Bhutan's national flag features a large dragon called the Druk. What does the dragon hold in each of its four claws?
- a jewel, symbolising wealth and prosperity
- a sword, symbolising the king's authority
- a lotus flower, symbolising purity
- a thunderbolt, symbolising the country's name ("Land of the Thunder Dragon")
Why A? And why not the others?
Correct answer: A. a jewel, symbolising wealth and prosperity
The white Druk (Thunder Dragon) at the centre of Bhutan's flag grips a jewel in each of its four claws, a standard element of the design meant to represent the wealth and security of the Bhutanese people, while the dragon's snarling expression represents the strength of the male and female deities protecting the country. The flag is divided diagonally into a golden-yellow upper triangle, representing the king's secular authority, and an orange-red lower triangle, representing Buddhist spiritual tradition. Bhutan is unusual in being the only country whose national flag depicts a dragon at all, so no other nation's flag offers a comparable design to confuse this with. The sword, lotus flower, and thunderbolt are all plausible-sounding Bhutanese or Buddhist symbols, but none of them is what the dragon is actually shown clutching.
Source: Britannica: flag of Bhutan; corroborated by the Royal Government of Bhutan's description of national symbols