Hamsa (bird)

The hamsa (Sanskrit: हंस ' or ''hansa'') is an aquatic migratory bird, referred to in ancient Sanskrit texts which various scholars have interpreted as being based on the goose, the swan, or even the flamingo. Its image is used in Indian and Southeast Asian culture as a spiritual symbol and a decorative element. It is also used in a metaphorical sense with the bird attributed with the mythical ability to extract milk from a mixture of milk and water or good from evil. In Hindu iconography, ''hamsa'' is the vahana (or ''vehicle'') of Brahma, Gayatri, Saraswati, and Vishvakarma.

Identification

Asian language professor Monier Williams translates the term from Sanskrit as "a goose, gander, swan, flamingo (or other aquatic bird, considered as a bird of passage igratory bird...)." The word is also used for a mythical or poetical bird with knowledge. In the Rig Veda, it is the bird which is able to separate Soma from water, when mixed; in later Indian literature, the bird separates milk from water when mixed. In Indian philosophical literature, ''hamsa'' represents the individual soul or spirit (typified by the pure sunlight-white like color of a goose or swan), or the "Universal Soul or Supreme Spirit".

The word ''Hamsa'' is cognate with Latin "(h)anser", Greek "χήν", German "Gans", English "goose", Spanish "ganso" and Russian "гусь".

Swan or goose controversy

Jean Vogel, in 1952, questioned if ''hamsa'' is indeed a swan, because according to Dutch ornithologists George Junge and E.D. van Oort he consulted, swans were rare in modern India while bar-headed geese ('' Anser indicus'') were common. According to Vogel, Western and Indian scholars may have preferred translating ''hamsa'' from Sanskrit to swan as the indigenous goose appears plump while the swan (and, Vogel adds, the flamingo) appears more graceful.

Some have criticised Vogel's view as being over-reliant on artistic representations from south India and Sri Lanka, where the white swan is rare. American ornithologist Paul Johnsgard, in 2010, stated that mute swans ( Cygnus Olor) do migrate to the northwestern Himalayan region of India every winter, migrating some 1000 miles each way. Similarly, the British ornithologist Peter Scott, in his ''Key to the Wildfowl of the World'' (1957), states that northwestern India is one of the winter migration homes for mute swans, the others being Korea and the Black Sea. Grewal, Harvey and Pfister, in 2003, state that the mute swan is "a vagrant mainly in Pakistan but also northwestern India" and include a map marking their distribution. Asad Rahmani and Zafar-ul Islam, in their 2009 book, describe the three species of swans and 39 species of ducks and geese found in India.

Dave stated, "the present position according to Hume is that Swans do not occur anywhere within Indian limits outside the Himalayas except in the extreme North-West", and suggested that they were perhaps more common in the "hoary past."

The Sanskrit and Pali languages, both have alternate words for goose such as ''Jalapada'', ''Dhamara'', ''Cakragki'', ''Majjugamana'', ''Shvetagaruta'' and others.

The hymns of Rigveda, verses in Hindu epics and Puranas, as well as other early Indian texts, states KN Dave, mention a variety of birds with the root of ''hamsa'' (हंस), such as Maha-hamsa, Raj-hamsa, Kal-hamsa and others. These should be identified as members of the Anatidae family, namely swans, geese or ducks. This identification is based on the details provided in the Sanskrit texts about the changes in plumage over the bird's life, described call, migratory habits, courtship rituals and flying patterns.KN Dave (2005), ''Birds in Sanskrit Literature'', Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120818422, pages 422-447 with footnotes. Specific examples where ''"hamsa''" should be interpreted as "swan" include hymns 1.163, 3.8, 4.45, 8.35, 9.32 and others in the ''Rigveda'', verse 7.339 of ''Ramayana manjari'', chapter 30.56 of ''Skanda Purana'', chapter 101.27 of the ''Padma Purana'', and others. Dave also lists examples of Indian texts where "''hamsa''" should be interpreted as "goose". Some Sanskrit texts, states Dave, distinguish between ''"hamsa''" and ''"kadamb''", the former according to him being a swan and the latter a bar-headed goose.

The Indian ornithologist Salim Ali stated in his Azad Memorial Lecture of 1979 that Sanskrit names for birds were based on their calls, coloration, habits, gait, method of feeding or other observed traits. However, these are sometimes difficult to assign unambiguously to species. He mentions 4th to 5th-century Kalidasa's poem about Lake Manasa. This Manasa, assumes Salim Ali, is Lake Manasarovar and then states that the ''hamsa'' birds therein should be interpreted as bar-headed geese that do migrate over the Himalayas from Tibet. The historic Sanskrit and Prakrit literature of India does not mention the location of the lake Manasa that they consider the natural abode of the ''hamsa''.

Ethno-ornithologists Sonia Tidemann and Andrew Gosler in ''Ethno-ornithology: Birds, Indigenous Peoples, Culture and Society'' state that ''hamsa'' has been identified as "swans" in early Indian texts, and that titles such as Raja-hamsa were applied to ascetics and holy-men in Indian culture because ancient Hindu and Buddhist stories ascribed the ability to separate good from evil to the ''hamsa''.

The birds painted at the Ajanta Caves in central India (Maharashtra) on the Hamsa Jataka, as well as those in Sanchi resemble a swan (and a series of swans in one panel), states the art historian C. Sivaramamurti. These early Buddhist arts can be dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE. The text of the Jataka itself clearly describes white swans that are like clouds in a blue sky.

