Elements of Buddhist Iconography c8.3

c8.3

Above, *triśūla*, *vajra*, or "*nandi-pada*" symbol forming a head; middle, a column of superimposed lotus palmettes (cf. *skandhāt skandham*, Maitri Up., VII, 11) forming the trunk; below, the *pādukā*, feet, "firmly established," *supratiṣṭhā*; cf. Figs. 13, 14. Above the "head" will be observed the umbrella (*chatra*, *uṣṇīṣa*) of the Cakravartin; corresponding to the prescription *uṣṇīṣa-śīrṣa* proper to the Buddha's anthropomorphic likeness. The triple division may be compared to that of the cosmic (*lokavat*) aspect of Prajāpati as described in *Maitri Up.*, VI, 6, where the "Three Worlds" constituting this "body" are *svar*, *bhuvas*, and *bhūr*, celestial, spiritual, and chthonic.