What flower is the national symbol of India?

Which flower is a symbol of India? What does it symbolize? Myths and beliefs about the lotus.

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The national symbol of India is a lotus flower. You are unlikely to see lotuses on the dirty streets of Indian cities. However, the culture of India is truly deep and unusual for us. Despite the surrounding chaos and poverty, people in India cherish sparkles of heat in the heart, appreciate beauty and carry flowers to their temples. The people of India themselves are somewhat similar to a lotus-a flower that grows in dirty water, but remains clean and beautiful.

Lotus in the culture of India

It is known that 80% of the inhabitants of India profess Hinduism, and this country is considered the birthplace of Buddhism. Both of these religions have mentions of lotus flowers. The supreme gods and goddesses are even portrayed with a lotus in their hands or soaring over his petals.

Brahma is one of the triad of the supreme gods in Hinduism. It is believed that he created a caste from his body, of which there are now four in the country, plus the fifth lower caste of “untouchables”. The inhabitants of India to this day cannot move from lower to higher castes, and belonging to a certain group is determined by the status of parents.

Ganesha is the god of reason, prosperity and prosperity. It is portrayed with the head of an elephant and one broken tusk. According to legend, Ganesha threw his tusk into a giant, who personified fussiness and impudence, and then he turned into a rat. It is believed that only a pure person is able to discern in Ganesha with his heavy body and elephant head a true deity.

For the inexorable goddess Kali Lotus is not an obligatory attribute. She destroys ignorance, helps to gain freedom to the suffering and maintains the world order. Its symbol is complete darkness. No one probably knows how many deities in Hinduism certainly, there are thousands of them.

It is also interesting that Hinduism has common roots with our Vedic culture and faith in the Slavs in pre -Christian times. For example, the image of Krishna echoes the image of the Slavic God, whose name was the roof, and God Vishnu has much in common with God.

As for the lotuses, they are few in Russia, more often you can meet their relatives - water lilies. And surprisingly, our ancestors believed that these flowers are endowed with powerful magical properties. The forgotten folk name of the water lily is the overcome of the grass. It was believed that the water lilie can be a security amulet, helps to destroy the enemies, but it can also destroy the one who is looking for it with dishonest thoughts.

Lotus Temple in India

The Lotus Temple, despite the fact that it is located in India, was built not by Hindus, but by representatives of another religion, which is called Bahai, which we are called.

Bahai is a relatively young religion originated at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries, and its main task is to unite all religious denominations, since all people on earth, in fact, believe in the same God. Bahai also had his own messenger of God on the earth of Bahaulla, who was a real person.

In the Lotus Temple 9 inputs that lead to the common inner hall, which symbolizes the unity of religions. The Bakhai temple is lined with white marble brought from Greece.

You can argue about religions, but the building of the Lotus Temple, undoubtedly, has become one of the main attractions of India, and its capital New Delhi. This is a very popular tourist place.

Lotus as a food product

Interesting: lotuses are not only beautiful, but also very tasty. Seeds from a box located in the middle of the inflorescence are eaten for food. They taste sweet. All other parts of the plant are also suitable for food.

Lotus earned the love of the inhabitants of India, not only with its grace, but also thanks to its gastronomic qualities. Lotuses for the Indians have traditionally been both food and medicine.

The fruits of lotus, designed for eating, can be seen on the streets of Asian cities.
In order to harvest, you have to work hard: the lotus is usually harvested, standing waist -deep in water.
In India, over the past three centuries, hunger has carried away the lives of more than 60 million people. The latest cases of mass hunger date back to 1943 and 1966. Therefore, in addition to the aesthetic role, lotuses play an important role of the food product that grows in the wild and is able to saturate.

Lotuses in the artistic epic of different nations

Another lotus name is Chilim. According to Greek myth, a beautiful nymph fell in love with Hercules. But her love remained unrequited, she died from longing and turned into a beautiful white water lily.
In Russian folklore, swamps are considered to be dead places in which all evil spirits are simply teeming. There is a beautiful legend that says that the mermaids that lure and drown travelers at night turn into water lilies during the day (flowers similar to the Indian lotus).

The ancient Egyptians had a legend that the sun rises every morning from the petals of the Eastern lotus and also hides in the petals of this flower in the evening. The reason for the appearance of this belief was probably that the lotuses open their petals with the first sunlight and close them at sunset.