Common Iconic Symbols

Common Iconic Symbols

Pāśa (Noose) -

 The 3 bonds that bind us to the cycle of rebirth – avidya (ignorance) karma (action) vāsanā (habitual patterns). It also has three other meanings attracting oneself to the Dharma, tying oneself by the constraints of Dharma and destroying all obstacles to one's spiritual evolution.

Aṅkuśha (Elephant Goad) - 

Incentive to continue in spiritual practice and the application of the teachings. The urging of the guru which drives us to practice and apply. Also - the control of anger.

Churi (dagger) - 

The spiritual path - the razor's edge which needs to be treaded with great care and vigilance.

Vīnā (Lute) - 

Inner sound of spiritual harmony; the vibration of the atoms in motion, creation, the sound of the spheres, the harmony of all the diffuse elements of the cosmos. Music and dancing — the arts.

Kamaṇḍalu (water jug) - 

Fullness and generosity, also purity and purification.

Gadā (mace) - 

Primarily a symbol of Vishnu but also shared among many of the deities. The mace is a symbol of sovereignty and the Cosmic Order. It also symbolises Karma, the law of cause and effect.

Salipallava (rice-sprig) -

 bounty of nature, fecundity and abundance.

Dhvaja (flag) - 

Making oneself known to others, indicating that one is a source of charity and safety to all sentient beings. An indication of the triumph of the Dharma.

Khatvāṅga (club with skull) - 

Impermanence, dissolution, also represents the 8 mystical powers obtained through yoga meditation.

Kheṭaka (shield) - 

Security, defence, protection of oneself, deflection of negativity and assault by others.

Ḍamaru (Hour-glass Drum) - 

Union of the masculine and feminine and the projection of the universe through sound. When the two halves part the sound ceases and the universe dissolves.

Padma (Lotus) - 

By reproducing from its own matrix rather than the soil the lotus is a symbol of spontaneous generation (Svāyambhu). It grows in mud but rises in immaculate purity to the surface and opens to the sun - the evolution begins in the mire of Samsāra but rises to full enlightenment and purity. The closed lotus symbolizes potential and the open lotus — actualization.

Śaṅkha (Conch) -

In battle conveys the instruction of the commander to the troops. It represents the diffusion of the Dharma teachings and the proclamation of war upon the negative forces of the mind. Also creation through sound and the Prāṇava — AUM.

Cakra (Discus or wheel) -

 The wheel is the symbol of the Dharma which rotates and spins its beneficial influence in all directions. It also symbolises the cycle of Samsāra — of repeated birth and death which turns endlessly and from which we desire to be liberated. It is also used as a weapon and it's speed is faster than the speed of the mind — thus representing the cosmic mind which destroys our enemies in the form of the afflictive emotions.

Sarpa (Snakes) - Kundalini -

 sexual energy latent within the lowest chakra – the Mūlādhāra at the base of the spine. Also symbolizes the control of anger the worst of all the negative emotions.

Śuka (Parrot) - 

Truth, the transmission of the teachings. The parrot repeats exactly what it hears without clarification, modification or contortion.

Pātra (Bowl) - 

In the hands of a Rishi or the Buddha it symbolizes the begging bowl and the idea of generosity. In the hands of the wrathful deities it is a skull bowl filled with blood which symbolizes the achievement of higher states of consciousness through the elimination of the lower mind and notion of self.

Paraśu (Axe) - 

Non-attachment - the severing of our ties and bonds to the material world.

Ghaṇṭa (Bell) - Impermanence. The phenomenal world which is impermanent and evanescent. Creation of the transient universe through sound — being perceived but not held and kept.

Cāmara (Fly-whisk) - 

The obedience to the law and in particular to the highest principle of Dharma — Ahimsa. Also represents the following of the teacher and the tradition.

Vajra (Thunderbolt) - 

Diamond wisdom the ultimate truth as adamantine and indestructible, but which destroys all that is other than truth. Symbol of sovereignty and the Cosmic Order.

Triśūla (Trident) - 

Control over action, speech and thought. Also fire — Agni and its 3 forms. The 3 paths to liberation Bhakti – love, Jñāna – wisdom and Karma– skilful action.

Kunta (Spear) - 

One-pointedness of concentration applied during meditation aimed at the goal of perfection. Focussed attention at eliminating the inner demons of delusion, anger, greed etc.

Khaḍga (Sword) - 

Sword of wisdom which cuts through illusion and destroys all ignorance- hidden within all of us like a scabbard - needs to be withdrawn with skill and used with care and precision.

Pustaka (Book) - 

The Vedas – sacred Scriptures and the formal learning of all sorts of knowledge and theory.

Japa-Mālā (Rosary) - 

Sādhana or spiritual practice. Meditation and the recitation of mantras.

Cāpa/śara (Bow & Arrow) - 

Concentration and focussing of the mind upon the goals of overcoming lower nature and achieving transformation, enlightenment and Liberation.

In the hands of Kāma the god of love, it represents the attachment of the five senses to their objects.

Ādarśa (Mirror) - 

Notion of the evanescence of the material delusion. The world is but a reflection in the mirror of the pure mind. So the mirror represents the perfectly clear mind in which all is reflected but not held or contained.

Kalaśa (Vase) - 

receptacle of water which is the foremost representative of life in general, water is also allied to breath and all-pervading cosmic consciousness. The heart of the devotee should be ready like the jar to contain and hold the waters of truth and universal wellbeing. The jar also contains the nectar of immortality — liberation from conditioned existence.

Mriga (Deer) -

 The deer symbolises gentleness as well as attentiveness — whatever its doing the deer is always mindful of predators. This is indicative of the way we should live in the world — practicing ahimsa and being mindful of the impermanence and transitory nature of all created phenomena.

Chatra (The Parasol) - 

In Indian culture only high dignitaries were allowed the use of a parasol the largest ones usually white were reserved for the king and for the gods. The larger the number of smaller parasols heaped above the main one, the higher the personage represented. Thus in Indian culture the parasol is a symbol of spiritual power.

Durba (lawn grass) - 

Associated with Gaṇeśa, it is the symbol of indestructibility and regeneration — offered in pūjās for the prolonging of life.

Muṇḍa-mālā (Garland of skulls) - 

perpetual revolution of ages. It also represents all the false personalities we assume for creating identity.

Vibhuti - 

The sublimated power of procreation. Kāma or Eros was destroyed and turned into ashes by the ray from the third-eye of Shiva. Ashes also symbolise the ultimate transience of everything.

Cintā-maṇi (Wish-fulfilling gem) - 

Represents the mind, the precious jewel of the perfected mind in which all wishes and aims are accomplished.

Nandi (The Bull) - 

The libido, also Dharma — the way to enlightenment and liberation.

Pūrṇa- kumbha (The Full Vase) - 

symbolises fullness, and spiritual perfection which overflows to serve all beings.

Śrīvatsa (endless knot) - 

symbolises the way things are = endless and complex — without beginning and end.