A flag built from two pennants
Nepal’s national flag keeps the shape of two triangular pennants joined vertically, rather than stretching the design into a rectangle. A pennant is a flag that narrows to a point; here, one triangle sits above the other, with a blue border outlining both. The result is a distinctive silhouette that remains recognizable even when the flag is seen from a distance.
The shape carries meaning
The paired pennants are commonly understood as representing the Himalayas and Nepal’s Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The flag’s symbols add another layer: a moon appears in the upper pennant and a sun in the lower one. Together, these details make the flag’s outline part of its message, not just a way of framing its emblems.
A design specified for reproduction
Nepal’s constitution includes instructions for constructing the flag, including its proportions and the placement of its symbols. That matters because a pair of pointed shapes is less straightforward to reproduce consistently than a rectangle: the angles, borders, and joining edge all need to line up. The design preserves the old pennant form while giving it a precise, standardized layout—so Nepal’s flag can be identified not only by what it depicts, but by the shape of the sky around it.
