Chefajaychopra123 at 06:05, 18 February 2026

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{{Short description|Type of pot from the Indian subcontinent}}
[[File:Sadhu's Kamandalu.jpg|thumb|A brass kamaṇḍalu, held by a [[sadhu]].]]
'''Kamandalu''' ({{langx|skt|kamaṇḍalu}}<ref>[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/serveimg.pl?file=/scans/MWScan/MWScanjpg/mw0252-kaMvat.jpg Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (2008 revision)]</ref>) is an oblong water pot, originating from the [[Indian subcontinent]], made of a dry [[gourd]] ([[pumpkin]]) or [[coconut]] shell, metal, wood of the kamaṇḍalataru tree,<ref>http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_sa/shankara108m_sa.html, Shankarachrya's ashtotaram)</ref> or from clay, usually with a handle and sometimes with a spout. [[Hindu ascetic]]s or [[yogi]]s often use it for storing drinking water.<ref>{{cite book |last=Radha |first=Swami Sivananda |title=Kundalini Yoga |year=1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfDzSaOju8gC&q=Kamandalu |access-date=2008-08-20 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn= 9788120808126 |pages=357}} p.40</ref> The water-filled kamaṇḍalu, which is invariably carried by ascetics, is stated to represent a simple and self-contained life.

The kamaṇḍalu also appears in [[Hindu iconography]] in depictions of deities associated with [[asceticism]] or water. It is thus regarded as a symbol of [[asceticism]] in [[Hinduism]]. The kamaṇḍalu is also used by [[Jain monks]] and in depictions of some [[bodhisattva]]s.<ref>http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/archive/index.php?t-448.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711170357/http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/archive/index.php?t-448.html |date=2011-07-11 }}, ''Sanatana Dharma for Kids:'' Hindu Trinity: Brahma - Sarasvati</ref>

==Method of making==
The kamaṇḍalu may be made of various materials, including metal, clay, wood and dry gourd. For making the gourd kamaṇḍalu, a ripe pumpkin is plucked and the inner plum and seeds are cleaned. This leaves only the outer shell, which is used as the kamaṇḍalu. 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 the removal of ego, forming a cleansed person fit to accept self-realization.
<ref>{{cite book |last=Pandit |first=Bansi |title=Explore Hinduism |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PT5h4IjBMk0C&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA48 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=Heart of Albion |isbn= 9781872883816 |pages=187}} p.48</ref>

==In Hinduism==
[[File:Brahma (musée d'art asiatique de Berlin).jpg|thumb|left|Brahma holding a kamaṇḍalu in his right hand]]
Water in a kamaṇḍalu represents [[amrita]]—the elixir of life—thus a symbol of fertility, life and wealth.<ref name = "A">{{cite book |last=Jansen |first=Eva Rudy |title=The Book of Hindu Imagery |year=1993 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1iASyoae8cMC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA144 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=Binkey Kok Publications |isbn= 9789074597074 |pages=158}} p.52</ref> The kamaṇḍalu is often depicted in hands of gods, who appear as ascetics, like [[Shiva]] and [[Brahma]] and also water deities like [[Varuna]], [[Ganga (goddess)|Ganga]] (the goddess of the [[Ganges]] river) and [[Sarasvati|Saraswati]].<ref name = "A"/> [[Adi Shankara]]'s ''ashtotaram'' hymn praises Shiva whose hand is adorned with the kamaṇḍalu. Other deities, such as the fire-god [[Agni]] and the preceptor of the gods, [[Brihaspati]], are depicted carrying the kamaṇḍalu.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chaplin |first=Dorothea |title=Mythlogical Bonds Between East and West |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GiAwgX1Eg1wC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA114 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=READ BOOKS |isbn= 9781406739862 |pages=160}} p.117</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Chakrabarti |first=Dilip K. |title=Archaeological Geography of the Ganga Plain |year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OEZe-wAIiKIC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA84 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=Orient Longman |isbn= 9788178240169 |pages=301}} p.40</ref> The goddess Karamgamaladharini is described as wearing a garland of kamaṇḍalus.<ref>{{cite book |last=Harper |first=Katherine Anne |author2=Robert L. Brown |title=The Roots of Tantra |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7Fbj5hrmQoC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA240 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn= 9780791453056 |pages=270}} p.240</ref> The text [[Devi Mahatmya]] describes goddess [[Matrikas|Brahmani]] slay demons by sprinkling holy water from her kamaṇḍalu.<ref>{{cite book |last=Coburn |first=Thomas B. |title=Devī-Māhātmya |year=1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hy9kf7_TOHgC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA146 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn= 9788120805576 |pages=359}} p.146</ref> A 183–165 BC coin depicts the god [[Krishna]] holding a kamaṇḍalu.
<ref>{{cite book |last=Kala |first=Jayantika |title=Epic Scenes in Indian Plastic Art |year=1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MLcGKezqdDIC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA92 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn= 9788170172284 |pages=107}} p.92</ref>

