Kamandalu (Sanskrit: कमण्डलु,kamaṇḍalu[1]),kamandal, orkamandalam is an oblong water pot, originating from theIndian subcontinent, made of a drygourd (pumpkin) orcoconut shell, metal, wood of the Kamandalataru tree,[2] or from clay, usually with a handle and sometimes with a spout.Hindu ascetics oryogis often use it for storing drinking water.[3] The water-filled kamandalu, which is invariably carried by ascetics, is stated to represent a simple and self-contained life.
Thekamandalu also used inHindu iconography, in depiction of deities related withasceticism or water. It is, thus, viewed as a symbol ofascetism in Hinduism. Thekamandalu is also used byJain monks and in depictions of somebodhisattvas.[4]
Thekamandalu may be made of various materials, including metal, clay, wood and dry gourd. For making the gourdkamandalu, a ripe pumpkin is plucked and the inner plum and seeds are cleaned. This leaves only the outer shell, which is used as thekamandalu. 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.[5]
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Water in a kamandalu representsamrita—the elixir of life—thus a symbol of fertility, life and wealth.[6] The kamandalu is often depicted in hands of gods, who appear as ascetics, likeShiva andBrahma and also water deities likeVaruna,Ganga (the goddess of theGanges river) andSaraswati.[6]Adi Shankara'sashtotaram hymn praises Shiva whose hand is adorned with the kamandalu. Other deities like the fire-godAgni and the preceptor of the gods,Brihaspati, are depicted carrying the kamandalu.[7][8] The goddess Karamgamaladharini is described as wearing a garland of kamandalus.[9] The textDevi Mahatmya describes goddessBrahmani slay demons by sprinkling holy water from her kamandalu.[10] A 183–165 BC coin depicts the godKrishna holding a kamandalu.[11]
Several mythological stories refer to thekamandalu.Vamana the dwarf avatar of godVishnu, requests demon kingMahabali for three feet of land. The donation of the land is sanctified through pouring water through akamandalu. WhenShukra, the demons' preceptor, tried to prevent flow of water from thekamandalu by blocking the spout, Mahabali pierced the spout with a stick, which blinded Shukra.[12] In theBhagavata Purana, the KingSatyavarta after initially putMatsya (Vishnu's avatar as a fish) which he found in the river into hiskamandalu, to protect it from the big fish. Later, the fish expanded and protected the king from the great deluge of Hindu mythology.[13] TheMahabharata records the godDhanvantari brought Amrita in akamandalu, when he emerged from the churning of the ocean (Samudra Manthana).[14] The Hindu epicRamayana records the monkey-godHanuman disguised himself as a sage and fooling the demons to drink his urine stored in his kamandalu.[15]
The mythicalSarasvati river traces her creation legends to the creator-godBrahma's kamandalu.[16] The river Ganges is also believed to flow through Brahma's kamandalu.[17] One legend about the Ganges' birth says Brahma washed the big toe of the foot of Vamana and collected the water in his kamandalu, which turns into the river Ganges.[18]
Another riverSilambu has a similar tale of origin. When Brahma washed Vamana's foot by the water of hiskamandalu, one of the drops fell from Vamana's foot on the earth turning into the river.[19]Another mythical tale about the pilgrimage place Darsha Pushkarini, narrates how sageAgastya trapped riverKaveri in hiskamandalu, when she declined his marriage proposal. This led to famine in the region and, noticing this, Kaveri escaped fromkamandalu but with a curse of the sage and was finally purified at Darsha Pushkarini.[20] A variant tells that, angered by Kaveri's confinement, god Ganesha, in the form of a crow, pushed Agastya'skamandalu down, rescuing Kaveri and leading to the river's formation.[21]
In the Sarada legends of Kashmir (based on oral tradition) narrated by Romesh Kumar, it is said that whenRavana was engaged in a war withRama, goddessParvati advised Rama to take her toUttarakhand away from the war scene. Thus, Parvati was carried byHanuman in the form of water in akamandalu to be dropped wherever she desired to be dropped. Wherever Hanuman rested on his way to Uttarakhand, drops of water which fell out of thekamandalu on the ground formed the springs Masanag at Gushi and the Devibal spring at Tikr inKashmir—thekamandalu was kept in a nearby hillock where Parvati rested whereas a Sarada shrine exists. AtAmarkantak, the source of riverNarmada inMadhya Pradesh, an ancientkamandalu which is always filled with water, is called the Brighu Kamandal.[22]
The textGaruda Purana states donation of a kamandalu in theshraddha (funerary ritual) ceremony ensures that deceased has ample drinking water in his afterlife journey.[23]
Buddhists pour water from the kamandalu onto the palms of people, before rituals, where the water symbolizeselixir of life.[24] It is also calledbhumba.[25]Bodhisattvas likeMaitreya andAvalokiteshvara are depicted carrying the kamandalu.[26][27] The kamandalu was initially imported fromHinduism to Buddhism, through godBrahma to Maitreya; it later was incorporated in representations of manyMahayana Buddhist deities.[28]
JainDigambara sages use the kamandalu for storing water for "toilet purposes".[29]
