''Paduka'' is an ancient form of footwear in India, consisting of a sole with a post and knob which is positioned between the big and second toe.
[All About Shoes – The Bata Shoe Museum](_blank)
/ref> It has been historically worn in South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. ''Paduka'' exist in a variety of forms and materials. They might be made in the shape of actual feet, or of fish, for example, and have been made of wood, ivory and silver. They may be elaborately decorated, such as when used as part of a bride's trousseau
Trousseau may refer to:
*A dowry
*The wardrobe of a bride, including the wedding dress or similar clothing
*A hope chest, glory box or its contents
*Trousseau (grape), a wine grape also known as Bastardo
** Trousseau Gris, a white mutation of the ...
, but could also be given as religious offerings or themselves be the object of veneration.
Although simple wooden ''padukas'' could be worn by common people, ''padukas'' of fine teak, ebony and sandalwood, inlaid with ivory or wire, were a mark of the wearer's high status. In the modern world, ''padukas'' are worn as footwear by mendicants and saints of Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
, Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,and Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...
. Its significance in Hinduism is linked to the epic ''Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
''. ''Paduka'' can also refer to the footprints of deities and saints that are venerated in symbolic form in houses and purpose-built temples. One such temple is the Vishnupad Mandir
Vishnupad Temple ( sa, विष्णुपद मंदिर, ; ) is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu in Gaya, Bihar, India, located on the banks of Phalgu river. The temple is believed to be built upon the site where Vishnu ...
in Gaya, India
Gaya ( IAST: ) is a city, municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Gaya district and Magadh division of the Indian state of Bihar. Gaya is south of Patna and is the state's second-largest city, with a population of 470,839 ...
. Similarly, Buddha footprint
Buddha's footprints ( sa, Buddhapada) are Buddhist icons shaped like an imprint of Gautama Buddha's foot or both feet. There are two forms: natural, as found in stone or rock, and those made artificially. Many of the "natural" ones are acknowled ...
s are worshipped under the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya.
''Paduka'' are the royal symbol in Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. ''Seri Paduka'' denotes "His Majesty", which is a title bestowed as an honour of recognition to dignitaries of the Malaysian court.
Etymology
The Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word ''pāduka'' is derivative of ''pāda'' meaning 'foot'. This terminology was coined to define India's ancient archetypal footwear.[
]
Legends
The word ''pada'' ('foot') is cited in the ancient Hindu scripture ''Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
'' as representing the universe, namely the Prithvi
Prithvi or Prithvi Mata (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, ', also पृथिवी, ', "the Vast One") is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of a devi (goddess) in Hinduism and some branches of Buddhism. In the Vedas, her conso ...
(earth), Vayu
Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the ''Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...
(air), Akash
Akasha or Akash (Sanskrit ' ) means space or sky or æther in traditional Indian cosmology, depending on the religion. The term has also been adopted in Western occultism and spiritualism in the late 19th century. In many modern Indo-Aryan la ...
(sky) and the element of the realm beyond the sky.[
In the Hindu epic '']Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'', the cursed King Dasaratha
Dasharatha (Sanskrit: दशरथ, IAST: Daśaratha; born Nemi) was the king of the Kosala kingdom and a scion of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism. He ruled from this capital at Ayodhya. Dasharatha was the son of Aja and Indumati. He had ...
sent his son Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
(an incarnation of god Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
) into exile for 14 years at the behest of his wife Kaikeyi
Kaikeyi (Sanskrit: कैकेयी, IAST: Kaikeyī) is the second consort of King Dasharatha, and a queen of Ayodhya in the Hindu epic Ramayana.
Out of Dasharatha's three wives, Kaikeyi exerts the most influence. Formerly the princess of Kek ...
(stepmother of Rama), who wanted her son Bharata to be crowned in Rama's place. However, Bharata did not wish to have the kingdom, and visited Rama in exile, beseeching him to return to Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...
. When Rama replied that he would return only after completing his exile, Bharata requested Rama's ''paduka'' to serve as his proxy, to be crowned and to serve as an object of veneration for Rama's followers. Bharata carried Rama's golden ''padukas'' with great reverence by placing them on his head as a mark of his obedience to his elder brother. Bharata ruled Kosala
The Kingdom of Kosala (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian kingdom with a rich culture, corresponding to the area within the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh to Western Odisha. It emerged as a janapada, small state during the late Ve ...
as Rama's proxy in the name of "Ram's Padukas".[
]
Construction
The footwear is basically a sandal, which has generally a wooden sole with a post and a stub to provide grip between the big and second toes. It does not have straps of any kind to adhere the sole to the foot, so the wearer has to actively grip the post between the two toes to keep the sandal in place while walking.