Several mythological stories refer to the kamaṇḍalu. [[Vamana]] the dwarf avatar of god [[Vishnu]], requests demon king [[Mahabali]] for three feet of land. The donation of the land is sanctified through pouring water through a kamaṇḍalu. When [[Shukra]], the demons' preceptor, tried to prevent flow of water from the kamaṇḍalu by blocking the spout, Mahabali pierced the spout with a stick, which blinded Shukra.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20050207221439/http://www.pichu.info/nav.htm, Suryanar Koil</ref> In the [[Bhagavata Purana]], the King [[Shraddhadeva Manu|Satyavarta]] after initially put [[Matsya]] (Vishnu's avatar as a fish) which he found in the river into his kamaṇḍalu, to protect it from the big fish. Later, the fish expanded and protected the king from the great deluge of Hindu mythology.<ref>[http://www.geocities.com/bhagvatjee/bhaag/kathaa/skandh8/9matsya.htm http://www.geocities.com/bhagvatjee/bhaag/kathaa/skandh8/9matsya.htm]{{dead link|date=October 2010|bot=AnomieBOT}}. Sri Mad Bhagavat Puran, Skand 8, page 9, Chapter 24)</ref> The [[Mahabharata]] records the god [[Dhanvantari]] brought Amrita in a kamaṇḍalu, when he emerged from the churning of the ocean ([[Samudra manthan|Samudra Manthana]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Feller |first=Danielle |title=The Sanskrit epics' representation of Vedic myths |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G3yQJU-4mOoC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA187 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ |isbn= 9788120820081 |pages=382}} p.187</ref> The Hindu epic [[Ramayana]] records the monkey-god [[Hanuman]] disguised himself as a sage and fooling the demons to drink his urine stored in his kamaṇḍalu.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bose |first=Mandakranta |title=The Ramayana Revisited |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OiPdOBHGVp4C&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA102 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=Oxford University Press US |isbn= 9780195168327 |pages=400}} p.103</ref>

[[File:Sadhu In Haridwar.jpg|thumb|A [[sadhu]] (ascetic) with a kamaṇḍalu to his right]]
The mythical [[Sarasvati river]] traces her creation legends to the creator-god [[Brahma]]'s kamaṇḍalu.<ref>{{cite book |last=Darian |first=Steven G. |title=The Ganges in Myth and History |year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0obUy_W9NREC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA60 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn= 9788120817579 |pages=235}} p.60</ref> The river Ganges is also believed to flow through Brahma's kamaṇḍalu.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hiltebeitel |first=Alf |author-link=Alf Hiltebeitel |title=The Ritual of Battle |year=1990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vwWGX08JAx8C&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA160 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn= 9780791402498 |pages=368}} p.160</ref> One legend about the Ganges' birth says Brahma washed the big toe of the foot of Vamana and collected the water in his kamaṇḍalu, which turns into the river Ganges.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20091027080628/http://geocities.com/dr_gda/ganga.htm, ''Origin of Holy River Ganga''</ref>

