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The lotus, '' Nelumbo nucifera'', is an
Hindus revere it with the divinities Vishnu and Lakshmi often portrayed on a pink lotus in iconography; historically, many deities, namely Brahma, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Kubera, usually sit on a stylized lotus throne. In the representation of Vishnu as Padmanabha (Lotus navel), a lotus issues from his navel with Brahma on it. The goddess Saraswati is portrayed on a pale pink lotus. The lotus is the symbol of what is divine or immortal in humanity, and also symbolizes divine perfection. The lotus is the attribute of sun and fire gods. It symbolizes the realization of inner potential, and in Tantric and Yogic traditions, it symbolizes the potential of an individual to harness the flow of energy moving through the chakras (often depicted as wheel-like lotuses) flowering as the thousand-petaled lotus of enlightenment at the top of the skull.
Vishnu is often described as the "Lotus-Eyed One" (''Pundarikaksha''). The lotus's unfolding petals suggest the expansion of the soul. The growth of its pure beauty from the mud of its origin holds a benign spiritual promise. In Hindu iconography, other deities, like
In the Aṅguttara Nikāya, the Buddha compares himself to a lotus (''padma'' in Sanskrit, in Pali, ''paduma''), saying that the lotus flower rises from the muddy water unstained, as he rises from this world, free from the defilements taught in the specific sutta.AN 10.81, '"Bāhuna suttaṃ".AN 4.36, "Doṇa suttaṃ".
In Buddhist symbolism, the lotus represents purity of the body, speech and mind, as if floating above the murky waters of material attachment and physical desire. According to the traditional biographies, Gautama Buddha's first seven steps made lotus flowers appear. Lotus thrones are the normal pedestal for most important figures in Buddhist art, and often that of other Indian religions.
In Tibet, Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born, is considered the Second Buddha, having brought Buddhism to that country by conquering or converting local deities; he is normally depicted holding a flower. One account of his birth is that he appeared inside a lotus flower.
Chinese Manichaeism borrowed the iconography of Chinese Buddhism, frequently depicting religious figures revered in Manichaeism seated upon lotus thrones in its religious art.
The lotus, '' Nelumbo nucifera'', is an aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...
that plays a central role in the art of Indian religions
Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...
such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
In Asian art a lotus throne is a stylized lotus flower used as the seat or base for a figure. It is the normal pedestal for divine figures in Buddhist art and Hindu art, and often seen in Jain art. Originating in Indian art
Indian art consists of a variety of art forms, including painting, sculpture, pottery, and textile arts such as woven silk. Geographically, it spans the entire Indian subcontinent, including what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, N ...
, it followed Indian religions to East Asia in particular.
Hinduism
Hindus revere it with the divinities Vishnu and Lakshmi often portrayed on a pink lotus in iconography; historically, many deities, namely Brahma, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Kubera, usually sit on a stylized lotus throne. In the representation of Vishnu as Padmanabha (Lotus navel), a lotus issues from his navel with Brahma on it. The goddess Saraswati is portrayed on a pale pink lotus. The lotus is the symbol of what is divine or immortal in humanity, and also symbolizes divine perfection. The lotus is the attribute of sun and fire gods. It symbolizes the realization of inner potential, and in Tantric and Yogic traditions, it symbolizes the potential of an individual to harness the flow of energy moving through the chakras (often depicted as wheel-like lotuses) flowering as the thousand-petaled lotus of enlightenment at the top of the skull.
Vishnu is often described as the "Lotus-Eyed One" (''Pundarikaksha''). The lotus's unfolding petals suggest the expansion of the soul. The growth of its pure beauty from the mud of its origin holds a benign spiritual promise. In Hindu iconography, other deities, like Ganga
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
and Ganesha, are often depicted with lotus flowers as their seats.
The lotus plant is cited extensively within Puranic and Vedic literature, for example:
Buddhism
In the Aṅguttara Nikāya, the Buddha compares himself to a lotus (''padma'' in Sanskrit, in Pali, ''paduma''), saying that the lotus flower rises from the muddy water unstained, as he rises from this world, free from the defilements taught in the specific sutta.AN 10.81, '"Bāhuna suttaṃ".AN 4.36, "Doṇa suttaṃ".
In Buddhist symbolism, the lotus represents purity of the body, speech and mind, as if floating above the murky waters of material attachment and physical desire. According to the traditional biographies, Gautama Buddha's first seven steps made lotus flowers appear. Lotus thrones are the normal pedestal for most important figures in Buddhist art, and often that of other Indian religions.
In Tibet, Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born, is considered the Second Buddha, having brought Buddhism to that country by conquering or converting local deities; he is normally depicted holding a flower. One account of his birth is that he appeared inside a lotus flower.
