Navaratna

Navaratna (Sanskrit: नवरत्न) is a Sanskrit compound word meaning "nine gems". Jewellery created in this style has important cultural significance in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, among other religions.

The ancient origin of the Nine Gems—called Navaratna in Sanskrit, Hindi, Kannada, Burmese, Indonesian, and Nepali, Navarathinam in Tamil, Navarathnalu in Telugu, Navarathnam in Malayalam, Navaratna in Singhalese, Nawaratna in Malay, and Nawarat or Noppharat in Thai—has proved impossible to trace. Yet such importance is given to this combination of nine gems that they are recognised as sacred and royal in almost all the countries of Asia, including, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, regardless of religious and cultural differences.