View source for Urna

{{Short description|Spiral or circular dot placed on the forehead of Buddhist images}}
{{other uses}}
{{Buddhist term
| fontsize=100%
| title=Urna
|pi=उण्ण
|pi-Latn=uṇṇa
|sa=ऊर्णा
|sa-Latn=ūrṇā
|zh=白毫
|zh-Latn=Báiháo
|ja=白毫
|ja-Latn=byakugō
|ko=백호
|ko-Latn=baekho
|th=
|th-Latn =
|bo=མཛོད་སྦུས་
|bo-Latn=[[wylie_transliteration|Wylie]]:  mdzod spu
|vi=Bạch mao tướng
}}
In Buddhist [[art]] and [[culture]], the '''Urna''' (ūrṇā, ūrṇākeśa or ūrṇākośa<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Buswell |editor1-first=Robert Jr|editor2-last=Lopez|editor2-first=Donald S. Jr.|editor1-link=Robert Buswell Jr.|editor2-link=Donald S. Lopez, Jr. |title=ūrṇākeśa, in: a Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism|date=2013|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=9780691157863}}</ref><ref name="asianart">{{cite web |title=The Lost Buddhas: Chinese Buddhist Sculpture from Qingzhou |url=http://www.asianartnewspaper.com/article/lost-buddhas-chinese-buddhist-sculpture-qingzhou|publisher=Asian Art|date=April 14, 2012|access-date=April 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624115810/http://asianartnewspaper.com/article/lost-buddhas-chinese-buddhist-sculpture-qingzhou|archive-date=June 24, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> (Pāli uṇṇa), and known as {{Lang-zh|c=白毫|p=báiháo|labels=no}} in [[Chinese language|Chinese]]) is a [[spiral]] or [[Bindi (decoration)|circular dot]] placed on the [[forehead]] of Buddhist images as an auspicious mark.<ref name="asianart"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Stratton |first=Carol |title=Buddhist Sculpture of Northern Thailand |publisher=Serindia Publications|year=2004|page=50 |ISBN=9781932476095}}</ref>
As set out in the ''[[Lakkhana Sutta]]'' or 'Discourse on Marks', the ūrṇā is the thirty-first [[physical characteristics of the Buddha|physical characteristic of Buddha]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Holt|first1=John Clifford|last2=Kinnard |first2=Jacob N.|last3=Walters |first3=Jonathan S.|title=Constituting Communities: Theravada Buddhism and the Religious Cultures of South and Southeast Asia|publisher=[[SUNY Press]]|year=2012|page=191 |ISBN=9780791487051}}</ref> It is generally thought to be a whorl of [[hair]] and be a mark or [[sign]] of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] as a mahāpuruṣa or great being.{{Citation needed|reason=Requires external justification.|date=January 2023}} The device is often seen on [[sculptures]] from the 2nd century CE.{{Citation needed|reason=Historical claim without reference.|date=January 2023}}
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Buddha Victoria & Albert.jpg|Buddha with urna depicted as a circular dot
File:Bangkok National Museum - 2017-04-22 (026).jpg|Buddha sculpture found within the [[vihāra]] of [[Wat Phra Si Sanphet]], Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, [[Thailand]], 16th century CE
File:Khmer Sacred Symbol, Om or Unalom.png|The [[unalome]] ({{Lang|th|อุณาโลม}}) [[yantra]] is a stylised representation of the urna.
</gallery>
==See also==
* [[Ājñā]]
* [[Bindi (decoration)]]
* [[Bindu (symbol)]]
* [[Yantra tattooing]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Buddhism topics}}
[[Category:Buddhist art]]
[[Category:Buddhist symbols]]
{{Buddhism-stub}}