The dhammachakka (fig.) or ‘wheel of law’ symbolizes the Buddha's very first public discourse on his doctrine given to five ascetics in a deer park. In iconography, this is either represented by the presence of his five disciples called panjawakkie (fig.).

Alternatively, this scene is represented by five pedestals, as here at Phra Phutta Monthon, a large Buddhist compound in Nakhon Pathom province (fig.), which is shaped like a giant mandala (fig.) and contains several granite lotus pedestals (fig.), representing the four most important stages in the Buddha's life, namely his birth (fig.), his Enlightenment (fig.), his first discourse (seen here), and his demise (fig.).

See also EXPLORER'S MAP, POSTAGE STAMPS and THEMATIC STREET LIGHT (1) and (2).