Overview
In ancient Indian cosmology, a being who has accumulated unimaginable kammic merit over countless lifetimes is reborn with specific physical characteristics known as the Marks of a Great Man (Mahāpurisalakkhaṇa). According to orthodox Theravāda tradition, a being bearing these marks has only two possible destinies: becoming a Wheel-Turning Monarch (Cakkavatti) or a Fully Awakened Buddha.
The List
(Selected prominent marks from the full list of 32)
- Suppatiṭṭhitapādo - He has feet with level tread.
- Heṭṭhā pādatalesu cakkāni jātāni - On the soles of his feet are wheels with a thousand spokes.
- Dīghaṅguli - He has long fingers and toes.
- Mudu-taluna-hattha-pādo - He has soft and tender hands and feet.
- Suvaṇṇavaṇṇo - His complexion is like gold.
- Sattussado - His body is filled out in seven places (hands, feet, shoulders, trunk).
- Pahūtajivho - He has a large, long tongue.
- Brahmassaro - He has a voice like the Brahma god, clear and resonant like a karavīka bird.
- Uṇṇā bhamukantare jātā - He has a tuft of hair between his eyebrows, white like cotton.
- Uṇhīsasīso - His head is shaped like a royal turban (the uṇhīsa). (See canonical texts for the complete anatomical list).