Ūrṇākeśa
ūrṇākeśa [alt. ūrṇākośa, ūrṇā] (P. uṇṇākesa; T. mdzod spu; C. baihao; J. byakugō; K. paekho 白毫). In Sanskrit, “hair treasure” or “tuft”. A spiral of hair said to be infinite in length located between the eyebrows of a buddha.[1]
In images of buddhas and bodhisattvas images, the ūrṇākeśa or ūrṇā is frequently depicted as a gem inlaid between the eyebrows.[1]
The ūrṇā 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 ūrṇā to illuminate distant world systems.[1] This light became an object of meditation in Mahayana Buddhism.[2]
The ūrṇā 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.[1]
The ūrṇā is included in some lists of the thirty-two major marks of a great man.[1]
Gallery
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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 -
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Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. ūrṇākeśa
- ↑ Rhodes, Robert. (2007). Ōjōyōshū, Nihon Ōjō Gokuraku-ki, and the Construction of Pure Land Discourse in Heian Japan. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 34. 10.18874/jjrs.34.2.2007.249-270.
External links
Urna, Wikipedia
