Urna
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In Buddhist art and culture, the Urna (Sanskrit: ūrṇā, ūrṇākeśa or ūrṇākośa, lit. "hair treasure") is a spiral or circular mark placed on the forehead of Buddhist images as an auspicious sign.
As set out in the Lakkhana Sutta (Discourse on Marks), the ūrṇā is the thirty-first physical characteristic of the Buddha.
The urna is generally interpreted as a whorl of white hair which is a marks a Buddha as a great being (mahāpuruṣa). In the Mahayana Sutras, the Buddha is often depicted as shining light out of his urna to illuminate distant world systems. This light became an object of meditation in Mahayana Buddhism.
The urna is often seen on Buddhist sculptures from the 2nd century CE onwards. The urna remains part of standard Buddhist iconography today, often depicted as a gem placed slightly above and between the eyebrows of a Buddha or a bodhisattva.
Gallery
- Buddha with urna depicted as a circular dot
- Buddha sculpture found within the vihāra of Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, Thailand, 16th century CE
- The unalome (อุณาโลม) yantra is a stylised representation of the urna.