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| A '''Chakravartin''' (''{{IAST|cakra-vartin}}'', a ] ], literally "whose wheels are moving", in the sense of "rolling everywhere without obstruction" |
A '''Chakravartin''' (''{{IAST|cakra-vartin}}'', a ] ], literally "whose wheels are moving", in the sense of "whose chariot is rolling everywhere without obstruction"; ] ''cakkavatti'', also interpreted as "for whom the ] is turning") is a term used in ] for an ideal universal ruler, who rules ethically and benevolently over the entire world. Such a ruler's reign is called ''sarvabhauma''. | ||
| In ] and ], three types of Chakravartins are distinguished: | |||
| *''cakravala cakravartin'', a ruler over all four continents postulated in ancient Indian cosmography | |||
| *''dvipa cakravartin'' a ruler over only one of four continents | |||
| *''pradesa cakravartin'', a ruler over only part of a continent. | |||
| The first references to a ''cakravala cakravartin'' appear in monuments of the ], dedicated to ]. The ''cakravartin'' in Buddhism came to be considered the secular counterpart of a ]. | |||
| ==Historical rulers== | ==Historical rulers== | ||
| The title has been applied{{fact}} to a number of historical rulers. | The title has been applied{{fact}} to a number of historical rulers. | ||
| ===Samrath Bindusara=== | |||
| ] was the son of the ] of ] ], who dreamt of united Bharat. He was the first king since Bharat to unify India. | |||
| === Ashoka=== | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] (Skt: अशोक) was the son of the of Bindusara and with his peaceful ideas, conquered the whole of India. He himself was a devout ] converted by his mentors the Brahmin Buddhists Radhasvami and Manjushri. He was respectful of Hinduism even practicing ] beliefs (as he was born a Hindu into a Hindu family and Buddhism was not yet Nastik.) He crowned himself as '''Devanampiya Piyadassi''', Sanskrit for "''He who is the beloved of the Gods who, in turn is his loving servant.''" | *] (Skt: अशोक) was the son of the of Bindusara and with his peaceful ideas, conquered the whole of India. He himself was a devout ] converted by his mentors the Brahmin Buddhists Radhasvami and Manjushri. He was respectful of Hinduism even practicing ] beliefs (as he was born a Hindu into a Hindu family and Buddhism was not yet Nastik.) He crowned himself as '''Devanampiya Piyadassi''', Sanskrit for "''He who is the beloved of the Gods who, in turn is his loving servant.''" | ||
| ⚫ | *] Sunga{{fact}} was the Hindu soldier in the Mauryan army. | ||
| ===Pushyamitra=== | |||
| ⚫ | ] Sunga was the Hindu soldier in the Mauryan army. | ||
| Revolting against the oppression of Hindus by the later Buddhist Mauryan rulers, Pushyamitra Sunga overthrew the Mauryan Dynasty and established the ]. | Revolting against the oppression of Hindus by the later Buddhist Mauryan rulers, Pushyamitra Sunga overthrew the Mauryan Dynasty and established the ]. | ||
| ⚫ | *]{{fact}} of the Mughal Dynasty was admired by people of all religions in his realm as and a result, the Mughal Empire expanded to its greatest heights under his rule. He himself born a Muslim and in his attempt to bring all peoples together he even founded a new religion, ''Din-i-Elahi'', which emcompassed beliefs of all religions of India, which included Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity. Several officialls in the Mughal empire during his time were Hindus. Through his benovelence, the Indians enjoyed his rule. | ||
| ===Akbar=== | |||
| ⚫ | ] of the Mughal Dynasty was admired by people of all religions in his realm as and a result, the Mughal Empire expanded to its greatest heights under his rule. He himself born a Muslim and in his attempt to bring all peoples together he even founded a new religion, ''Din-i-Elahi'', which emcompassed beliefs of all religions of India, which included Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity. Several officialls in the Mughal empire during his time were Hindus. Through his benovelence, the Indians enjoyed his rule. | ||
