In
India, the chatra was an ancient symbol of kingship and emperorship, representing both kingly power and righteousness. In particular, it is employed in depictions of
chakravartis, the supposed holy emperors over the entire earth. It is also reckoned as one of the
ashtamangala, the eight holy symbols of enlightened
sages and
buddhas, in
Digambar Jainism,
Vajrayana Buddhism, and other
Dharmic faiths. In
Hindu mythology, Chatra can itself be recognized as a deity,
yidam, and
ishta-devata. More often, it is an emblem of various gods including
Varuna,
Ganesha (particularly during
Ganesh Chaturthi),
Revanta,
Surya,
Vishnu in his
Vamana avatar, and
Vishvakarman. In the
chakra systems of Dharmic faiths and
traditional Indian and
Tibetan medicine, the chatra is used as a symbol of the
sahasrara, the crown chakra. File:Vasudeva Krishna on a coin of Agathocles of Bactria circa 180 BCE.jpg|A chatra crowning
Vāsudeva-Krishna on a
coin of
Agathocles of
Bactria, File:Buddha, Mathura IIe s. Musée Guimet.jpg|
Mathura statue of a
bodhisattva crowned by a chatra File:Umbrella with Eight Auspicious Motifs - Circa 1st-2nd Century CE - Gita Enclave - ACCN 75-32 - Government Museum - Mathura 2013-02-23 5698.JPG |
Mathura chatra, vishwakarmaji.png |
Vishvakarman with chatra File:Chandragupt maurya Birla mandir 6 dec 2009 (31).JPG |
Chandragupta Maurya with chatra Chhatra.jpg | The chatra of the
Tijara Jain temple in
Rajasthan Image:Parasol.svg | A chatra diagram ==Myanmar==