Serpent Symbolism in India Culture Animals and their symbolism have historical influence on the cultures and religions of India. There are many religions practiced in India, but those most prominent are Buddhism and Hinduism. Each incorporate animal symbolism through art, rituals, and religious texts. I have observed that of all animals revered as sacred, there is one animal that holds mysterious power, the serpent. This led me to the question: “What is the symbolic importance of serpents in Buddhism and Hinduism?” For the purposes of this paper, I will explore three aspects of serpent symbolism that shed light on its importance in Indian culture. To grasp the symbolic importance, one must consider that in lieu of poisonous snakebites, …show more content…
According to old myths, Garuda is the son of Vinata, daughter of the Prajapati Daksha and Kashyapa, an ancient sage. Vinata was married to Kashyapa along with her 13 sisters, one of whom is Kadru, the mother of one thousand snakes. Garuda is most often depicted by having a human face but with an eagle beak, a strong human body and great wings. He hatched from an egg after a 500 year incubation where “he gave off such an immense luminosity that the gods mistook him for Agni, God of Fire.”(Beer 65.) There are many different origin stories behind the great enmity between birds and serpents especially in Hindu and Buddhist mythology, I will summarize the differences here. It is told throughout that Garuda’s mother Vinata and her sister Kadru had a bet and that the one who lost would become the others’ prisoner. When Kadru won the bet, fixed of course by her children, being the one thousand snakes, Kadru took away Vinata to her subterranean realm, Patala. When Garuda heard of his mothers’ disappearance, he goes to rescue her only to find snakes guarding her. For his mothers’ ransom, Garuda agrees to get amrita, the elixir of immortality, from the gods. Garuda goes on a long quest to retrieve the nectar and give it to the snakes. Once back in Patala, Indra learned of Garuda’s deal and took back the amrita, though a few drops spilled and the greedy snakes licked it up causing …show more content…
Nagas are believed to possess many powers and are said to be responsible for the weather, causing droughts and floods by releasing the rain. It is popularly believed that if you appease a snake they will be benevolent however, if you pollute or threaten their environment they will inflict disease or cause natural disasters. Many even today still believe that snakes or nagas will cause damage to the community if they are threatened, one such example is from an account told by Beer. “In 1974 a new ring road was being built around Kathmandu city. At the foot of Swayambhu hill, just outside the city and within the ring road perimeter, there was a swift stream where everyone would wash their clothes , myself included. On the far bank of this stream two large snakes, about seven feet long, could regularly be seen basking in the sun. One day, as the road construction neared Swayambhu, these two snakes disappeared. The local people were extremely upset, believing that these nagas had left, some dreadful calamity would soon occur. A few weeks later the stream began to dry up, doubtlessly due to some water diversion caused by the ring road construction. Whether viewed superstitiously or scientifically, the outcome was the same; it is all a question of belief.”(Beer 70.) This small excerpt reminded me of an anthropologist named Marvin Harris who
Douglas, Frederic. “Symbolism in Indian Art and the Difficulties of its Interpretation.” Denver: Denver Art Museum,1934.
Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’ rotates around the notion of our vision as humans being limited, and only being exposed to a certain extent of knowledge within our surroundings. The Allegory of the Cave presented a rare case where prisoners were trapped in a cave for all their lives with hands, neck and feet bound to look at a wall with shadows beings casted by a fire that lies behind them. Once a prisoner breaks free of the binds, his curiosity allows him to follow the light that then exposes him to the real world where he is blinded by the sun. Each of the elements in the allegory are symbols that can be related to modern day situations as metaphors. Though society has evolved drastically, many struggles that we face today resemble the allegory.
Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat” is about the empowerment of Delia, the main character, as she tries to find herself and overcome her husband’s abusive strong hold. Throughout the story snakes are fervently discussed symbolizing evil and malevolence. Delia is petrified of snakes and her husband uses this to his advantage. Thus the snake in “Sweat” makes biblical references to The Garden of Eden and the Forbidden Fruit and the evil that can be so tempting. Just as Sykes uses the snake in “Sweat” to scare Delia and become powerful, in some way, Satan entered into the body of the serpent to tempt Adam and Eve.The serpent was the instrument the Devil used to do his bidding. At first Delia loathes the idea of even being in the same room
Wikipedia contributors. "Serpent (symbolism)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Apr. 2014. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
In the Film Pan’s Labyrinth, the main character Ofelia goes through a journey in her self created fantasy world that not only runs parallel to the hardships she faces in the real world at home with her new stepfather, Captain Vidal, but also is very metaphoric in relation to the resistance to fascism itself that was taking place in actuality in 1940’s Spain under the rule of Francisco Franco. Ofelia’s journey through the Labyrinth showcases the two main choice that come about when faced with overwhelming odds, just like members of fascist countries that tried to resist against the ruling powers. People living
Joines, Karen Randolph. Serpent Symbolism in the Old Testament: A Linguistic, Archaeological, and Literary Study. Haddonfield, NJ: Haddonfield House, 1974. Print.