| ===Shivaji=== | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] Bhonsle was the son of a Maratha solder in the Mughal army. During this time, Akbar Rajah's time had passed and the Hindus were being harassed by Islamist of the Mughal empire. Temples were also being destroyed, the ] was enacted, and if not payable, Hindus were executed. Many Hindus, especially from backward castes were forced to convert as they could not pay the tax. As a result, several Hindus within did not want to remain loyal to the empire and established rebellions. Shivaji created a confederacy of Marathas originally but later his confederacy included Hindus of all groups. His empire even conquered Lahore, and Kashmir but lost it to the Afghans. In the South his empire was expanded by the ]. Shivaji's aim was to establish a Hindavi Swarajya (''Indian Democracy'') and so he was called Janata Rajah (''People's King.'') Apart from this title, he is also called Shivaji Maharaj. His childhood name was ''Shivba'' and a patriotic Indian group named themselves after him as the ''Lashkar-e-Shivba''. | *] Bhonsle{{fact}} was the son of a Maratha solder in the Mughal army. During this time, Akbar Rajah's time had passed and the Hindus were being harassed by Islamist of the Mughal empire. Temples were also being destroyed, the ] was enacted, and if not payable, Hindus were executed. Many Hindus, especially from backward castes were forced to convert as they could not pay the tax. As a result, several Hindus within did not want to remain loyal to the empire and established rebellions. Shivaji created a confederacy of Marathas originally but later his confederacy included Hindus of all groups. His empire even conquered Lahore, and Kashmir but lost it to the Afghans. In the South his empire was expanded by the ]. Shivaji's aim was to establish a Hindavi Swarajya (''Indian Democracy'') and so he was called Janata Rajah (''People's King.'') Apart from this title, he is also called Shivaji Maharaj. His childhood name was ''Shivba'' and a patriotic Indian group named themselves after him as the ''Lashkar-e-Shivba''. | ||
| ==Mahabharata== | ==Mahabharata== | ||
| In the ], twelve princes beginning with ] are considered Chakravartins. | In the ], twelve princes beginning with ] are considered Chakravartins. | ||
| ⚫ | *] was the son of the ] Dynasty. India (Bhārat, Skt:भारत) is named after him. He was able to conquer the whole ]. There are some disputes over whether Bharat conquered India or certain parts of India. Some believe that he even conquered regions outside of the Subcontinent such as Afghanistan (then referred to as '']'') and Tibet (then referred to as ''Bhuta''.) | ||
| ⚫ | * ], the son of ] of the ] lineage after whom India was named (Ilavarta and ]) in ] he is said to have conquered the world. This might have just been referring India alone as the world's ancient peoples saw the region in which their peoples live as the world itself. | ||
| ⚫ | *]{{fact}}, famous in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. He sacrificed his flesh. There have been several dynasties which have claimed heritage from Emperor ]'s line. The ] were one of the dynasties and they referred to him as ''Sembiyan''. | ||
| ⚫ | *''Imayavaramban'' ], a ] age king said in inscriptions to have conquered up to the Himalayas. | ||
| === |
===Jainism=== | ||
| ⚫ | *], the 1st Tirthankar and is said to be the father of King Bharat. | ||
| ⚫ | ] was the son of the ] Dynasty. India (Bhārat, Skt:भारत) is named after him. He was able to conquer the whole ]. There are some disputes over whether Bharat conquered India or certain parts of India. Some believe that he even conquered regions outside of the Subcontinent such as Afghanistan (then referred to as '']'') and Tibet (then referred to as ''Bhuta''.) | ||
| ⚫ | *], the 16th ] thought to have ruled the whole of India. | ||
| ===Iskhvaku=== | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ===Adinath=== | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ===Shantinath=== | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ===Shibi=== | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| ===Neduncheralathan=== | |||
| *] | |||
| ⚫ | ''Imayavaramban'' Neduncheralathan, a ] age king said in inscriptions to have conquered up to the Himalayas. | ||
| *] | |||
| ] | ] | ||
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A Chakravartin (cakra-vartin, a Sanskrit bahuvrihi, literally "whose wheels are moving", in the sense of "whose chariot is rolling everywhere without obstruction"; Pali cakkavatti, also interpreted as "for whom the Wheel of Dharma is turning") is a term used in Dharmic religions for an ideal universal ruler, who rules ethically and benevolently over the entire world. Such a ruler's reign is called sarvabhauma.
