Siddham Double-Ring Section Mark

It closes a section or other unit in Siddham writing. The double-ring mark belongs to a punctuation family used after sentences, phrases, verses, and sections. In some Shingon explanations, Siddham section marks are linked to an abbreviated Sanskrit syllable, aṃ; that is a ritual interpretation, not a literal reading of the rings.

These marks developed as a family, rather than appearing as an isolated sign. A Siddham manual copied at Ninna-ji, a Buddhist temple in Japan, is recorded in 1151. The exact form appears as Mark-6 in Jōgon’s 1682 Shittan Sanmitsushō, a manual on Siddham and Buddhist ritual. As of 2026, its first manuscript appearance remains unidentified.

What does it signal in Buddhist writing?

It belongs to Siddham notation and some Buddhist ritual settings. Siddham is a script used to write Sanskrit Buddhist texts. It traveled with those texts across India, China, Japan, and Korea. In Japan, Shingon and Tendai are Buddhist traditions that preserve Siddham in ritual settings. Some Shingon interpretations say the marks indicate something about the preceding mantra (a sacred formula) or dhāraṇī (a longer Buddhist recitation), and link them to an abbreviated Sanskrit syllable, aṃ.

Why might the double ring show as a box?

The font may lack Siddham characters or shaping support. This is a text character, so its display depends on the app’s font and its ability to shape Siddham text. A box or blank means the device cannot render it; it does not signal another meaning.