It is also known as ''khadau'', ''karrow'', ''kharawan'' and ''karom'', and used in the Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
mostly by mendicants, saints and commoners.[ Made in the shape of the footprints, with two narrow and curved stilts, the design is specific to ensure that the principle of non-violence – practised by the saintly followers of Hindu and Jain religions – is not violated by accidental trampling of insects and vegetation. The Brahmins wearing such a ''paduka'' may be heard praying: "Forgive me Mother Earth the sin of injury, the violence I do, by placing my feet upon you this morning."]
''Padukas'' made of ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
were in popular use among royalty and saints. Hindu religious ethos requires that the ivory be taken from elephants which died naturally or harvested from domesticated elephants, in a manner which avoids cruelty. People of high societal status wear ''padukas'' made of fine teak
Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...
, ebony
Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...
and sandalwood
Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...
and inlaid with ivory or wire. They are also made in the shape of fish as a symbol of fertility.
Other forms of ''padukas'' worn on special occasions may be incised with silver or of wood covered with silver plates and sometimes adorned with bells to sound upon walking. Bronze and brass ''padukas'' may be worn for ritual and ceremonial use.
A unique pair of wooden ''padukas'' have their toe knobs inlaid with ivory lotus flowers and are minutely painted. At each step, a trigger mechanism in the sole signals the lotus to open from bud to blossom. They are also made in the shape of an hourglass or with carved toes.
Eighteenth-century footwear used as ritual wear made of "wood with bed of sharp iron spikes" has been found. It is inferred that it was meant to be used to inflict pain to the wearer to demonstrate his conviction in religious forbearance of pain.[
]
Veneration
''Paduka'' is often gifted as part of a bride's dowry. They are worshipped and given as votive offerings by faithful believers.[
In a festival associated with the Hindu god ]Vithoba
Vithoba, also known as Vi(t)thal(a) and Panduranga, is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian state of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is generally considered as a manifestation of the god Vishnu, or his avatar Krishna. Vithoba is ...
, pilgrims travel to his Pandharpur temple from Alandi
Alandi (Marathi pronunciation: ːɭən̪d̪iː is a town and a municipal council in the Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The town is popular as a place of pilgrimage and the resting place of the 8th century Marathi saint ...
and Dehu
Dehu is a neighbourhood in the city of Pune, India. It is known for being the abode of Sant Tukaram.
The Tukaram Palakhi heading towards the town of Pandharpur originates from Dehu in the month of ''Ashadh.''
Demographics
India census, Dehu h ...
towns that are closely associated with poet-saints Dnyaneshwar
Sant Dnyaneshwar (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ɲaːn̪eʃʋəɾ, also referred to as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli or Dnyaneshwar Vitthal Kulkarni (1275–1296), was a 13th-century Indian Marathi saint, poet, philosopher and yogi of ...
and Tukaram
Sant Tukaram Maharaj (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ukaːɾam was a 17th-century Marathi poet, Hindu ''sant'' (saint), popularly known as Tuka, Tukobaraya, Tukoba in Maharashtra. He was a Sant of Varkari sampradaya (Marathi-Vaishnav tradition) ...
(respectively), carrying the ''padukas'' of the saints in a silver palkhi
The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...
(palanquin).
A popular religious belief is of the contact (''sparsh'') with the salabhanjika
A salabhanjika or shalabhanjika is a term found in Indian art and literature with a variety of meanings. In Buddhist art, it means an image of a woman or yakshi next to, often holding, a tree, or a reference to Maya near the ''sala'' tree giving ...
sculpture yakshini
''Yakshinis'' or ''yakshis'' (यक्षिणी sa, yakṣiṇī or ''yakṣī''; pi, yakkhiṇī or ''yakkhī'') are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from devas and ...
's foot. It is said that when the yakshini encircles a dormant tree with her leg around it, it starts to blossom and bear fruit. Shalabhanjika yakshi is also an embellishment in the form of an architectural bracket in many Hindu temples.[
Another notable feature of veneration is of the goddess ]Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...
