Endless knot

Not to be confused with The Endless Not or Gordian Knot.

"The Eternal Knot" redirects here. For the 2001 classical album, see Adiemus (albums) § Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot.

The endless knot or eternal knot is a symbolic knot and one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols. It is an important symbol in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. It is an important cultural marker in places significantly influenced by Tibetan Buddhism such as Tibet, Mongolia, Tuva, Kalmykia, and Buryatia. It is also found in Celtic, Kazakh and Chinese symbolism.

Endless knot
A common form of the endless knot
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	盤長結
Simplified Chinese	盘长结
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin pánzhǎng jié
Tibetan name
Tibetan	དཔལ་བེའུ།
Transcriptions Wylie dpal be'u
Mongolian name
Mongolian Cyrillic	түмэн өлзий
Japanese name
Kyūjitai	終わりのない結び目
Transcriptions Romanization owari no nai musubime
Sanskrit name
Sanskrit	śrīvatsa

More decorative form of the endless knot

More complex form of the endless knot seen on a c. 400-year-old Chinese lacquerware dish

Endless knot in a Burmese Pali manuscript

History

The endless knot appears on clay tablets from the Indus Valley civilization (2500 BC)^[1] and on a historic era inscription.^[2] While associated with Dharmic religions, it also appears in Islamic art.^[3][4] It likely was introduced due to trade and other cultural contact with China, the Mongols, and Iran.^[5]

Interpretations

Buddhism

Various Buddhist interpretations of the symbol are:

• The endless knot iconography symbolised Samsara i.e., the endless cycle of suffering of birth, death and rebirth within Tibetan Buddhism.
• The inter-twining of wisdom and compassion.
• Interplay and interaction of the opposing forces in the dualistic world of manifestation, leading to their union, and ultimately to harmony in the universe.
• The mutual dependence of religious doctrine and secular affairs.
• The union of wisdom and method.
• The inseparability of emptiness (shunyata) and dependent origination, the underlying reality of existence.
• The link between ancestors and omnipresence represented by the etymology of Tantra, Yoga and religion) (see Namkha.)
• The wisdom of the Buddha as neither are said to have a beginning or end.

Hinduism

In Hinduism, Srivatsa is mentioned as 'connected to shree', i.e the goddess Lakshmi. It is a mark on the chest of Vishnu where his consort Lakshmi resides. According to the Vishnu purana, the tenth avatar of Vishnu, Kalki, will bear the Shrivatsa mark on his chest. It is one of the names of Vishnu in the Vishnu Sahasranamam. Srivatsa is considered to be auspicious symbol in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Jainism

In Jainism it is one of the eight auspicious items, an asthamangala, however found only in the Svetambara sect. It is often found marking the chests of the 24 tirthankaras. It is more commonly referred to as the Shrivatsa.

Logo

A stylized version of the endless knot is the logo of China Unicom.

See also

• 7₄ knot
• Celtic knot
• Chinese knotting
• Eternal return
• Indra's net
• Islamic interlace patterns
• Mandala
• Möbius strip
• Namkha
• Oseberg style
• Ouroboros
• Pan Chang knot
• Solomon's knot
• Trefoil knot
• Triquetra
• Valknut
• Yin and yang