A kumbha () is a type of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

in India. Traditionally, it is made by

Kumbhar Kumhar or Kumbhar is a caste or community in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Kumhars have historically been associated with the art of pottery. Etymology The Kumhars derive their name from the Sanskrit word ''Kumbhakar'' meaning eart ...

s, also known as ''Prajapati''s. In the context of

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, Jain and

Buddhist mythology The Buddhist traditions have created and maintained a vast body of mythological literature. The central myth of Buddhism revolves around the purported events of the life of the Buddha. This is told in relatively realistic terms in the earlie ...

, the kumbha symbolises the womb. It represents fertility, life, generative power of human beings and sustenance and is generally associated with

devi ''Devī'' (; ) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is Deva (Hinduism), ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept ...

s, particularly

Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

. Quote: The Kumbha: After the ''Makara'', Ganga's most distinctive sculptural feature is the full vase, first appearing with the river goddess on the same Varaha cave frieze from Udaygiri. Although not common in the early stages of the Ganga image, the full vase appears more and more frequently as the Ganga theme reaches maturity.

Mythological origin

According to

mythology, the first kumbha was created by

Prajapati Prajapati (, ) is a Vedas, Vedic deity of Hinduism. He is later identified with Brahma, the creator god. Prajapati is a form of the creator-god Brahma, but the name is also the name of many different gods, in many Hindu scriptures, ranging f ...

on the occasion of the marriage of

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, so he was first ''kumbhara'' "potter".The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Volume 4
by R. V. Russell Another myth says that the first pot was created by

Vishvakarman Vishvakarma or Vishvakarman (, ) is a craftsman deity and the divine architect of the Deva (Hinduism), devas in contemporary Hinduism. In the early texts, the craftsman deity was known as Tvastar and the word "Vishvakarma" was originally used a ...

on the occasion of the churning of the ocean for the first

Amrit Sanchar Amrit Sanskar (, pronunciation: , lit. "nectar ceremony") is one of the four Sikh Sanskaars. The Amrit Sanskar is the initiation rite introduced by Guru Gobind Singh when he founded the Khalsa in 1699. A Sikh who has been initiated into the ...

. In Hindu mythology and

scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

, several references are found of human beings born from kumbha. A legend states that

rishi In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "gre ...

Agastya Agastya was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the Indian tradition, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent. He is regarded in some traditions to be a Chiranjivi. He and his wife ...

was born out of a kumbha. In several religious ceremonies and rituals, kumbhas or

kalasha A kalasha, also called Pūrṇa-Kalaśa, Pūrṇa-Kumbha, Pūrṇa-Ghaṭa, also called ghat or ghot or kumbh ( , Telugu: కలశము Kannada: ಕಳಶ literally "pitcher, pot"), is a metal (brass, copper, silver or gold) pot with a large ...

s filled with water and leaves and decorated with intricate motifs, sometimes with ornaments, play an important role in ancient India. These rituals still survive in India. In Hindu astrology, the kumbha stands for the zodiac sign Aquarius and is ruled by 2 important planets that is (Saturn and Rahu). Kumbha is also associated with the

Kumbha Mela Kumbh Mela (, ; ) is an important Hindu pilgrimage, celebrated approximately every 6 or 12 years, correlated with the partial or full revolution of Jupiter. It is the largest peaceful gathering of people in the world. A ritual dip in the ...

, which happens when the planet

Brihaspati Brihaspati (, ), is a Hindu god. In the ancient Vedic scriptures, Brihaspati is associated with fire, and the word also refers to a god who counsels the devas and devis (gods and goddesses). In some later texts, the word refers to the large ...

moves into Aquarius. In Hindu epic

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

Ravana According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antag ...

's brother

Kumbhakarna Kumbhakarna (Sanskrit: कुम्भकर्ण, lit. ''pot-eared'') is a powerful rakshasa and younger brother of Ravana from the Hinduism, Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Despite his gigantic size and appetite, he is described as a virtuous c ...

had a son named Kumbha, who was killed by

Sugriva Sugriva (, ), is a character In the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana. He is the younger brother of Vali (Ramayana), Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara kingdom of Kishkindha. He is a son of Surya, the Hindu deity of the sun. As the king ...

. With time professions turned in to last names e.g. the last name Kumbha refers to one of the surnames of Schedule tribe Community named Yerukala in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

References

;General * *''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' () by Anna Dallapiccola {{HinduMythology Hindi words and phrases Indian pottery Hindu symbols

Mythological origin

See also

References