National sacred flower of India. Lotus as a symbol of Indian culture. Lotus is one of the most important symbols in Hinduism

Almost every plant in India has its own religious symbolism and meaning. Indian traditions are very beautiful and multifaceted, and the lotus occupies a special place in it.

Lotus is a flower of great importance in Indian ancient cultural heritage. The lotus is closely associated with the customs and beliefs of people, so Hinduism cannot be imagined without this flower, as it helps to understand the culture and worldview of the people who profess this religion.

Lotus is one of the most important symbols in Hinduism

Flowers have important in Indian religion. An attentive tourist may notice that almost all the supreme gods in India are depicted with a lotus. This flower emphasizes the colossal energy and purity that is intended for creation. The lotus represents the source of life and strength, and its seeds are a symbol of fertility, resurrection and birth. For this reason, the lotus is included in mourning attributes that are used at funerals, since the lotus in this case indicates the spiritual resurrection of a person after death or his rebirth.

The lotus usually grows in shallow lakes and clear harbors, but it can also bloom in dirty water, remaining unsullied and pure. Hindus associate Kubera, Saraswati, Brahma, Vishnu and Lakshmi with this flower. Lakshmi is often depicted on a pink lotus, while Saraswati is depicted sitting on a white lotus. In other pictures you can see a flower blooming from Vishnu's navel. The same blossoming bud represents Brahma, the creator of all things on earth.

State and literary symbol

The lotus can also speak of a person's wisdom, which is why the lotus stem is used in the pages of Indian literature. It contains the posture and beauty of the heroes, which can be compared with this plant, for example, in the famous couplet of Calisada, the girl’s face is compared to a blooming flower, and her eyes are dark blue flowers during flowering.

In addition to being widely used in symbols, the lotus is also known for its healing properties. Lotus is used as a tonic and antiseptic for healing large quantity diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular system. The lotus is also immortalized on coins and ornaments of India. A large blooming pink lotus flower is a symbol of the Indian province located on the banks of the Ganges.

Oct 27, 2016 Julia

Almost every flower growing in India has its own religious meaning and symbolism. The traditions of India are as multifaceted as they are beautiful, and a special place in them is given to the lotus.

In the ancient cultural heritage of India, the lotus is a flower that is given great importance. It is so closely associated with beliefs and that it is almost impossible to imagine Hinduism without this flower, as well as to understand the worldview of the people and the culture of the people who profess it.

One of the main symbols in Hinduism

Flowers have great importance in Indian religion. Supreme gods often depicted with a lotus. This their purity and colossal energy intended for creation are emphasized. The lotus represents strength and the sources of life, and its seeds are used to indicate fertility, birth or resurrection.

It is not surprising that a lotus is inserted into the mourning attributes used at funerals, indicating spiritual resurrection after death or rebirth.

The lotus, which most often grows in shallow lakes and quiet harbors, can grow in dirty water, but when it blooms, it remains clean and unsullied. Vishnu, Brahma, Saraswati, Kubera and Lakshmi are associated with this blossoming flower. Saraswati is often depicted sitting on a white lotus, or on a pink lotus.

In other paintings, a flower grows from Vishnu's navel. The blossoming bud also represents Brahma, the creator of all things.

During worship, believers bring plucked flowers to the foot of the statues of deities, thereby showing the sincerity of their faith and assuring the gods of their devotion.

Literary and state symbol

The lotus can also speak of a person's wisdom. The lotus stem has found its way into the pages of Indian literature. In it, the beauty and posture of the main characters can be compared to a plant. In Calisada's famous couplet, the girl's face is compared to a blooming flower. There, her eyes are poetically described as like dark blue flowers during bloom.

It is not surprising that the lotus in India has become widespread in symbols. Well known for it healing properties. The use of flowers as an antiseptic and tonic, its use for the treatment of many diseases of the cardiovascular system and nervous disorders, as well as a close connection with religious life prompted people to immortalize him on coins and ornaments and more. A large open pink lotus is a symbol of Bengal, an Indian province located on the banks of the Ganges.

