Indīvara
Indīvara, “the blue lotus”
Grammar: neuter noun, the name of the blue lotus; often in compounds such as indīvara-śyāma, “dark as the blue lotus”.
Meaning: the blue lotus, a water-flower of deep blue colour; used as the image of dark beauty and offered in pūjā.
In the scriptures: the Vāmana Purāṇa uses the flower in these places:
- When spring came to Badarikāśrama, Vasanta Lakshmī, the beauty of Spring, entered the āśrama with hands of red aśoka, feet of red kiṃśuka, hair of blue aśoka, a face of the blooming lotus, and eyes of the blue indīvara (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 6).
- Where King Saṃvaraṇa hunted, the edge of the Vaibhrāja forest was full of water-flowers: kokanada, kalhāra, padma, kamala, indīvara and kumuda (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 22).
- Prahlāda tells Bali: “Where is defeat for those who trust Vishṇu alone as their refuge? Where is humiliation for those who establish in their hearts Janārdana, dark as the indīvara?” (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 67).
- Teaching the pūjā of Śrī Hari, Prahlāda says that creepers, tender sprouts, darbha shoots, many kinds of water-flowers, kamalas, indīvaras, water lilies and soft dūrvā should be used in the pūjā of Bhagavān Vishṇu (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 68).
Related terms: Kamala · Padma · Kumuda · Kalhāra · Utpala
Sources
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 6, 22, 67, 68