Dharma wheel

A spoked wheel representing the Buddha's teaching.

Also known as: Dharmachakra, Wheel of Dharma, Wheel of law, Buddhist wheel

ReligiousCulturalHistorical & archaeologicalStandard profile

This symbol carries culturally, religiously or politically sensitive meanings depending on context. See the meanings below for a full, sourced breakdown rather than a single summary judgement.

Meanings

The dharmachakra, or wheel of dharma, represents the Buddha's teaching and its transmission. Its spokes are commonly read as the Noble Eightfold Path.

Culturally establishedVerified fact
Represents the Buddha's teaching and its setting in motion, and identifies Buddhism and Buddhist institutions.
Contexts: Religion
Culturally establishedTradition
Is commonly shown with eight spokes read as the Noble Eightfold Path, though wheels with other numbers of spokes carry other readings within the tradition.
Contexts: Religion
Historically documentedDocumented interpretation
Appears in Indian traditions beyond Buddhism, including on the flag of India as the Ashoka Chakra, where it carries a national rather than a devotional sense.
Contexts: Religion

Visual description

A circular wheel with a hub and evenly spaced spokes, commonly eight, within an outer rim.

Symmetry: radial
Orientation: upright

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Cultural meaningLow confidence: Low confidence because the cultural meaning is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is defined by a current official standard.

Sources

Dharmachakra
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-30
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity and origin summary, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Unicode Code Chart: Miscellaneous Symbols (U+2600–U+26FF)
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-07-30
Authoritative for the character's code point, name and block only. Unicode assigns identity; it does not define what a symbol means in use.

Last reviewed 2026-07-30

Part of

Symbols of world faiths

Help improve this page

Meanings

The dharmachakra, or wheel of dharma, represents the Buddha's teaching and its transmission. Its spokes are commonly read as the Noble Eightfold Path.

Culturally establishedVerified fact

Represents the Buddha's teaching and its setting in motion, and identifies Buddhism and Buddhist institutions.

Contexts: Religion

Culturally establishedTradition

Is commonly shown with eight spokes read as the Noble Eightfold Path, though wheels with other numbers of spokes carry other readings within the tradition.

Contexts: Religion

Historically documentedDocumented interpretation

Appears in Indian traditions beyond Buddhism, including on the flag of India as the Ashoka Chakra, where it carries a national rather than a devotional sense.

Contexts: Religion

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Cultural meaningLow confidence: Low confidence because the cultural meaning is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is defined by a current official standard.

Sources

Dharmachakra
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-30
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity and origin summary, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Unicode Code Chart: Miscellaneous Symbols (U+2600–U+26FF)
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-07-30
Authoritative for the character's code point, name and block only. Unicode assigns identity; it does not define what a symbol means in use.

Last reviewed 2026-07-30