhismBengal Secretariat Book Depot, p.69

[2] Source: bkra-shis-rtags brgyad.

[3] Source: (accessed: January 18, 2008) Archived January13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.

[4] Source: Dpal be'u

[5] Source: gser nya

[6] Zhou Lili.“A Summary of Porcelains'Religious and Aus-picious Designs.”The Bulletin of the Shanghai Museum 7 

(1996), p.133

[7] Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dallapiccola

[8] Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam, ed.   India throughthe ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Informationand Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 70.

7 References

•   Beer, Robert   (1999).   The Encyclopedia of Ti-

betan Symbols and Motifs, (Hardcover). ShambhalaPublications.   ISBN 1-57062-416-X, ISBN 978-1-57062-416-2

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6   8 EXTERNAL LINKS 

•   Beer, Robert   (2003).   The Handbook of TibetanBuddhist Symbols, Shambhala Publications.   ISBN1-59030-100-5

8 External links

•  About The Eight Auspicious Symbols

•   Tibetan Buddhist Symbols

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7

9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1 Text

•   Ashtamangala Source:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtamangala?oldid=703070546 Contributors:  Robbot, Nat Krause, MingMecca,Eep², D6, Kwamikagami, Ogress, Anthony Appleyard, Wiki-uk, BernardM, BD2412, CFynn, Rjwilmsi, Bhadani, Le Anh-Huy, Banati-cus, DTRY, RussBot, Rudyh01, Gadget850, Smaines, Ninly, Malaiya, Extraordinary, SmackBot, Kintetsubuffalo, JFHJr, Betacommand,Colonies Chris, Qmwne235, Barbov, RandomCritic, Cydebot, Frater5, Fayenatic london, JAnDbot, Xact, Jacobko, Gwern, B9 humming-bird hovering, Robert Daoust, CommonsDelinker, J.delanoy, AstroHurricane001, Yonidebot, Johnbod, Zerokitsune, Policron, Martin-BotIII, Ntrval, Squids and Chips, Redtigerxyz, Malinaccier, Java7837, FlowR, John Carter, TovarishStalin, Nedrutland, Tibetanmuseum,GlassFET, Oldag07, Iamwisesun, Randy Kryn, Geoffreygoo, SlackerMom, Sfan00 IMG, Dakinijones, Podzemnik, Ssriram mt, Hafspajen,Niceguyedc, Alexbot, Vinodh.vinodh, BOTarate, La Pianista, Editor2020, Mitsube, MystBot, Addbot, BabelStone, Nizil Shah, Madagas-car periwinkle, Yoavd, Cfynn, Luckas-bot, Yobot,虞海, AnomieBOT, MauritsBot, WikiEditor 09111, J04n, GrouchoBot, Omnipaedista,SuperJew, Dazedbythebell, Jethwarp, EmausBot, Dudy001, Slightsmile, Wikigold96, Dream of Nyx, Lawsonstu, Ndinnerstein, HelpfulPixie Bot, Cyberbot II, Kanghuitari, Capankajsmilyo and Anonymous: 39

9.2 Images

•   File:8-Signs_BUMPA.svg  Source:   https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/8-Signs_BUMPA.svg  License:  CC BY-SA4.0 Contributors:  Own work Original artist:  Christopher J. Fynn

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SA 4.0 Contributors:  Own work Original artist:  Christopher J. Fynn•   File:8-Signs_PADMA.svg Source:   https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/8-Signs_PADMA.svg License:  CC BY-SA

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•   File:Ashtamangala_right_whorl_conch.svg   Source:    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Ashtamangala_right_whorl_conch.svg License:  CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors:  Own work Original artist:  Christopher J. Fynn

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•   In-jain.gif Original artist:  In-jain.gif: Original uploader was Mahima13 at en.wikipedia

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9.3 Content license

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