Foucher also accounted for the origins of the aniconic symbols themselves in small souvenirs carried away from the main pilgrimage sites and so becoming recognised and popularized as symbolic of the events associated with the site. Other explanations were that it was inappropriate to represent one who had attained nirvana.
Foucher also explained the origins of the iconophobic symbols in small trinkets taken from main pilgrimage sites, which eventually gained recognition and popularity as symbols of the events connected to those sites. Other explanations suggested that it was unacceptable to depict someone who had achieved nirvana.