Urna

In Buddhist art and culture, the Urna (more correctly ūrṇā or ūrṇākośa[1] (Pāli uṇṇa), and known as byakugō (白毫) in Japan) is a spiral or circular dot placed on the forehead of Buddhist images as an auspicious mark.[1][2] It symbolizes a third eye, which in turn symbolizes vision into the divine world; a sort of ability to see past our mundane universe of suffering.

Buddha with urna

Translations of Urna
Sanskrit	ऊर्णा (IAST: ūrṇā)
Pali	उण्ण (uṇṇa)
Chinese	白毫 (Pinyin: Báiháo)
Japanese	白毫 (rōmaji: byakugō)
Korean	백호 (RR: baekho)
Tibetan	མཛོད་སྦུས་ Wylie: mdzod spu
Vietnamese	Bạch mao tướng
Glossary of Buddhism

As set out in the Lakkhana Sutta or 'Discourse on Marks', the ūrṇā is the thirty-first physical characteristic of Buddha.[3] It is generally thought to be a whorl of hair and be a mark or sign of the Buddha as a mahāpuruṣa or great being. The device is often seen on sculptures from the 2nd century CE.

See also

• Bindi (decoration)

References

1. "The Lost Buddhas: Chinese Buddhist Sculpture from Qingzhou". Asian Art. April 14, 2012. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
2. Stratton, Carol (2004). Buddhist Sculpture of Northern Thailand. Serindia Publications. p. 50. ISBN 9781932476095.
3. Holt, John Clifford; Kinnard, Jacob N.; Walters, Jonathan S. (2012). Constituting Communities: Theravada Buddhism and the Religious Cultures of South and Southeast Asia. SUNY Press. p. 191. ISBN 9780791487051.