Here is the seventh of the Eight Auspicious Symbols, the Victory Banner, and its significance. This comes from Robert Beers definitive presentation of these in both his Handbook of Tibetan Symbols (shmb.la/handbook-tibetan-symbols) and the even more comprehensive Encyclopaedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs (shmb.la/encylopedia-tibetan-symbols). THE VICTORY BANNER (Skt. dhvaja; Tib. rgyal-mtshan) The dhvaja, meaning banner, flag, or ensign, was originally a military standard of ancient Indian warfare. This standard adorned the rear of a great warrior’s chariot, and was mounted behind the great parasol (Skt. atapatra), or royal parasol (Skt. chatra). Each standard bore the specific ensign of its champion or king. Krishna’s chariot was adorned with a garuda-topped banner. Arjuna’s bore the device of a monkey. Bhisma’s bore the emblem of a palm tree. But primarily the dhvaja was the ensign of Shiva, the great god of death and destruction, whose banner was topped with a trident. This trident symbolized Shiva’s victory over the three worlds, or the ‘three cities’, which were located above, upon, and below the earth. In Indian warfare the military banner frequently took on horrific forms that were designed to instill terror in the enemy. The impaled head and flayed skin of an enemy or victim was one such gruesome emblem. The heads and skins of ferocious animals, particularly those of the tiger, crocodile, wolf, and bull, were commonly employed. Large effigies were also fashioned of other frightening creatures, such as the scorpion, snake, vulture, raven, and garuda. The crocodile-headed banner or makaradhvaja was originally an emblem of Kamadeva, the Vedic god of love and desire. As the ‘tempter’ (Skt. mara), or ‘deluder’ (Skt. maya), Kamadeva was the Hindu counterpart of Mara, the ‘evil one’, who attempted to obstruct the Buddha from attaining enlightenment. In early Buddhism the concept of Mara as a demonic obstructer to spiritual progress was presented as a group of four maras or ‘evil influences’. These four maras were originally based upon the four divisions of Mara’s army: infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots. The first of these four maras is the demon of the five aggregates of the personality (Skhanda-mara). The second is the demon of emotional defilements (Klesha- mara). The third is the demon of death (Mrityu-mara). The fourth is the ‘son of the god Mara’ (Devaputra-mara), or the demon of desire and temptation. It is this fourth mara, Devaputra-mara, who is identified as Kamadeva, the ‘king of the gods of the highest desire realm’. The Buddha is said to have defeated the sensual temptations of Kamadeva in the dusk before his enlightenment by meditating upon the ‘four immeasurables’ of compassion, love, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. At dawn he overcame both the mara of the aggregates and the mara of defilements. But it was only three months before the end of his long life that he finally overcame the mara of death, through the power of his fearless resolve to enter into the ultimate nirvana (parinirvana). As a symbol of the Buddha’s victory over the four maras, the early Buddhists adopted Kamadeva’s emblem of the crocodile-headed makaradhvaja, and four of these banners were erected in the cardinal directions surrounding the enlightenment stupa of the Tathagata or Buddha. Similarly the gods elected to place a banner of victory on the summit of Mt Meru, to honor the Buddha as the ‘Conqueror’ (Skt. jina; Tib. rgyal-ba) who vanquished the armies of Mara. This ‘victorious banner of the ten directions’ is described as having a jeweled pole, a crescent moon and sun finial, and a hanging triplebanderole of three colored silks that are decorated with the ‘three victorious creatures of harmony’ (see pages 50 and 176). Within the Tibetan tradition a list of eleven different forms of the victory banner is given to represent eleven specific methods for overcoming defilements. Many variations of the banner’s design can be seen on monastery and temple roofs, where four banners are commonly placed at the roof’s corners to symbolize the Buddha’s victory over the four maras. In its most traditional form the victory banner is fashioned as a cylindrical ensign mounted upon a long wooden axle-pole. The top of the banner takes the form of a small white parasol, which is surmounted by a central wishgranting gem. This domed parasol is rimmed by an ornate golden crest-bar with makara-tailed ends, from which hangs a billowing yellow or white silk scarf. The cylindrical body of the banner is draped with overlapping vertical layers of multicolored silk valances and hanging jewels. A billowing silk apron with flowing ribbons adorns its base. The upper part of the cylinder is often decorated with a frieze of tiger-skin, symbolizing the Buddha’s victory over all anger and aggression. As a hand-held ensign the victory banner is an attribute of many deities, particularly those associated with wealth and power, such as Vaishravana, the Great Guardian King of the north. For more information on this anf the other seven Auspicious Symbols, see the Handbook of Tibetan Symbols: shmb.la/handbook-tibetan-symbols Or the more comprehensive Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and motifs: shmb.la/encylopedia-tibetan-symbols
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 16:51:00 +0000
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