Studies in Indian Art c12.s13.5

c12.s13.5

The *Dharmachakra* and the *Triratnas* are other symbols prominently figured on the Āyāgapaṭṭas. Dr. Coomarswamy in his paper on the meaning of *Kha* and other words denoting Zero has shown that the axle point of the wheel represents the ultimate reality, the "rock of ages", serving as the central point of the great wheel of creation. This wheel known as the *Dharmachakra* symbolises the two-fold cosmic forces of rest and motion. The centre of the wheel is firm, devoid of changes, but its circumference is the rallying plane of infinite forces whirling and moving under the governance of a central fixation based on the navel of the wheel. The wheel is thus the most appropriate symbol to express the harmony and synthesis between the two creative forces and conditions one of which is referred to in the Vedas as *apihita*, hidden, and the other *jāyamān*, manifested. The perfect *Dharmachakra* forming the central figure on the Āyāgapaṭṭa represents in a beautiful manner the above two aspects of the wheel symbolism. The eight Maidens of Space, *Dikkumārīkās*, poised gracefully in a circle around the periphery of the *Dharmachakra* are according to the Jaina Texts goddesses of the Bhavanapati class, presiding over the quarters of space, and as stated in the *Jambūdvīpa-prajñapati* they come first in the priority to celebrate the glorious event of the birth of a *Tīrthaṅkara*.