Thread: ivory balinees
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Old 19th July 2008, 09:23 PM   #8
David
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LOUIEBLADES
The blade seems older but may not be Balinese?

Lew
Yeah, i would agree with Semar, both old and Balinese.
Yep, Parasvati (or Sarasvati)...that would explain the breasts.
...and the other symbolism. From Wikipedia:
She is shown to hold the following in her hands:
A book, which is the sacred Vedas, representing the universal, divine, eternal, and true knowledge as well as her perfection of the sciences and the scriptures.
A mala (rosary) of crystals, representing the power of meditation and spirituality.
A pot of sacred water, representing creative and purificatory powers.
The vina, a musical instrument that represents her perfection of all arts and sciences. Saraswati is also associated with anurāga, the love for and rhythm of music which represents all emotions and feelings expressed in speech or music. It is believed that children born with that name will prove to be very lucky in their studies.
A white swan is often located next to her feet. The sacred swan, if offered a mixture of milk and water, is said to be able to drink the milk alone. The swan thus symbolizes discrimination between the good and the bad or the eternal and the evanescent. Due to her association with the swan, Goddess Saraswati is also referred to as Hamsa-vahini, which means "she who has a swan as her vehicle".
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