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cakravartin
cakravartin (Skt.). A ‘Wheel-turner’, a monarch or emperor whose rule is unbounded as symbolized by the free movement of the wheels of his chariot throughout the land. Four grades of cakravartins are distinguished, the wheels of their chariots being iron, copper, silver, and gold respectively. The term was also used as an epithet for the Buddha whose teachings also pervaded all lands. The cakravartin represents the Buddhist political ideal of the just ruler or universal monarch who brings peace and prosperity to his subjects, and various kings in history have been seen as embodying this ideal, notably Aśoka. Representing political authority, the cakravartin may be thought of as the secular counterpart of a Buddha, and both are said to bear the 32 marks (dvātriṃśadvara-lakṣaṇa) of the superman (mahāpuruṣa) on their bodies.
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DAMIEN KEOWN. "cakravartin." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAMIEN KEOWN. "cakravartin." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-cakravartin.html DAMIEN KEOWN. "cakravartin." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-cakravartin.html |
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Cakravartin
Cakravartin (Skt., ‘wheel-turner’). A ‘universal ruler’. In Hinduism, it refers to a ruler, in the ordinary sense, in this world, but an ideal ruler, one who creates a union between heaven and earth. In Buddhism (and in Jainism), it is extended to ethical sovereignty (e.g. in the Edicts of Aśoka); and it became an epithet for a buddha whose teaching is universally true throughout the cosmos.
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JOHN BOWKER. "Cakravartin." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Cakravartin." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Cakravartin.html JOHN BOWKER. "Cakravartin." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Cakravartin.html |
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