According to Nandhita Krishna, the ''hamsa'' in the early north Indian tradition is best identified as a swan as the mythical symbol of wisdom. However, the ''hamsa'' became a popular motif included in temple artwork, textile prints and other artworks. It became a highly stylized mythical bird, with a plump body and short neck, along with flowery beak and tail, one that looks more like a goose.

In Hinduism

The hamsa is often identified with the Supreme Spirit, Ultimate Reality or Brahman in Hinduism. The flight of the hamsa symbolizes moksha, the release from the cycle of birth, death, and. reincarnation known as samsara.John Bowker (1998), Picturing God, Series Editor: Jean Holm, Bloomsbury Academic, , pp 99-101

The hamsa is also the vahana of Saraswati – the goddess of knowledge and creative arts, and her husband Brahma – the god with powers of creation, in Hindu trinity and his other wife Gayatri - the goddess of vedas (vedmata), one of Adi shakti.

Paramahamsa

In view of the association of the hamsa with several attributes as indicated above, Hindu rishis (sages) and sadhus (Hindu ascetic or holy person) have been given the title of ''paramahamsa'', that is, the ''supreme hamsa''. It connotes a particular person who has reached a high level of spirituality.

For example, ''Paramahamsa Upanishad'' calls that yogi a Paramahamsa who is neither opinionated nor affected by defamation, nor jealous, not a show off, is humble, and is oblivious to all the human frailties. He is immune to the existence of his body, which he treats as a corpse. He is beyond false pretensions and lives realizing the Brahman. In chapter 3, the ''Paramahamsa Upanishad'' states that the one who understands the difference between "staff of knowledge" and "staff of wood", is a Paramahamsa.

Mythology

Hamsa, or hansa, are part of Indian mythology. ''Arayanna'', or heavenly hamsa (swans), are said to live in ''Manasasaras'' in the Himalayas. They are mentioned in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Hamsa, the swan, is part of the mythical love story of Nala and Damayanti, where it carries the stories, historical information and messages between the two strangers.

In Indian mythology, it is said to eat pearls and separate milk from water from a mixture of the two. Charles Lanman states that the references to ''hamsa'' being able to separate or discriminate is used primarily in a metaphorical sense in Sanskrit poetry. This likely has some basis in mythology or nature. One possibility is the belief that the milk refers to the sap exuded from the stems of lotuses (''kshira''). The other, states Lanman, is that "the swan, goose, duck and flamingo have a series of lamellae which serve as a sieve for straining their food from the water that they take in". Thus, it may be referring to the bird's ability to extract the nourishing part from a mixture.

Buddhism

The hamsa was also used extensively in the art of Gandhara, in conjunction with images of the Shakyamuni Buddha. Nandhita Krishna translates this as swan, in the Gandharan context. Martin Lerner and Steven Kossak identify a 2nd-century BCE Gandharan relief now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, item 1987.142.212) that shows a swan with a rider.

The hamsa is deemed sacred in the Buddhism, as a symbol of wisdom. Some scholars such as Donald Swearer translate it as swan, others such as Thien Chou as goose. In historic Nepalese art, hamsa are either sketched as a swan or goose-like bird, while in historic Tibetan artwork it appears as goose-like bird likely reflecting the Indian region from where the Tibetan monks borrowed their iconography.

Contemporary usage

The name in other languages in which it is culturally important are Hindi: ''hans'', Telugu: హంస, ''hamsa'' Tamil: ''அன்னப்பறவை''; km, ហង្ស, ''hong''; my, ဟင်္သာ, , and commonly spelt ''hintha'' or ''hinthar''; mnw, ဟံသာ (ၜိုပ်), or ''hongsa''; Shan: , or ''hangsa''; Thai: ''hong'' (หงส์), ; Malay: ''angsa'' (اڠسا). ''Angsa'' in Malay language is specifically referred to '' Anser albifrons''.

The hintha (equivalent to hamsa) is widely depicted in Burmese art, considered to be a ruddy shelduck in its culture, and has been adopted as the symbol of the Mon people. In parts of Myanmar, the ''hintha'' iconography is more like a hen than a duck, reflecting the local fauna.Pascal Christel (2020), Splendour of Buddhism in Burma, Patridge Singapore, , pages 79–84 with figures

Gallery

File:KanishkaCasket.JPG, Hamsa border on the Kanishka casket, 2nd century CE
File:BimaranCasket.JPG, Hamsa birds between the architectural spires on the Bimaran casket, 1st century CE
File:1895 CE Saraswati on hamsa सरस्वती हंस painting 2.jpg, Saraswati with a hamsa (c. 1895, British Library)
File:1895 CE Saraswati on hamsa सरस्वती हंस painting.jpg, Sarasvati with a hamsa (19th-century, British Library)
File:2 Hindu deity Sarasvati Saraswati on ceramic tile in Munnar Kerala India March 2014.jpg, Sarasvati and a hamsa (Kerala tile)
File:Mahabharata01ramauoft 0024 01.jpg, A hamsa with the goddess Saraswati (Indian painting, 19th century)
File:Ravi Varma-Princess Damayanthi talking with Royal Swan about Nala.jpg, Hamsa talking to Damayanti as depicted by Raja Ravi Varma (19th century)

References

* ''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' () by Anna Dallapiccola
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamsa (Bird)
Legendary birds
Burmese culture
Hindu legendary creatures
Avatars of Vishnu