noun
mandala
In Buddhism, a diagrammatic representation of the universe, used as an object of meditation. The word is usually written in kana in modern Japanese.
チベット仏教の僧侶が色砂で曼荼羅を描いた。
A Tibetan Buddhist monk drew a mandala with colored sand.
曼荼羅は宇
A mandala is said to represent the truth of the universe.
Katakana spelling is common in everyday use, as the word is usually written in kana.
Variant kanji form; less common than 曼荼羅.
Hiragana spelling; also common due to the usually-kana status.
From Sanskrit मण्डल (maṇḍala, 'circle, disk'). The kanji 曼荼羅 are ateji (phonetic equivalents) for the Sanskrit term.