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A domed canopy on a staff, hung with a fringe or valance.
Also known as: Chhatra, Precious umbrella, Canopy symbol
The precious parasol, or chhatra, is one of the eight auspicious symbols: a domed canopy carried on a staff, usually fringed and often tiered. In South Asian usage shade is a mark of rank — a parasol was held over a ruler — and the emblem carries that meaning into a devotional setting, standing for protection and for the honour due to what is beneath it. A reader who takes it for an umbrella against rain has the wrong physical object as well as the wrong meaning.
Carries a meaning of rank before it carries one of shelter. In South Asian usage a parasol held over a person marks their standing, so the emblem stands for protection and for honour due to whatever it covers.
Contexts: Religion
Is drawn as a canopy on a long staff, frequently tiered and fringed, and appears above figures in painting and sculpture as well as standing alone in the set.
Contexts: Religion
A shallow dome carried on a vertical staff, with a hanging fringe or scalloped valance around its rim and a small finial at the top.
One of the eight auspicious symbols.