As you can see, Indian culture devotes a lot of space to the blooming lotus. From birth to death, the Indian is accompanied by this noble flower, symbolizing purity, wisdom, the ability to remain clean, even after being in the dirt. This is a symbol of the past, present and future, what a person should strive for.

Today, my eldest son, returning from school, asked me, “What is Russia’s national flower?!”

It turns out that at school they were told what National symbols from India, so he asked. I was embarrassed, confused, and he kept asking! About a tree, an animal, a bird, a fruit...

I think that the animal is a symbol of Russia - a bear? But other?

I set myself a goal, searched and searched, but found nothing... As for India, the national bird is the peacock, the tree is the banyan tree, the animal is the Bengal tiger, the fruit is the mango, and the flower is the lotus.

Lotus, by the way, is national flower not only for India. This plant is so popular among Asians that it is also revered in Vietnam and Thailand.

I just don’t know if they eat it there, otherwise my Indians have already fed me lotus seeds from the same seed pods that florists use to decorate bouquets more than once))

I don’t know how to determine their ripeness, I haven’t collected them myself, but eating them is simple - break them, take out the grains, remove the peel and eat, you don’t even need to cook! And the roots of the lotus are edible, but I haven’t gotten to them yet))


In Manipur, where my husband is from, there is even a whole lake of lotuses, but I have only seen it in photographs. Imagine what the aroma must be like there!

(Nelumbo nucifera). This sacred flower occupies a unique place in the art and mythology of ancient India. Since time immemorial it has been considered lucky symbol Indian culture. From ancient times to the present day, the lotus is the most mentioned flower in Indian literature.

Sure, everyone is beautiful. But not every flower gets to be considered sacred. Even among the lotus plants common in Asia and Africa, only the lotus, scientifically known as the nut-bearing lotus, growing in India, in the slow waters of the sacred Ganges, received such an honor. The purity and beauty of the lotus is what makes it sacred. Indeed, the lotus usually grows in muddy, almost stagnant water or in swamps. Every evening the lotus closes its flower and hides under the water, and appears again in the morning. But its flower always remains dry, radiating purity and freshness.
The reason for this is the special structure of its petals and leaves: they can repel water and self-clean. The water collects in drops and flows off, collecting from the leaf everything that could accidentally contaminate it. This is due to the special angle at which the microfibers of the leaves are located towards the water.

The lotus symbol is extremely complex and branched. It means both the origins of life and its order, creativity, spiritual path and nirvana. The core of the symbolism is the purity of the lotus. Growing from the muddy bottom of the river, the root symbolizes everything low - matter, darkness. The long stem is like a soul yearning for light. And a flower is a spirit, pure and directed towards the Sun. In India, lotus images are everywhere - on the capitals of columns in temples, and on Indian women. After all, it is believed that the image of a lotus is healing, it can enlighten and provide protection. Lakshmi, the consort of God, was born from a lotus flower. Many Hindu gods sit on a throne in the shape of a lotus, and yogis learn the lotus position. And from lotus seeds, which grow the size of a nut, they make rosaries. White Lotus indispensable attribute divine power. Therefore, many Indian gods were traditionally depicted standing or sitting on a lotus or holding a lotus flower in their hand. Brahma sits and rests on a lotus. Vishnu, the demiurge of the universe, holds a lotus in one of his four hands. “Lotus Goddesses” are depicted with a lotus flower in their hair. A copious rain of lotuses fell from the sky at the moment of Buddha's birth, and wherever the divine newborn set foot, a huge lotus grew.

Nut lotus was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as a species of the genus Nympaea. And as a species Linnaeus used local name lotus on the island of Sri Lanka - nelumbo. Now the lotus is also allocated to a separate lotus family, which includes only one specified genus with two species - the nut-bearing lotus, widespread mainly in Asia, with pink flowers and the American yellow lotus (N. lutea), the flowers of which, as the name suggests, are yellow in color.