The ushnisha (,

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

: ''uṇhīsa'') is a protuberance on top of the head of a

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 ...

. In

Buddhist literature Buddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and Schools of Buddhism, its traditions. There is no single textual collection for all of Buddhism. Instead, there are three main Buddhist Canons: the Pāli C ...

, it is sometimes said to represent the "crown" of a Buddha, a symbol of

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

and status the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

of the

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

Description

250px, Head of the Buddha, crowned by the ushnisha, 3rd century, Hadda, Afghanistan The Ushnisha is the thirty-second of the 32 major marks of the Buddha, wherein the Buddha is said to have a fleshy or cranial protuberance at the top of his head. It is sometimes elaborated that it is covered with hair that curls to the right. In art of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, a flame is sometimes added that ascends from the middle of this protuberance.

Representation

250px, Flame Ushnisha, 14–15 century, Sukhothai, Thailand Buddhist art from Gandhara in the 1st century CE often represent the Buddha with a topknot, rather than just a cranial knob. It is thought that the interpretation of the ushnisha as a supernatural cranial protuberance happened at a later date, as the representation of the topknot became more symbolic and its original meaning was lost.

Origins

The portrayal of Śākyamuni Buddha with an ushnisha has varied throughout history and varied by

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

. The Sri Lankan Tamrashatiya school, which would later give rise to

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

, portrayed him as bald and having an ushnisha extending into the sky, beyond the possibility of measurement. The

Gandharan Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending as far east as the Pothohar Platea ...

school of Buddhism, sometimes portrayed Śākyamuni sporting a cluster of long wavy hair or curls as a topknot concealing the ushnisha.

The Bodhisattva-Cakravartin

The ''

Mahāvastu The ''Mahāvastu'' (Sanskrit for "Great Event" or "Great Story") is a canonical text of the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda school of Early Buddhism which was originally part of the school's Vinaya pitaka. The ''Mahāvastu'' is a composite mult ...

'' (1.259f) and the '' Divyāvadāna'', as well as the Theravadin '' Milindapañha'', describe some marks of the

cakravartin A ''chakravarti'' (, ) is an ideal (or idealized) universal ruler, in the history, and religion of India. The concept is present in Indian subcontinent cultural traditions, narrative myths and lore. There are three types of chakravarti: ''c ...

, an idealised world-ruler, as consisting of an or

turban A turban (from Persian language, Persian دولبند‌, ''dolband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Commun ...

, a

parasol An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy (building), canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionall ...

, a "horn jewel" or

vajra The Vajra (, , ), is a legendary and ritualistic tool, symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). It is also described as a "ritual weapon". The use of the bell and vajra together as s ...

, a

whisk A whisk is a cooking utensil which can be used to blend ingredients smooth or to incorporate air into a mixture, in a process known as '':wikt:whisk, whisking'' or '':wikt:whipping, whipping''. Most whisks consist of a long, narrow handle with ...

and

sandal Sandals are an open type of shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can sometim ...

s. These were also marks of a

kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

.Falk, Harry, "Small-Scale Buddhism" in , p. 495 The art of early

Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...

Buddhism in

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

presents

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

s in a form called "wearing a turban/hair binding", along with

mudra A mudra (; , , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As well as being spiritual ges ...

s that represent the nonviolent rule of a cakracartin.

Possible Indus Valley origins

A bull figurine excavated from

Lakhan-jo-Daro Lakhan-jo-daro is an archeological site and one of the largest cities of the Indus Valley civilization. It is located within an industrial zone on the outskirts of the modern city of Sukkur and situated at the distance of mere 75 kilometers from an ...

from the Bronze Age

Indus Valley Civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE ...

has a similar ushnisha-like knob above its head. This is a unique feature which may indicate a visual portrayal of intelligence.

Mahāyāna

The uṣṇīṣa seems to be one of the most valued of all a Buddha’s thirty-two marks. The ''Ratnamegha Sūtra'' provides a list of meritorious qualities of a Buddha’s body, starting with his hair follicles, the first twenty-nine marks in general, the urṇa, and finally the uṣṇīṣa, which is only surpassed by the Buddha’s voice. The '' Bhadrakalpika Sūtra'' lists six qualities of the uṣṇīṣa that accord with the Buddha’s

six perfections 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics A six-sided polygon is a hexagon, one of the three regular polygons capable of tiling the plane. A hexagon a ...

he accomplished as

: As stated above, one quality of the uṣṇīṣa is that it cannot be seen from above. The common rendering of this in Sanskrit is “anavalokitamūrdhatā” (lit. “the top of the head is not looked upon”). The ''Tathāgatācintyaguhyanirdeśa Sūtra'' contains a story of a bodhisattva who came from another buddha land to worship Śākyamuni. Using his supernatural powers, he flew upward past several more buddha lands and was unable to reach the top of the uṣṇīṣa. The Pali tradition seems to recognize this trope as well, apparent in the ''Commentary on the Suttanipāta'' and the ''Commentary on the Hemavata Sutta''. According to these texts, there was an episode when the yakṣas Sātāgiri and Hemavata were traveling in the sky to an assembly of yakṣas. They were forced to stop full flight and land, because they had encountered the space that would have otherwise placed them directly above the Buddha’s head. When the light that issues forth from a Buddha’s mouth returns to his uṣṇīṣa, it is a sign that he will give a

prophecy In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...

of the eventual Buddhahood of someone in the audience.

References

{{Buddhism topics category:Buddhist art Buddhas