Kamandalu

Kamandalu (Sanskrit: कमण्डलु, kamaṇḍalu) or kamandal or kamandalam is an oblong water pot made of a dry gourd (pumpkin) or coconut shell, metal, wood of the Kamandalataru tree, or from clay, usually with a handle and sometimes with a spout. Hindu ascetics or yogis often use it for storing drinking water. The water-filled kamandalu, which is invariably carried by ascetics, is stated to represent a simple and self-contained life.

The kamandalu also used in Hindu iconography, in depiction of deities related with asceticism or water. It is, thus, viewed as a symbol of ascetism in Hinduism. The kamandalu is also used by Jain monks and in depictions of some bodhisattvas.

The kamandalu may be made of various materials, including metal, clay, wood and dry gourd. For making the gourd kamandalu, a ripe pumpkin is plucked and the inner plum and seeds are cleaned. This leaves only the outer shell, which is used as the kamandalu. This is interpreted on a spiritual level as the removal of ego from a person. The ripe pumpkin represents the person, seed being the ego. Cleaning the seed thus symbolizes removal of ego, forming a cleansed person fit to accept self-realization.

Water in a kamandalu represents Amrita—the elixir of life—thus a symbol of fertility, life and wealth. The kamandalu is often depicted in hands of gods, who appear as ascetics, like Shiva and Brahma and also water deities like Varuna, Ganga (the goddess of the Ganges river) and Sarasvati.Adi Shankaracharya’s ashtotaram hymn praises Shiva whose hand is adorned with the kamandalu. Other deities like the fire-god Agni and the preceptor of the gods, Brihaspati, are depicted carrying the kamandalu. The goddess Karamgamaladharini is described as wearing a garland of kamandalus. The text Devi Mahatmya describes goddess Brahmani slay demons by sprinkling holy water from her kamandalu. A 183–165 BC coin depicts the god Krishna holding a kamandalu.

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