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Devananda s Dream
An Interpretation of its Symbolism
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In this way for Aryans the punaghata represented symbolically The womb of the mother and goddess associated with fertility 102 However, this aspect was not unknown in other ancient civilizations 103
The symbol of the purnaghata was adopted enthusiastically by the Buddhists and Jains also 104 The charming conception of a house beautified with full-vase, purnaghata patimandita ghara,105 was quite familiar to the Buddhists in Buddhist art it finds a prominent place on the entrance gateway.06 of the stupas Kalingabodhi Jataka107 refers to the installation of a line of eight hundred fullvases made of silver and gold filled with sacred water and covered with lotuses round the Bodhi-tree might have some connection with the purnaghata sobhapattı engraved on the stupa slabs 108 of Amravati and Nagarjunikonda The Mahavamsal09 describes the procession of a relic car surrounded by a thousand beautiful women with vases on their heads The Lalıta Vistara 10 mentions woman with a full
102 Cí Kathasuritasagara 70 112 where Kumbha or ghata clearly appears for uterus It may explain the navasatra fertility festival which starts with ghatasthapana The jar is set in some earth in which seed grains are carefully planted to encourage the fields' The festival ends with a sacrifice to Sarasvati 'A gupta seal found from Bhita' (ASIAR, 1911-12, p 50 pl XVIII) contains a vase on pedestal inscribed with the word saras vatt, The Kumbha as a symbol of the mother goddess still survives in many South Indian festivals (CI Kosambi, op cit, P73)
103 The Mesopotamian glyptic art represents two rivers flowing from a jar held by Ea or his attendant As pointed out by Barnett, such jar was regarded as a symbol of fertility as in the Mari statue of Istar it depicted in the hands of the goddess and in a seal the two rivers represented as issuing forth from her shoulders 104 Jain religion includes the ghata among the astamangulas (Tiloyapannatti, 4 738. Vol 1, p 236 as quoted by Shah, UP Studies in Jain Art, p 111, fn 5) It is also included as one of the lucky dreams dreamt by the queen Trisala (Shah, ibid, pp 105-108, Coomaraswamy, Yaksas, II, D 61) For illustrations, see Agrawala, PK, Purnaghata, pl XXXIII-XXXV, Shah, Ibid, pl III, figs 10, 11 12-14 105 Dhammapada, atthakatha, I 147, Cf Agrawala, JUPHS, Vol XVII pt 1, p4 106 Longhurst, Nagarjunikonda Stupa, pl XI, bcd, See, also Ramchandrana, Nagarjunikonda 107 Fousboll, Jataka, IV p 229 108 The appropriate name for such panels carved with Purnaghala designs are supplied by the short labels (such as found on some of them Kalasa patta and punnghatapata) 109 Mahavamsa, XXXI 10 110 Lalitauistara (Vidya ed ), p 71