Nancy Romero’s Adam and Eve 3 (1970) is an illustration describing the story of Adam and Eve written in the book of Genesis. There are six key symbols in this painting connected to the story of Adam and Eve. The centerpiece that holds the fruit, the snake on the table, the monkeys, the toys on the floor, and the open door of the house are all symbolic to the story of Adam and Eve.
Guillermo del Toro was born in Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico and was raised by his Catholic grandmother. He had an interest in filmmaking at a young age but learned about special effects and makeup first. In 1993, del Toro got his career break with Cronos after it won nine academy awards in Mexico (Guillermo del Toro). Soon after, del Toro created his first Hollywood film, Mimic. Unfortunately, del Toro describes Mimic as the worst film he has ever made and the hardest to work on due to constant interruptions by producers. He returned to Mexico in order to form his own production company, greatly disliking the demanding Hollywood studios (Guillermo del Toro). Del Toro is well known for his films in the horror genre and his love for dark beauty
To understand the mythical figure Quetzalcoatl, the first of the trinity to emerge, one must look further in to the religious belief of the pre-Columbian peoples. In the Classical period, Quetzalcoatl represented a sort of binary opposition between earth and heaven, visible in his name, quetzalli, or “precious green feather”, and coatl, the “serpent.” “Precious green feather,” according to Enrique Florescano, referred to a bird, which in the Classical period symbolized the heavens. Coatl, the serpent, symbolized earth, and so the mythical creature Quetzalcoatl was a link between the two, present before the Toltec civilization began, and gave birth to the image of twins, one of life, fertility and order (the bird) and the other representing the fatality of death (the serpent) . Yet the link between the immortal and the mortal was further construed by the Classical Period Indians than even the symbolism of the bird and serpent. The binary oppositions within day and night, also the Morning Star and the Evening Star became entangled within the earliest surviving myths of Quetzalcoatl.
What is symbolism? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary symbolism: is the use of symbols to express or represent ideas or qualities in literature, art. What is the writer or artistes trying to intemperate in their work? William Faulkner and Edgar Allan Poe were literary geniuses in their use of dark and subdued writing styles, but in my opinion no one takes the time to look in depth into the real meanings of there works . This paper will elaborate on the use of symbolism in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.
The creation story in Genesis refers to a serpent classically interpreted as an evil entity. If we consider God’s warning that eating fruit from a certain tree would result in death the same day and that the record indicates that the only two humans on the planet did not, we must reconsider the role of the serpent and reevaluate the roles of good and evil and how they apply to ...
The reason why William Golding chose to write his work “Lord of the Flies” is because the book was based on his own emotional views of mankind and his disconnection with his parent’s view of the world. His emotional views of mankind also stemmed from being a part of WWII as a member of the Royal Navy where he witnessed many deaths. Golding wanted to share with his readers the true complexity of the rise and fall of social order and the concept of survival of the fittest. Ironically, at the end of the book, a naval officer was their savior.
John Gardner’s Grendel portrays a monster searching for his purpose in life. The characters know the meaning of their lives, but Grendel tries to discover his role and what life has to offer him. Grendel discovers his identity through other characters’ actions and beliefs. In Grendel, John Gardner illustrates the contrasting views of each character to show their view of society and the influence they have on Grendel.
The major Mayan gods and goddesses all have common characteristics and, according to “features which they share in large part with the gods of neighboring people of Middle America” (Thompson, 198). One of these characteristics is that Mayan gods and goddesses have “features which they share in large part with the gods of neighboring people of Middle America” (Thompson, 198). The majority of the gods and goddesses take a form that combines animal and human features. For example, rain and earth deities often have characteristics derived from crocodiles and snakes (Thompson, 198). The Mayan deities also have a duality complex in which they could be both benevolent and malevolent, but this duality could also apply to age and sex such as a god or goddess being portrayed as youthful or aged or a masculine god sometimes being portrayed as feminine (Thompson, 199). Worship of animals, such as the Jaguar, was present (Thompson, 200) and numbers were seen as deities as well (Thompson, 239). Each deity corresponds to a number. For example, the sun god is the god of the number four as well and the moon goddess is the goddess of the number one. Inanimate objects had spirits, like animals and numbers, which had the ability to achieve the rank of de...
The first and most highly regarded brand of Hinduism is the symbol of Brahman, Aum or Om. The Aum is made of three Sanskrit letters A, U, and M. All the major Hindu matrams begin with the chanting of “Aum”, which they believe was the only sound heard when the universe was brought into motion. Hindus often wear this symbol on their clothing and jewelry, put it on their cars and plaster it onto temple walls. They believe that it will protect them from evil and bring them good luck. Another common symbol of Hinduism is the Swastika. Although this sign is generally associated with Nazi Germany, it originally was derived from the Hindu religion where it represents peace and prosperity. “Swastika” literally translates to “everything is good”. The symbol used by the Germans was a slightly tilted inversion of this Hindu symbol. A third symbol which is often linked to Hinduism is the lotus. Many gods and goddesses are depicted holding or sitting on a lotus. However, it is specifically a representation of the goddess “Shri” or “Lakshmi” who is “associated in every possible way with the lotus” (Zimmer, p. 91). The flower also represents politeness and culture and is used in certain rituals. These symbols among many others, are extremely important in performing rituals and carrying on