A chakravarti (चक्रवर्तिन्, cakravartin; cakkavatti; 轉輪王, Zhuǎnlúnwáng, "Wheel-Turning King"; 轉輪聖王, Zhuǎnlún Shèngwáng, "Wheel-Turning Sacred King"; 転輪王, Tenrin'ō or 転輪聖王, Tenrinjōō; Vietnamese: Chuyển Luân Vương or Chuyển Luân Thánh Vương) is an ideal (or idealized) universal ruler, in the history, religion, and mythologies of India. The concept is present in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cultural traditions, narrative myths and lore. There are three types of chakravarti: chakravala chakravarti, an emperor who rules over all four of the continents (i.e., a universal monarch); dvipa chakravarti, a ruler who governs only one of those continents; and pradesha chakravarti, a monarch who leads the people of only a part of a continent, the equivalent of a local king. Dvipa chakravarti is particularly one who rules the entire Indian subcontinent (as in the case of the Mauryan Empire). The first references to a Chakravala Chakravartin appear in monuments from the time of the early Maurya Empire, in the 4th to 3rd century BCE, in reference to Chandragupta Maurya and his grandson Ashoka.
The word cakra-vartin- is a bahuvrīhi compound word, translating to "one whose wheels are moving", in the sense of "whose chariot is rolling everywhere without obstruction". It can also be analysed as an 'instrumental bahuvrīhi: "through whom the wheel is moving" in the meaning of "through whom the Dharmachakra ("Wheel of the Dharma) is turning" (most commonly used in Buddhism). The Tibetan equivalent translates "monarch who controls by means of a wheel".
In Buddhism, a chakravarti is the secular counterpart of a buddha. The term applies to temporal as well as spiritual kingship and leadership, particularly in Buddhism and Jainism. In Hinduism, a chakravarti is a powerful ruler whose dominion extends to the entire earth. In both religions, the chakravarti is supposed to uphold dharma, indeed being "he who turns the wheel (of dharma)".