The jewelled parasol (Sanskrit: chatraratna; Tibetan: རིན་ཆེན་གདུགས་, THL: rinchenduk]), which is similar in ritual function to the baldachin or canopy: represents the protection of beings from harmful forces and illness. It represents the canopy or firmament of the sky and therefore the expansiveness and unfolding of space and the element æther. It represents the expansiveness, unfolding and protective quality of the sahasrara: all take refuge in the dharma under the auspiciousness of the parasol.
