Dharmachakra

The dharmachakra (IAST: dharmacakra; Pali dhammacakka; "Wheel of the Dharma"), is one of the Ashtamangala of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. It has represented the Buddhist dharma, Gautama Buddha's teaching of the path to Nirvana, since the time of early Buddhism.

Etymology

The Sanskrit noun dharma is a derivation from the root dhṛ, which has a meaning of "to hold, maintain, keep", and takes a meaning of "what is established or firm", and hence "law". It is derived from the Vedic Sanskrit n-stem dharman- with the meaning "bearer, supporter" in the historical Vedic religion conceived of as an aspect of Ṛta.

The word chakra "wheel" derives from Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷlos, and its cognates include Greek kyklos, Lithuanian kaklas, Tocharian B kokale, Slavic koleso and English "wheel," as well as "circle" and "cycle." *kʷekʷlos is derived from the root *kʷel-, a verb that meant "to turn.". Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, first Vice President of India has stated that the Ashoka Chakra of India represents the Dharmachakra.

History

Old style Dharma Wheel. Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India

The wheel is also the main attribute of Vishnu, the Vedic god of preservation.

A dharma wheel has three basic parts—the hub, the rim, and the spokes. Over the centuries various teachers and traditions have proposed diverse meanings for these parts, and explaining all of them possibly would take a book. Here are some common understandings of the wheel's symbolism:

• The circle, the round shape of the wheel, represents the perfection of the dharma, the Buddha's teachings.
• The rim of the wheel represents meditative concentration and mindfulness, which hold practice together.
• The hub represents moral discipline.

The wheel often has spokes protruding beyond the wheel, which we might imagine are spikes, although usually they don't look very sharp. The spikes represent various penetrating insights.

Usage

Hindu usage

According to the Puranas of the Hinduism, only "24 Rishis or Sages", managed the whole power of the Gayatri Mantra 24 letters of the Gayatri Mantra depicts these 24 Rishis. These Rishis, represents all the Rishis of the Himalayas, of which Maharshi Vishvamitra is the first and Rishi Yajnavalkya is the last, who wrote Yājñavalkya Smṛti which is a Hindu text of the Dharmaśāstra tradition."Ashoka Chakra" which is the symbol of "Dharmachakra", is also known as "Samay Chakra" or the "Wheel of Time". Since, its 24 spokes represent the 24 hours of the day. The 24 spokes of the Ashoka Chakra represent:

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Also an integral part of the emblem is the motto inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script: Satyameva Jayate (English: Truth Alone Triumphs). This is a quote from the Mundaka Upanishad, the concluding part of the sacred Hindu Vedas. In the Bhagavad Gita too, verses 14, 15 and 16, of Chapter 3 speak about the revolving wheel thus: "From food, the beings are born; from rain, food is produced; rain proceeds from sacrifice (yagnya); yagnya arises out of action; know that from Brahma, action proceeds; Brahma is born of Brahman, the eternal Paramatman. The one who does not follow the wheel thus revolving, leads a sinful, vain life, rejoicing in the senses."

Buddhist usage

The Dharmachakra is one of the ashtamangala of Buddhism. It is one of the oldest known Buddhist symbols found in Indian art, appearing with the first surviving post-Indus Valley Civilization Indian iconography in the time of the Buddhist king Ashoka.

The Buddha is said to have set the dhammacakka in motion when he delivered his first sermon, which is described in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. The wheel itself depicts ideas about the cycle of saṃsāra.

Buddhism adopted the wheel as the main symbol of the cakravartin "wheel-turner", the ideal king or "universal monarch", symbolising the ability to cut through all obstacles and illusions.

According to Harrison, the symbolism of "the wheel of the law" and the order of Nature is also visible in the Tibetan prayer wheels.The moving wheels symbolizes the movement of cosmic order (ṛta).