, the goddess of prosperity. On Deepavali
Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali (IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is on ...
festival day, Lakshmi is devotionally ushered into the house through symbolic representation with a series of her footprints (''paduka'') drawn in paint or kolam
Kolam (,, ), also known as Muggu () or Tharai Aalangaram () Rangoli () is a form of traditional decorative art that is drawn by using rice flour as per age-old conventions. It is also drawn using white stone powder, chalk or chalk powder, often ...
and lit with oil lamps, from the main door to the private sanctum. This is done with the wish that good fortune shall be bestowed by her upon the householders.[
Below the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya where Buddha received enlightenment, there is a vacant throne that is adorned with the foot prints on a foot rest of the Buddha. This place is deeply venerated.][
]
Vishnupad temple
Vishnupada Mandir is said to enshrine the footprints of Vishnu. This footprint denotes the act of Vishnu subduing Gayasur by placing his foot on Gayasur's chest. Inside the temple, the footprint is imprinted in solid rock and surrounded by a silver-plated octagonal enclosure. The temple is in height and has 8 rows of elegantly carved pillars that support the pavilion
In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings:
* It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
. Within the temple precincts, the banyan tree called the ' Akshayabat' is located where the final rituals for the dead takes place.
Paduka Sahasram
''Paduka Sahasram'' (literally meaning "1,000 verses on the padukas of the Lord") is devotional poetry extolling the virtues of worshipping the ''paduka'' (feet) of Vishnu, enshrined in Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam
Srirangam, is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first amon ...
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
. It is considered a sacred script of the Sri Sampradaya or Sri Vaishnavism
Sri Vaishnavism, or the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya, is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who ...
. The Sahasram was composed in 1,008 verses in 32 chapters by Swami Vedantha Desika, a follower of the Vishishtadvaita
Vishishtadvaita (IAST '; sa, विशिष्टाद्वैत) is one of the most popular schools of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. Vedanta literally means the in depth meaning ''of the Vedas.'' ''Vishisht Advaita'' (literall ...
philosophy. It is also said that Desika composed this as a challenge to his rival group of Tengalai Iyengars (who belonged to the southern school of the Srivaishnava philosophy) in one-quarter of a night. The eulogy of the Lord's Paduka centres around Rama's ''paduka'', which ruled the kingdom of Ayodhya for 14 years. Desika propounds that it was due to the special relationship that people of Ayodhya had with Rama's ''paduka'' that they attained salvation in life.
Guru Paduka Sthothram
Adi Shankaracharya
Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...
has also written nine devotional verses under the title "Guru Paduka Sthothram" as salutations to his guru (the Lord). An English translation of the first verse is:
Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,
Which is a boat, which helps me, cross the endless ocean of life,
Which endows me, with the sense of devotion to my Guru,
And by worship of which, I attain the dominion of renunciation.
Satchidananda Utsav
Satchidananda Utsav (celebration of truth, consciousness and bliss) is organised by Sadguru Shree Aniruddha Upasana Trust (Mumbai, India) and celebrated every year on the second Saturday of Margashirsha (the ninth month of the Hindu calendar). It is usually performed for two to five consecutive days. The holy ''padukas'' worshipped during the celebration are prepared from the paper pulp of Ram Naam books issued by Aniruddha's Universal Bank of Ram Naam and written by thousands of devotees across the world.
Gallery
File:Indian paduka in fish shape, South Bengal - Bata Shoe Museum - DSC00168.JPG, ''Paduka'' at exhibit in the Bata Shoe Museum
File:Indian paduka that sprays lotus water from its toe-knobs, undated - Bata Shoe Museum - DSC00171.JPG, Exhibit in the Bata Shoe Museum
File:Indian paduka, Jaipur, 18th century AD - Bata Shoe Museum - DSC00046.JPG, Silver ''paduka'', Bata Shoe Museum
File:Paduka - India.jpg, Silver ''paduka'', Bata Shoe Museum
See also
*Upanah Upanah (Sanskrit) is an ancient form of footwear from India. The term is used to refer to several types of strapped sandals and shoes employed by common people, in contrast to monks and mendicants who would use ''paduka'' instead. The word comes fr ...
*Sandal
Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can some ...
*Chappal
Flip-flops are a type of light sandal, typically worn as a form of casual footwear. They consist of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap known as a toe thong that passes between the first and second toes and around both side ...
References
External links
All about shoes: Padukas
{{footwear
Clogs (shoes)
Indian footwear
Hindu symbols