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14
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
The figure Swastika (literally auspicious), drawn as shown below, is an auspicious
In difficult labour cases, chakrāpā water is sometimes given to women. The cha- krävä is a figure of seven cross lines drawn on a bell-metal dish, over which the finest white dust has been spread. This figure is shown to the woman in labour : water is then poured into the dish and offered her to drink. The figure is said to be a representation of chitrangad. It is also believed to be connected with a story in the Mahabharata. Subhadra, the sister of god Krishna and the wife of Arjuna, one of the five Pandavas, conceived a demon, an enemy of Krishna, The demon would not leave the womb of Subhadra even twelve months after the date of her conception, and began to harass the mother, Krishna, the incarnation of god, knowing of the demon's presence and the cause of his delay, took pity on the afflicted condition of his sister and read chakrävä, (Chakravyuha) a book consisting of seven chapters and explaining the method of conquering a labyrinthine fort with seven cross-lined forts. Krishna completed six chapters, and promised to teach the demon the seventh, provided he came out. The demon ceased troubling Subhadra and emerged from the womb. He was called Abhimanyo. Krishna never read the seventh chapter for then Abhimanyu would have been invincible and able to take his life. This ignorance of the seventh chapter cost Abbimanyu his life on the field of Kurukshetra in conquering the seven cross-lined laby- rinthine forts. As the art of conquering a labyrinthine fort when taught to a demon in the womb facilitated the delivery of Subhadra, a belief spread that drinking in the figure of the seven cross-lined labyrinthine fort would facilitate the delivery of all women who had difficulties in child-birth,
sign, and is believed to be a mark of good luck and a source of blessings. It is one of the sixteen line-marks on the sole of the lotus-like feet of the god Ishwar, the Creator of the Universe. The fame of the good effects of the Swastika figure is said to have been first diffused throughoub society by Närad-Muni, as instructed by the god Brahma,
Various conjectures have been made concerning the origin of this figure. The following explanation is found in a work named Siddhantsar, The Eternal Sat or Essence, that has neither beginning nor end nor any maker, exhibits all he religious principles in a chakra or & wheel-form. This round shape has no circumference ; but any point in it is a centre ; which being specified, the explanation of the whole universe in a circle is easy. Thus the figure indicates the creation of the universe from Sat or Essence. The centre with the circumference is the womb, the place of creation of the universe. The centre then expanding into a line, the diameter thus formed represents the male principle, linga-ráp, that is the producer, through the medium of activity in the great wo'mb or maha-yoni. When the line assumes the form of a cross, it explains the creation of the universe by an unprecedented combination of the two distinct natures, animate and inanimate. The circumference being
Mr. D. K. Shah, Charadwa.
Mr. R. B. Pandya, Jetpur Sanskrit School. * Mr. K. D. Desai, Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank,
• Mr. N. D. Vora, Schoolmaster, Rajpara.
