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Concept
Dharmachakra
Summary
The dharmachakra (Sanskrit: धर्मचक्र; Pali: dhammacakka) or wheel of dharma is a widespread symbol used in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and especially Buddhism.
Historically, the dharmachakra was often used as a decoration in East Asian statues and inscriptions, beginning with the earliest period of East Asian culture to the present. It remains a major symbol of the Buddhist religion today.
The Sanskrit noun dharma ( धर्म ) is a derivation from the root dhṛ 'to hold, maintain, keep', and means '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.
Similar wheel/chakra symbols are one of the most ancient in all Indian history. Madhavan and Parpola note that a wheel symbol appears frequently in Indus Valley civilization artifacts, particularly on several seals. Notably, it is present in a sequence of ten signs on the Dholavira Signboard. As a solar symbol it first appears on clay seals of the Indus Valley Civilisation from 2500 BCE. Such a wheel is also the main attribute of Vishnu.
Some historians associate the ancient chakra symbols with solar symbolism. In the Vedas, the god Surya is associated with the solar disc, which is said to be a chariot of one wheel (cakra). Mitra, a form of Surya, is described as "the eye of the world", and thus the sun is conceived of as an eye (cakṣu) which illuminates and perceives the world. Thus, a wheel symbol might also be associated with light and knowledge.
In Buddhism, the Dharma Chakra is widely used to represent the Buddha's Dharma (Buddha's teaching and the universal moral order), Gautama Buddha himself and the walking of the path to enlightenment, since the time of Early Buddhism. The symbol is also sometimes connected to the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path and Dependent Origination.
The pre-Buddhist dharmachakra (Pali: dhammacakka) is considered one of the ashtamangala (auspicious signs) in Hinduism and Buddhism and often used as a symbol of both faiths.
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