Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c8.s1.24

c8.s1.24

Pūrṇa-Kumbha, Pot and Foliage, Full Vase, was the symbol of plenty and creativity. The water in the jar is the sap or humidas radicle (Salilam, Ṛitam, Āpaḥ) and the over-flowing leaves and flowers typify life itself with its manifold blessings and joys. The human body is Pūrṇa-Ghaṭa and so is the created cosmos. The Pūrṇa-Kalaśa or Bhadra-Kalaśa of the Ṛigveda is filled with the immortal sap of Soma, the Pūrṇa-Kumbha of Atharva with streams of Ghṛita and Amṛita (AV. 3. 12. 8). The home is the Maṅgala-Ghaṭa, Maṅgala-Kalaśa and actually beautified with it (Puṇṇaghaṭa-Paṭimaṇḍita ghara). The motif of a Dame with the Well-filled Pitcher is mentioned as Pūrṇa-Kumbha-Nārī in Atharva (3. 12. 8) and as Pūrṇa-ghaṭa-Kanyā in the Lalita-Vistara, amongst walking in the Lumbinī procession of Māyā Devī. In art the motif is seen at Bharhut, Sāñchī, Amarāvatī, Mathura, Kapiśā, Nāgārjunikoṇḍa, Sarnath, Anurādhapur, Borobudur, etc. It is combined with Pillar both in the basement and on top, and also in the figures of Gaja Lakshmī. In Jaina manuscripts it is given an anthropomorphic form, and in religious worship it is regarded as the symbol of Trinity.