In Buddhism and Jainism, three types of Chakravartins are distinguished:
- cakravala cakravartin, a ruler over all four continents postulated in ancient Indian cosmography
- dvipa cakravartin a ruler over only one of four continents
- pradesa cakravartin, a ruler over only part of a continent.
The first references to a cakravala cakravartin appear in monuments of the Maurya period, dedicated to Ashoka the Great. The cakravartin in Buddhism came to be considered the secular counterpart of a Buddha.
Historical rulers
The title has been applied to a number of historical rulers.
- Asoka (Skt: अशोक) was the son of the of Bindusara and with his peaceful ideas, conquered the whole of India. He himself was a devout Buddhist converted by his mentors the Brahmin Buddhists Radhasvami and Manjushri. He was respectful of Hinduism even practicing Hindu beliefs (as he was born a Hindu into a Hindu family and Buddhism was not yet Nastik.) He crowned himself as Devanampiya Piyadassi, Sanskrit for "He who is the beloved of the Gods who, in turn is his loving servant."
- Pushyamitra Sunga was the Hindu soldier in the Mauryan army.
Revolting against the oppression of Hindus by the later Buddhist Mauryan rulers, Pushyamitra Sunga overthrew the Mauryan Dynasty and established the Sunga Dynasty.
- Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar of the Mughal Dynasty was admired by people of all religions in his realm as and a result, the Mughal Empire expanded to its greatest heights under his rule. He himself born a Muslim and in his attempt to bring all peoples together he even founded a new religion, Din-i-Elahi, which emcompassed beliefs of all religions of India, which included Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity. Several officialls in the Mughal empire during his time were Hindus. Through his benovelence, the Indians enjoyed his rule.
(shown here in yellow)
- Shivaji Bhonsle was the son of a Maratha solder in the Mughal army. During this time, Akbar Rajah's time had passed and the Hindus were being harassed by Islamist of the Mughal empire. Temples were also being destroyed, the Jaziya was enacted, and if not payable, Hindus were executed. Many Hindus, especially from backward castes were forced to convert as they could not pay the tax. As a result, several Hindus within did not want to remain loyal to the empire and established rebellions. Shivaji created a confederacy of Marathas originally but later his confederacy included Hindus of all groups. His empire even conquered Lahore, and Kashmir but lost it to the Afghans. In the South his empire was expanded by the Peshwas. Shivaji's aim was to establish a Hindavi Swarajya (Indian Democracy) and so he was called Janata Rajah (People's King.) Apart from this title, he is also called Shivaji Maharaj. His childhood name was Shivba and a patriotic Indian group named themselves after him as the Lashkar-e-Shivba.
Mahabharata
In the Mahabharata, twelve princes beginning with Bharata are considered Chakravartins.
- Bharat was the son of the Puru Dynasty. India (Bhārat, Skt:भारत) is named after him. He was able to conquer the whole subcontinent. There are some disputes over whether Bharat conquered India or certain parts of India. Some believe that he even conquered regions outside of the Subcontinent such as Afghanistan (then referred to as Gandhara) and Tibet (then referred to as Bhuta.)
- Ikshvaku, the son of Ila of the Suryavanshi lineage after whom India was named (Ilavarta and Eelam) in Hindu mythology he is said to have conquered the world. This might have just been referring India alone as the world's ancient peoples saw the region in which their peoples live as the world itself.
- Shibi, famous in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. He sacrificed his flesh. There have been several dynasties which have claimed heritage from Emperor Shibi's line. The Cholas were one of the dynasties and they referred to him as Sembiyan.
- Imayavaramban Neduncheralathan, a Sangam age king said in inscriptions to have conquered up to the Himalayas.
Jainism
- Adinath, the 1st Tirthankar and is said to be the father of King Bharat.
- Shantinath, the 16th Tirthankar thought to have ruled the whole of India.