In Buddhist

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, the Urna (ūrṇā, ūrṇākeśa or ūrṇākośa (Pāli uṇṇa), and known as in Chinese) is a

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects. Two-dimensional A two-dimension ...

or circular dot placed on the

forehead In human anatomy, the forehead is an area of the head bounded by three features, two of the skull and one of the scalp. The top of the forehead is marked by the hairline, the edge of the area where hair on the scalp grows. The bottom of the fo ...

of Buddhist images as an auspicious mark. As set out in the '' Lakkhana Sutta'' or 'Discourse on Marks', the ūrṇā is the thirty-first physical characteristic of Buddha. It is generally thought to be a whorl of

hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

and be a mark or

sign A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...

of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

as a mahāpuruṣa or great being. The device is often seen on

sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

from the 2nd century CE.

Gallery

File:Buddha Victoria & Albert.jpg, Buddha with urna depicted as a circular dot File:Bangkok National Museum - 2017-04-22 (026).jpg, Buddha sculpture found within the

vihāra Vihāra generally refers to a Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery for Buddhist renunciates, mostly in the Indian subcontinent. The concept is ancient and in early Pali texts, it meant any arrangement of space or facilities for dwellings.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet Wat Phra Si Sanphet (; "Temple of the Holy, Splendid Omniscient") was the holiest temple on the site of the old Royal Palace in Thailand's ancient capital of Ayutthaya Kingdom, Ayutthaya until the city was completely destroyed by the Burmese in 1 ...

, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province,

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, 16th century CE File:Khmer Sacred Symbol, Om or Unalom.png, The

unalome Yantra tattooing or Sak Yant is a form of tattooing using Indian yantra designs. It consists of sacred geometrical, animal and deity designs accompanied by Pali phrases that are said to offer power, protection, fortune, charisma and other benefits ...

()

yantra Yantra (; 'machine'/'contraption') is a geometrical diagram, mainly from the Tantric traditions of the Indian religions. Yantras are used for the worship of deities in temples or at home; as an aid in meditation; and for the benefits believe ...

is a stylised representation of the urna.

References

Buddhist art Buddhist symbols Buddhas {{Buddhism-stub

Gallery

See also

References