Another river, [[Silambu]], has a similar origin. When Brahma washed Vamana's foot by the water of his kamaṇḍalu, one of the drops fell from Vamana's foot on the earth, turning into the river.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121101023241/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/07/08/stories/2006070800440200.htm] Deep in the Woods</ref>
Another mythical tale about the pilgrimage place Darsha Pushkarini narrates how sage [[Agastya]] trapped the river [[Kaveri]] in his kamaṇḍalu when she declined his marriage proposal. This led to famine in the region. Upon noticing this, Kaveri escaped from the kamaṇḍalu but was cursed by the sage and was finally purified at Darśa Puṣkaraṇi.<ref>https://saranathantg.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html, Srimad Bhagawat Geeta</ref> A variant tells that, angered by Kaveri's confinement, god Ganesha, in the form of a crow, pushed Agastya's kamaṇḍalu down, rescuing Kaveri and leading to the river's formation.<ref>[http://chennaionline.com/columns/Lifehistory/history05.asp,(Agastya–Part]{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} V</ref>

In the Sarada legends of Kashmir (based on oral tradition) narrated by Romesh Kumar, it is said that when [[Ravana]] was engaged in a war with [[Rama]], goddess [[Parvati]] advised Rama to take her to [[Uttarakhand]] away from the war scene. Thus, Parvati was carried by [[Hanuman]] in the form of water in a kamaṇḍalu to be dropped wherever she desired to be dropped. Wherever Hanuman rested on his way to Uttarakhand, drops of water which fell out of the kamaṇḍalu on the ground formed the springs Masanag at Gushi and the Devibal spring at Tikr in [[Kashmir]]—the kamaṇḍalu was kept in a nearby hillock where Parvati rested, where there is a [[Sharada Peeth]]. At [[Amarkantak]], the source of the [[Narmada River|Narmada]] in [[Madhya Pradesh]], an ancient kamaṇḍalu which is always filled with water is called the ''[[Bhṛgu]] kamaṇḍalu''.<ref>http://www.kashmirsentinel.com/jan2003/16.html, Sarada Legends – Different versions</ref>

The ''[[Garuda Purana]]'' states that the donation of a kamaṇḍalu in the [[śrāddha]] (funerary ritual) ensures that the deceased has ample drinking water in his afterlife journey.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Garuda Purana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bHm6nKenVK4C&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PT56 |access-date=2008-08-21 |isbn=978-0-9793051-1-5|last1 = Debroy|first1 = Dipavali|last2 = Debroy|first2 = Bibek|year = 1992}}</ref>

==In Buddhism and Jainism==
Buddhists pour water from the kamaṇḍalu onto the palms of people, before rituals, where the water symbolizes [[elixir]] of life.<ref>{{cite book |last=Blau |first=Tatjana |author2=Mirabai Blau |title=Buddhist Symbols |year=2002 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bcf46Ye46qUC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA225 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. |isbn= 9781402700330 |pages=256}} p.225</ref> It is also called ''bhumba''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jansen |first=Eva Rudy |author2=Tony Langham |title=The Book of Buddhas |year=1990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GngtR4O6Y_EC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA28 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=Binkey Kok |isbn= 9789074597029 |pages=110}} p.28</ref> [[Bodhisattva]]s like [[Maitreya]] and [[Avalokiteśvara]] are depicted carrying the kamaṇḍalu.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wong |first=Dorothy C. |title=Chinese Steles |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4gNk5HzIIKgC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA93 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn= 9780824827830 |pages=226}} p.93</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Donaldson |first=Thomas E. |title=Iconography of the Buddhist Sculpture of Orissa |year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DbxE8zOuRbUC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA195 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn= 9788170173755 |pages=792}} p.195</ref> The kamaṇḍalu was initially imported from [[Hinduism]] to Buddhism, through god [[Brahma]] to Maitreya; it later was incorporated in representations of many [[Mahayana Buddhist]] deities.<ref>{{cite book |author=Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin |author-link=Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin |title=Acta Iranica |year=1974 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_MoUAAAAIAAJ&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA97 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-03902-5}} p.97</ref>

[[Digambara]] Jain sages use the kamaṇḍalu for storing water for "toilet purposes".<ref>{{cite book |last=Jaini |first=Padmanabh S. |title=Collected Papers on Jaina Studies |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HPggiM7y1aYC&dq=Kamandalu&pg=PA164 |access-date=2008-08-21 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn= 9788120816916 |pages=428}} p.164</ref> 

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Kamandalu}}

[[Category:Containers]]
[[Category:Hindu symbols]]
[[Category:Objects used in Hindu worship]]

Kamandalu - Revision history

Chefajaychopra123 at 06:05, 18 February 2026