Triratna

The Triratna (Pali: ti-ratana or ratana-ttaya ; Sanskrit: tri-ratna or ratna-traya) is a Buddhist symbol, thought to visually represent the Three Jewels of Buddhism (the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha).

For the fellowship, see Triratna Buddhist Community.
Triratna
Symbol of the triratna, as seen in the Sanchi stupa, 1st century BCE.
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese三寶
Simplified Chinese三宝
Burmese name
Burmeseရတနာသုံးပါး
IPA[jadanà θóʊɰ̃ bá]
Tibetan name
Tibetanདཀོན་མཆོག་གསུམ
Vietnamese name
VietnameseTam bảo
Thai name
Thaiไตรรัตน์, รัตนตรัย
RTGStrairat, rattanatrai
Korean name
Hangul삼보
Mongolian name
Mongolian Cyrillicɣurban erdeni
Japanese name
Kanji三宝
Bengali name
Bengaliত্রিশরণ
trishôrônô
Lao name
Laoໄຕແກ້ວ (tài kɛ̂ːu) / ໄຕລັດ (tài lāt)
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Buddhism

Symbol

The Triratna symbol is composed of:

On representations of the footprint of the Buddha, the Triratna is usually also surmounted by the Dharma wheel.

The Triratna can be found on frieze sculptures at Sanchi as the symbol crowning a flag standard (2nd century BCE), as a symbol of the Buddha installed on the Buddha's throne (2nd century BCE), as the crowning decorative symbol on the later gates at the stupa in Sanchi (2nd century CE), or, very often on the Buddha footprint (starting from the 1st century CE).

The triratna can be further reinforced by being surmounted with three dharma wheels (one for each of the three jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha).

The triratna symbol is also called nandipada, or "bull's hoof", by Hindus.

Coins

A number of examples of the triratna symbol appear on historical coins of Buddhist kingdoms in the Indian subcontinent. For example, the triratna appears on the first century BCE coins of the Kuninda Kingdom in the northern Punjab. It also surmounts the depictions of stupas, on some the coins of Abdagases I of the Indo-Kingdom of the first century CE and on the coins of the Kushan Empire, such as those coined by Vima Kadphises, also of the first century.

Examples of Triratna
  • Triratna on a Taxila coin, 185-168 BCE (detail).
  • The compound Buddhist symbols: Shrivatsa within a triratana, over a Dharmacakra wheel, on the Torana gate at Sanchi. 1st century BCE.
  • The Triratna or "Three Jewels" symbol, on a Buddha footprint (bottom symbol, the top symbol being a dharmachakra). 1st century CE, Gandhara.
  • Triratna symbol on the reverse (left field) of a coin of the Indo-Scythian king Azes II (r.c. 35-12 BCE).
  • 2nd century BCE coin of the Kunindas, incorporating on the reverse the Buddhist triratna symbol on top of a stupa.
  • Amaravati Triratna symbols.
  • Symbol of the Three Jewels

Notes
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    References
    • Refuge : An Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha. Thanissaro Bhikkhu : Third edition, revised, 2001
    • "ガンダーラ美術の見方" (The art of Gandhara), Yamada Kihito, ISBN 4-89806-106-0
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