Confucianism
In Chinese culture, Confucian scholar Zhou Dunyi 1017–1073) wrote (borrowing from Gautama Buddha's famous metaphor): The lotus is the emblem of Macau and appears on its flag.Jainism
The founders ( tirthankaras) of Jainism are portrayed seated or standing on lotus thrones. As his name suggests, the Jain tirthankaraPadmaprabha
Padmaprabha, also known as Padmaprabhu, was the sixth Jain Tirthankara of the present age (''Avsarpini''). According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha - a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma.
In the Jain tradition, it is bel ...
is also represented by the symbol of a lotus. Padmaprabha means 'bright as a red lotus' in Sanskrit. It is said in Śvetāmbara sources that his mother had a fancy for a couch of red lotuses – padma – while he was in her womb.
Manichaeism
Chinese Manichaeism borrowed the iconography of Chinese Buddhism, frequently depicting religious figures revered in Manichaeism seated upon lotus thrones in its religious art.
Christianity
Since the introduction of Christianity to India, the iconography of the Saint Thomas Christians has depicted the Saint Thomas Christian cross, also called the Persian cross, resting on a lotus throne, a stylised lotus flower. Likewise, following the introduction of Christianity to China by theChurch of the East
The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...
, the Nestorian cross
The Nestorian Cross is associated with the Church of the East. It is composed of a cross similar to the Maltese cross, with four arms of roughly equal length which narrow in width towards the center of the cross. In Eastern Christian art in China, ...
was frequently depicted on a lotus flower in Chinese Christian iconography.
Baháʼí Faith
The international Baháʼí Faith community adopted the symbolism of the lotus in the design of the Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India.Cultural
In the classical written and oral literature of many Asian cultures the lotus is present in figurative form, representing elegance, beauty, perfection, purity and grace, being often used in poems and songs as anallegory
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
for ideal feminine attributes. In Sanskrit the word lotus (पद्म ''padma'') has many synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
s: since the lotus thrives on water, ''ja'' (denoting birth) is added to words for water to derive synonyms for lotus, like ''rajiv'', ''ambuja'' (''ambu'' (water) + ''ja'' (born of)), ''neerja'' (''neera'' (water) + ''ja'' (born of)), ''pankaj'', ''pankaja'' (''panka''(mud) + ''ja''(born of)), ''kamal'', ''kamala'', ''kunala'', ''aravind'', ''arvind'', ''nalin'', ''nalini'' and ''saroja'' and names derived from the lotus, like ''padmavati'' (possessing lotuses) or ''padmini'' (full of lotuses). These names and derived versions are often used to name girls, and to a lesser extent boys, throughout South and Southeast Asia.
The lotus flower is the state flower of several Indian states, including Karnataka, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh. The lotus flower is the election symbol
An electoral symbol is a standardised symbol allocated to an independent candidate or political party by a country's election commission for use in election ballots.
Usage
Symbols are used by parties in their campaigning, and printed on ballot p ...
of the Bharatiya Janata Party, one of the two major political parties in India.
Symbolism
It has been considered a symbol of beauty, absolute purity, honesty, rebirth, self-regeneration, enlightenment. It was considered a supreme plant by Egyptians for its fragrant transformative scent while living its alternating existence below and above the water surface. Interestingly it also was used by them as a medium to induce altered states of consciousness and make contact with other realms of existence. Blue lotus was considered as a symbol of sun rising out of night. In Hindu philosophy lotus is regarded to be the first born of creation and a magic womb for the universe and gods. Associations of it have also been made to longevity,fertility,wealth and knowledge. Its considered a symbol of freedom from desire, material attachment while invoking purity at level of mind, speech and action by Buddhist tradition. The also connected: •The symbolism of victory of spirit over that of intelligence, knowledge and wisdom with ''Blue lotus''. •"White lotus" to symbolism of Bodhi being awakened, ascent towards mental purity and spiritual perfection. It also implies a state of spiritual maturity connect to pacification of one's nature. •"Pink lotus" is considered as Buddha's true lotus and the supreme of all.See also
*Lotus position
Lotus position or Padmasana ( sa, पद्मासन, translit=padmāsana) is a cross-legged sitting meditation pose from ancient India, in which each foot is placed on the opposite thigh. It is an ancient asana in yoga, predating hatha ...
* Ashtamangala
The Ashtamangala is a sacred suite of ''Eight Auspicious Signs'' endemic to a number of religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The symbols or "symbolic attributes" () are yidam and teaching tools. Not only do these attributes (or e ...
(Eight Auspicious Symbols)
* Om mani padme hum
' ( sa, ॐ मणि पद्मे हूँ, ) is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana ''Kāraṇ ...
- "the jewel in the lotus"
References
Further reading
* * *External links
* {{Buddhism topics Indian iconography Hindu iconography Hindu symbols Buddhist iconography Buddhist symbols Jain iconography Jain symbols Christian iconography Christian symbols Bahá'í Faith Manichaeism Confucian culture