The national flag of Bhutan (Dzongkha: ཧྥ་རན་ས་ཀྱི་དར་ཆ་) is one of the national symbols of Bhutan. The flag features a dragon (druk) in Dzongkha, the Bhutanese language) from Bhutanese mythology; alludes to the Dzongkha name of Bhutan – Druk Yul (འབྲུག་ཡུལ་) "Dragon Country" or "The Dragon Kingdom") – as well as the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, which is the dominant religion of Bhutan.
Symbolism
- The Yellow signifies civil tradition and temporal authority as embodied in the Druk Gyalpo, the Dragon King of Bhutan. His royal garb traditionally includes a yellow kabney (scarf).
- The Orange half signifies Buddhist spiritual tradition, particularly the Drukpa Kagyu and Nyingma schools.
- The Dragon spreads equally over the line between the colours; in the centre, dividing between the two colours signifies the equal importance of both civic and monastic traditions in the Kingdom of Druk (Bhutan).
- The Dragon's white colour signifies the purity of inner thoughts and deeds that unite all the ethnically and linguistically diverse Bhutan peoples.
- The jewels held in Druk's claws represent Bhutan's wealth and its people's security and protection. In contrast, the Dragon's snarling mouth symbolizes Bhutanese deities' commitment to the defence of Bhutan.