Bodhisattas are born with 32 special marks as a result of past merit they have done over many aeons. Each mark indicates a benefit he will have as a fully enlightened Buddha. You can learn more about this in the Lakkhaṇa Sutta.
| Mark | Pali Name | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Level soles for His feet | Suppatiṭṭhitapādo |
| 2 | He has wheel impressions on the soles of His feet | Pādatalesu cakkalakkhaṇaṁ |
| 3 | He has long heels | Āyatapaṇhi |
| 4 | He has long fingers & toes | Dīghaṅguli |
| 5 | His body is as upright as a Brahma | Brahmujjugatto |
| 6 | Well-built muscles in 7 places (hands, legs, shoulders & chest) | Sattussado |
| 7 | He has soft & tender hands & legs | Mudutaluṇahatthapādo |
| 8 | He has flexible hands & legs | Jālahatthapādo |
| 9 | He has high raised ankles | Ussaṅkhapādo |
| 10 | He has upright body hairs which are curled clockwise | Uddhaggalomo |
| 11 | He has prominent & elegant calves like those of an antelope | Eṇijaṅgho |
| 12 | He has skin so delicate that dust & dirt do not stick to the body | Sukhumacchavī sukhumattā chaviyā rajojallaṁ kāye na upalimpati |
| 13 | He has golden skin | Suvaṇṇavaṇṇo kañcanasannibhattaco |
| 14 | The male organ is placed as if enclosed in a sheath | Kosohita vatthaguyho |
| 15 | He has an equally proportioned body like a Banyan Tree | Nigrodhaparimaṇḍalo |
| 16 | When standing upright & not bending over, He can touch His knees with both hands | Ṭhitakova anonamanto ubhohi pāṇitalehi jaṇṇukāni parimasati parimajjati |
| 17 | He has a majestic frontal body like that of a lion | Sīhapubbaddhakāyo |
| 18 | He has a muscular back | Citantaraṁso |
| 19 | He has an evenly rounded torso | Samavaṭṭakkhandho |
| 20 | He has taste buds with an excelled sense of taste that stands upright & whatever he eats, the taste is dispersed evenly | Rasaggasaggī uddhaggāssa rasaharaṇīyo gīvāya jātā honti |
| 21 | He has pleasant deep blue eyes | Abhinīlanetto |
| 22 | He has eyelashes like that of a newborn calf | Gopakhumo |
| 23 | He has a well-shaped head & forehead | Uṇhīsasīso |
| 24 | He has only one body hair per pore | Ekekalomo |
| 25 | Between his eyebrows, grows a tuft, soft & white like cotton-wool | Uṇṇā ca bhamukantare jātā hoti odātā mudutūlasannibhā |
| 26 | He has forty teeth (20 above & 20 below) | Cattālīya danto |
| 27 | He has gapless teeth | Aviraḷa danto |
| 28 | He has a long & wide tongue | Pahūtajivho |
| 29 | He has a Brahma-like voice, like the bird Karavīka’s call | Brahmassaro karavīkabhāṇī |
| 30 | He has a strong lion-like jaw | Sīhahanu |
| 31 | He has white teeth | Susukkadāṭho |
| 32 | He has even teeth | Sama danto |