Beyond Buddhism

• In the Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana, two kings named Jadabharata of the Hindu solar and lunar dynasties respectively are referred to as "Chakravartins"
• Jagdish Chandra Jain referred to this icon in Kalinga. In Jainism, the Dharmachakra is worshipped as a symbol of the dharma.
• Other "cakras" appear in other Indian traditions, e.g. Vishnu's Sudarśanacakra, a wheel-shaped weapon.
• The former Flag of Sikkim featured a version of the dharmachakra.
• Thai people also use a yellow flag with a red dhammacakka as their Buddhist flag.
• The emblem of Mongolia includes a dharmachakra together with some other Buddhist attributes such as the padma, cintamani, a blue khata and the Soyombo symbol.
• The dharmachakra is also the insignia for Buddhist chaplains in the United States Armed Forces.
• In non-Buddhist cultural contexts, an eight-spoked dharmachakra resembles a traditional ship's wheel. As a nautical emblem, this image is a common sailor tattoo.
• In the Unicode computer standard, the dharmachakra is called the "Wheel of Dharma" and found in the eight-spoked form. It is represented as U+2638 (☸).

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  The Emblem of Mongolia includes the dharmachakra, a cintamani, a padma, blue khata and the Soyombo symbol
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  The Emblem of Sri Lanka, featuring a blue dharmachakra as the crest
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  The Flag of India has the Ashoka Chakra at its center representing the Dharmachakra.
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  The flag of the former Kingdom of Sikkim featured a version of the Dharmachakra
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  The dhammacakka flag, the symbol of Buddhism in Thailand
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  The seal of Thammasat University in Thailand consisting of a Constitution on phan with a twelve-spoked dhammacakkka
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  The insignia for Buddhist chaplains in the United States Armed Forces.

Sources

• Anthony, David W. (2007), The Horse The Wheel and Language. How Bronze-Age Riders From The Eurasian Steppes Shaped The Modern World, Princeton University Press
• Beer, Robert (2003), The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols, Serindia Publications, Inc., ISBN 9781932476033
• Day, Terence P. (1982), The Conception of Punishment in Early Indian Literature, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, ISBN 0-919812-15-5
• Goetz, Hermann (1964), The art of India: five thousand years of Indian art., Crown
• Grünwedel, Albert; Gibson, Agnes C.; Burgess, James (1901), Buddhist art in India, Bernard Quaritch
• Harrison, Jane Ellen (2010) [1912], Themis: A Study of the Social Origins of Greek Religion, Cambridge University Press
• Hiltebeitel, Alf (2007), Hinduism. In: Joseph Kitagawa, "The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture". Digital printing 2007, Routledge
• Inden, Ronald (1998), Ritual, Authority, And Cycle Time in Hindu Kingship. In: JF Richards, ed., "Kingship and Authority in South Asia", New Delhi: Oxford University Press
• Mallory, J.P. (1997), Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, ISBN 978-1-884964-98-5
• Nath, Vijay (2001), "From 'Brahmanism' to 'Hinduism': Negotiating the Myth of the Great Tradition", Social Scientist 2001, pp. 19-50, doi:10.2307/3518337
• Pal, Pratapaditya (1986), Indian Sculpture: Circa 500 B.C.-A.D. 700, University of California Press
• Queen, Christopher S.; King, Sallie B. (1996), Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist liberation movements in Asia., SUNY Press
• Samuel, Geoffrey (2010), The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century, Cambridge University Press
• Yan, Xiaojing (2009), The confluence of East and West in Nestorian Arts in China. In: Dietmar W. Winkler, Li Tang (eds.), Hidden Treasures and Intercultural Encounters: Studies on East Syriac Christianity in China and Central Asia, LIT Verlag Münster

Further reading

• Dorothy C. Donath (1971). Buddhism for the West: Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna; a comprehensive review of Buddhist history, philosophy, and teachings from the time of the Buddha to the present day. Julian Press. ISBN 0-07-017533-0.

External links

• Media related to Dharmacakra at Wikimedia Commons
• Buddhist Wheel Symbol (Dharmachakra)