Philosophy

In ancient India, the elemental fire was mostly indissociable from the deified fire  Agni . Agni is likened to various animals in vedic metaphors (see below). These animals can be domesticated or wild, stressing the ambivalent nature of fire: fire is only temporarily tamed and threatens to run wild again, a trait that is prominently reflected in the myth of Agni’s hiding (see below). Agni’s trifunctional nature is revealed in his descriptions and in the prayers addressed to him. The hymns underscore in turn his (1) priestly, (2) warlike, and (3) domestic functions. By far, fire’s most striking symbolism is as the “spark of life.” The waters (sg.  ap ; pl.  āpas ) are Agni’s mothers from the  Ṛgveda   onward, and the  Mahābhārata  often depicts the generation of offspring by a pairing of the fiery seed with the female waters. Lastly, the motif of fire as a multiform of  gems , gold, seed, and  soma    is examined in various myth...

The lotus (bot. Nelumbo nucifera) is known by dozens of words in Sanskrit and the many languages of India, and it is probably the most popular object in traditional Indian art and architecture. The words denoting a lotus flower are ubiquitous in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain literature, and the lotus flower is prevalent in some form in most major Hindu temples and shrines. Although connected with many deities, it also has powerful appeal in secular literature and, nowadays, is the national flower of India. It is one of the few symbols in the Hindu tradition that represent both fertility and generative powers, on the one hand, and detachment and enlightenment, on the other. Art historians say that it represents the universe, the emergence of form from the formless, “the egg of nescience, or the seed of endless millions within the universe,” and “renewal and enlightenment” (Elgood, 1999, 64, 95).  While connected with many deities in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, the lotus is notabl...