Chakravartin

Chakravartin

"wheel rotator"

Chakravartin is a Sanskrit term designating in the Indian traditions of the world ruler, the king-world-bearer. In Buddhist teaching, the nominal name of the ideal ruler, whose reign returns the world from the chaos of lawlessness to the highest order of order. The etymologies of the term, found in Buddhist sources and among modern scholars, such as the "ruler of the circle (earth)" or "the ruler of the circle (the land encircled by the ocean)" are reinterpretations of the original meaning. Initially, the title of the chakravartin was received by the king, who during the rite of renewal of the sacral authority – vajapeya – was to make the ascent on the sacrificial pillar and touch with the hand the wheeled top (chashala); it symbolized the activation of the movement of the "Wheels of Time" (Sun, Year) and the launch of a new time cycle. Another Vedic solemn ceremony, significant in connection with the concept of chakravartin – ashvamedha.