Last modified: 2005-09-24 by rob raeside
Keywords: flag | religion | hinduism | nepal | swastika | gratitude flags | om |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
See also:
I heard something in a TV report (made by Finnish TV
YLE in Nepal) about flags of Hindu gods. This one
(we only saw the flag pole, I could not see the flag
itself) was raised to commemorate the visit of a God in
disguise, who is told to have come down on a Nepalese
valley to steal flowers and bring them back as a gift
to his mother, then was captured by village people,
etc. The point is that nowadays, Nepalese people use
such flags in their major celebrations, and this does
not seem to be mere decorative banners. One flag is
associated with one God. Does anybody know more about
this?
Thanh-Tâm Lê, 15 October 1998
The bitriangular Flags of Hindu Gods are named dhvajas. Some descriptions are contained in the
Hindu Epic literature (Mahabharata and Ramayana). Today we can see frequently the red dhvaja an the white dhvaja respectively in the summit of a shaiva (shivaite) or a vaishnava (vishnuite) temple.
Alessandro Grossato, 15 October 1998
As a Hindu I can safely say that the swastika is a Hindu symbol and has
been used for a very, very long time. It could also be used by Buddhists, I suppose as their religion has it's origin in ours.
On the question of use of the swastika I can tell you that it can frequently be seen in Hindu places of worship in India and in the UK however I have never seen it on a flag during my trip to India in 1993.
Nitesh Dave, 10 February 1999