|
The Triratana is an early Buddhist symbol, dating from around the 2nd century BCE.
The original Triratana is composed of (from bottom to top):
- A lotus flower within a circle.
- A diamond rod, or vajra.
- A symbol with three branches representing the three jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.
On representations of the footprint of the Buddha, the Triratana is usually also surmounted by the Dharma wheel.
The Triratana can be found on frieze sculptures at Sanchi as the symbol crowning a flag standard (2nd century BCE), as the crowning decorative symbol on the later gates at the stupa in Sanchi (2nd century CE), or, very often on the Buddha footprint (starting from the 1st century CE).
The Triratana can also be found on the 1st century BCE coins of the Kingdom of Kuninda in northern Punjab, surmounting depictions of stupas.
External links
Triratana on the footprints of the Buddha (http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/footprints-bussokuseki.html)
|
