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.
A Tibetan Buddhist monk drew a mandala with colored sand.
A mandala is said to represent the truth of the universe.
great mandala; mandala depicting each deity
dharma mandala; seed-syllable mandala
four types of mandala (Shingon Buddhism)
karma mandala; three-dimensional mandala with deity sculptures
samaya mandala
Standard kanji spelling; used in news and formal contexts.
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.