Rinchen Nadun: The Seven Precious Possessions

The Rinchen Nadun (རིན་ཆེན་སྣ་བདུན་) or saptaratna are seven precious emblems that are said to occur with the rise of a universal monarch or chakravartin (འཁོར་ལོ་བསྒྱུར་བ་). At the time of the historical Buddha’s youth, an astrologer is said to have prophesied that the young boy would either become a universal world monarch or an enlightened saint if he renounced worldly life. A universal monarch is said to possess all the marks of a great person who will righteously rule over the world and even celestial realms. The seven precious emblems are said to be special phenomena associated with the universal monarch. They also represent the seven aspects of enlightenment including mindfulness, wisdom, diligence, joy, pliability, concentration and equanimity.

The Precious Wheel (འཁོར་ལོ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་)

This is the greatest possession of a universal monarch, a Precious Wheel made up of gold and having a thousand spokes, although when drawn only eight spokes are illustrated to symbolize the eightfold path. It represents both secular and spiritual sovereignty, a power that extends in all directions to lead the monarch’s army. The wheel also acts as a conveyance to help the universal monarch travel across all continents.

The Precious Jewel (ནོར་བུ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་)

The Precious Jewel is a smooth, radiant, eight-sided gem in the form of blue vairdurya or lapis lazuli. It has the luminosity to illuminate the dark and grants all wishes made by the monarch and his subjects. The gem retains the harmony of things and dispels misfortunes such as draught, hailstorms, floods, and natural calamities. Further, it emits rays that can cure all diseases and untimely death.

The Precious Queen (བཙུན་མོ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་)

Born in a noble family, of good temperament, excellent personality, neither overweight nor skinny, the Precious Queen is a charming and beautiful woman. She has the characteristics of a divine woman, her breath fragrant like a lotus, her skin soft as fine silk, her body exuding a sandalwood scent, her limbs and fingers fine and tender. She is devoted to her husband and has feminine qualities such as innate wisdom and kindness.

The Precious Minister (བློན་པོ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་)

The Precious Minister is a person of integrity, wisdom and intelligence. He has foresight and patience, and an ability to listen and analyse. He understands the intentions of the monarch and aspires to promote the welfare of others. He is capable of enhancing the prosperity of the country and of winning goodwill and friendship from other countries.

The Precious Elephant (གླང་པོ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་)

Of ash white colour and decorated with golden ornaments, the Precious Elephant has the extraordinary strength of a thousand ordinary elephants and is the lord of all elephants. It possesses seven powerful limbs: the four legs, a trunk and two tusks. It is fearless and unassailable in battles and can travel with the monarch on its back across all continents at enormous speed. It is obedient, peaceful, serene and gentle.

The Precious Horse (རྟ་མཆོག་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་)

The Precious Horse has the marks of a divine steed and is powerful, swift and even capable of flying miraculously in the sky. Known as the “one with the power of clouds” and decorated with golden trappings, its form is perfect with a beautiful coat and mane, elegant limbs and tail, and light and unfaltering hooves. It is very obedient and easy to ride.

The Precious General (དམག་དཔོན་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་)

A monarch’s Precious General (or Precious Citizen) has personal integrity, is judicious, is intelligent, and has a divine vision to bring about peace and prosperity in the kingdom. The general possesses military prowess to defend the kingdom and a mastery of the art of warfare. He understands the monarch’s intention and fights for truth and justice, and eschews causing harm to others. When there is no need for war, the general removes his armour and lives a peaceful life as a righteous citizen.

The representation of the seven precious emblems are often included in Bhutanese religious offerings. They are offered during ceremonies to bring fortune and prosperity during such occasions as the installation of a ruler.

Karma Phuntsho is the Director of Shejun Agency for Bhutan’s Cultural Documentation and Research, the President of the Loden Foundation and the author of The History of Bhutan. The piece was initially published in Bhutan’s national newspaper Kuensel as part of a series called “Why We Do What We Do.”