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sambya
27 June 2010, 02:43 PM
since childhood i have seen ganga devi seated on makara--a creature which has a body like a fish and the head like an elephant . a few years back i saw a picture of ganga devi in iskcon books , seated on a crocodile ! i was a bit surprised , but didnt pay any heed , since by then i was used to the tendency of iskcon to willfully distort facts .

later however i saw ganga seated on a crocodile in haridwar also ! this time i got confused . could it be that the makara that im used to seeing is a local regional influence .

but this year i reaserached into the matter further and saw that makara is indeed that combined creature and not a crocodile . in the ancient temples of ellora at maharshatra they have stone carvings of three main rivers , ganga , jamuna and saraswati . here too ganga stands on makara -- a fish with elephants head .

think of the makara-kundala (makara shaped earring) of krishna . they too look that way .

but im perplexed why and how did this change come in ? has it anything to do with satisfying the rationalistic mindset of modern people ?!!

i have noticed another deviation in isckon too . garuda , the carrier of vishnu is now depicted in their books as an eagle !!!!


what do you think ?

NayaSurya
29 June 2010, 10:37 AM
It's funny but I also noticed this one night after I was given this word and when given a word I always read everything I can about the word.. I did not understand why in ancient times he is almost humanesque but then changes to just an eagle on many modern renditions.

sambya
29 June 2010, 11:32 AM
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GkuQDScRKGc/SSFHjI2SPjI/AAAAAAAAE_g/BjVtZ4tEljI/s400/sri_ganga_photo.bmp
http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/10-07/makara2.gifhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Ganga.jpg

i have given the topic some thoughts .


all ancient sculptures show makara as a mythical beast with a body like a whale . stout legs . a tail which is sometimes shaped like the tailfin of a whale or dolphin . and the head which has ears like pig and an elongated curved snout , usually curled upwards like an elephants trunk . in some version this snout has teeths .

from physical appearance it seems that they are misrepresented versions of gangetic dolphin ( has elongated snout and the typical whale like tail and body ) or of gharial crocodile ( has elongated snout and stout legs )

could it be that makara was really the sanskrit word for crocodile or gangetic dolphin , which was lost in time ?

this seems a distant possiblity . fishing on ganges has been an ancient occupation and people couldnt have been completely unaware of how dolphins looks like . even now , ganges beside busy polluted cities like calcutta has gangetic dolphins within its waters which sometimes get caught in fishermans net ! i have spotted them many times myself .

and gharials crocs were abundant in ancient india .

ancient sculptures were made following definite rules as set down by shilpa shastras authored by brahmin scholars . if makara was indeed gangetic dolphin or crocodile then the scholars would have corrected the sculptor . specially in those ancient days when individual freedom was not granted to artists engaged in religious art making .


secondly take a look at the makara scultpres worldwide . it all shows the elephant shaped head .

then how did this change come by all of a sudden ??

im scared that it might have started to appease the rationalistic , westernised mindset of modern indians !! a desire to see the so called 'scientific truth' in everything .

in olden days it was science which was judged on the yardstick of religion . and now we find that it is religion that is being judged on the yardstick of science .

sambya
29 June 2010, 11:43 AM
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EkYjfK3NpRw/SjTkuVW6Q2I/AAAAAAAACdE/wY5L17ywEwc/s400/gangetic+dolphin.jpg




http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1046/1473513864_597dfc52be.jpg
GHARIAL CROCODILE

sambya
29 June 2010, 11:50 AM
MAKARA HEAD SCULPTURES




http://old.blades.free.fr/pics/picutilities/makara_sumb.jpg



http://www.flat3.co.uk/india/full_size/990140.jpg


http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/images/aria/ak/org/ak-mak-247.org?aria/maxwidth_288

yajvan
29 June 2010, 12:08 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté sambya,


since childhood i have seen ganga devi seated on makara--a creature which has a body like a fish and the head like an elephant . a few years back i saw a picture of ganga devi in iskcon books , seated on a crocodile ! i was a bit surprised , but didnt pay any heed , since by then i was used to the tendency of iskcon to willfully distort facts .
I know maraka as of the 10th sign of the zodiac Capricorn. Yet a 'capricorn' is not = to maraka. Maraka is also regarded as the emblem of kāmadeva , I wonder why? Do you have an opinion?

Maraka is male, mákarī is female. I wonder if there is any difference to whom the devatā choose as their mount (vāhana ) male or female ?

praṇām

sambya
29 June 2010, 12:14 PM
namaskar yajvan ji . thanks for your input .

yes evn i have heard that makara is associated with kamadeva but have no idea why . it is also associated with varuna , but that can be given an explanation , since both are water deities .

i have also heard about makara representing the capricorn sign . makara-sankranti ...........right ?

makara and makari ? never heard of that one !!! if only we had a pair at zoo .........all problems and doubts could be put to rest !!! hehe

yajvan
29 June 2010, 05:27 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté sambya,


namaskar yajvan ji . thanks for your input .

yes evn i have heard that makara is associated with kamadeva but have no idea why . it is also associated with varuna , but that can be given an explanation , since both are water deities .

i have also heard about makara representing the capricorn sign . makara-sankranti ...........right ?

makara and makari ? never heard of that one !!! if only we had a pair at zoo .........all problems and doubts could be put to rest !!! hehe

Makara is Capricorn as we have mentioned...saṃkrānti is the course or passage or entry into , transference to; so the entrance point that begins at 0º.

We know this sign is owned by śani ( the slow moving one) Saturn. Lets look at maraka in a slightly different light. Ma+kara - Ma as a noun is considered welfare, happiness +kara is doer, that act of doing. We can see how this is associated with the 10th sign. The 10th house is of one's career; actions (kara) that bring welfare (ma).

And śani is the kāraka ( the doer, the indicator, instrumental in bringing about an action) of labor and work. Mars very much likes being in markara ( is exhalted) but guru ( Jupiter) is fallen or is humbled there.
Because this is a working sign it is considered a vaiśya varṇa sign.

praṇām