In what water do lotuses grow. Lotus - the sacred flower of the East

04.03.2020

In the language of flowers, lotus means - happiness, health, long life, wisdom. It is customary to give a lotus only to well-known people as a sign of kindred and friendly feelings.

Why do people worship this plant in ancient times and today? Maybe the reason is that its flowers are amazingly beautiful and always turned towards the sun? Or maybe because it gave people delicious food and a cure for many diseases. How medicinal plant lotus was known in China for several millennia before new era. In traditional Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Arabic, Tibetan medicine, all parts of the plant were used to prepare medicines - whole seeds or their large mealy embryos, receptacle, petals, pedicels, stamens, pistils, leaves, roots and rhizomes.

In our time, various biologically active substances have been found in the plant, mainly alkaloids and flavonoids. Lotus preparations are used as a tonic, cardiotonic, general tonic. In addition, the lotus is a valuable food and dietary plant. In the countries of Southeast Asia, it has long been used in nutrition and is specially grown as a vegetable. Rhizomes are eaten raw, boiled, fried, pickled for the winter. Soup is boiled from the roots, starch and oil are obtained. Young leaves are eaten like asparagus. Seeds are eaten raw and candied as a delicacy, candied and pieces of rhizomes - a kind of "marmalade" is obtained. Flour is prepared from seeds and rhizomes. Even stamens and stems are eaten.

On the the globe two types of lotuses grow: L. walnut (Nelumbo nucifera), an inhabitant of the Old World - a well-known aquatic plant. The boundary of its range in the north runs along the Amur River basin, and in the south it descends to the tropics of Northern Australia. The second species - L. yellow, or American (N. lutea) is common in the New World.

Lotus is an amphibious herbaceous perennial plant. Lotus stems, which have turned into a powerful thick rhizome, are immersed in underwater soil. Some leaves are underwater, scaly, others are surface, floating or raised high above the water.

The flowers are large, up to 30 cm in diameter, with numerous pink or white petals, they rise high above the water on a straight pedicel. Just below the place of attachment of the flower there is a so-called response zone, in which the lotus changes its position following the sun. The center of the flower is made up of numerous bright yellow stamens and a wide, obversely conical receptacle. The flowers have a slight but pleasant aroma. The fruit is a multi-nutlet, of an obversely conical shape - it resembles a garden watering can bell, with large nests, each of which contains one seed. They are dark brown, the size of a small acorn, there are up to 30 of them in the fruit. In a dry place, they remain viable for a very long time, sometimes for centuries.
There are cases when seeds stored in museum collections germinated 150 and even 200 years after collection.

Leaves and flowers are covered with the thinnest wax coating. Under the rays of the sun, they glow and shimmer like mother-of-pearl. Drops of water, like balls of mercury, roll over the leaves. On a hot sunny day, you can observe a very interesting phenomenon - a "living laboratory" in action - "boiling" of water. In the deepening of the leaf with air coming out of the petiole holes, water is thrown out in small sprays.

Exists legend explaining the birth of this plant:

Once a beautiful fairy was walking along the river bank, and here a young fisherman saw her.

He called out to the beauty - and as soon as their eyes met, love settled in the hearts of young people.

But it was not destined to be in love together - the father of the fairy, the cunning and treacherous Lord of the Rivers, found out about their dates. He had long been looking after a groom for his daughter.

Knowing her rebellious disposition, the Lord of the Rivers decided to separate the lovers by cunning.

He removed the golden ring from the finger of his sleeping daughter at night and threw it as far as he could. And the next day he called the lovers to him and announced that he was ready to give his daughter as a wife to a mere mortal, since their feelings were so strong. But on condition that the fisherman will be able to find the ring of his betrothed, which she so carelessly dropped.

The lovers were saddened, but the old heron whispered to the river fairy that she saw something glittering in the lotus flower. The beauty was delighted, hurried to her beloved to tell him where to look for the ring.

But the insidious father got ahead of her and hid the ring inside a nut that grew on his orders in a flower. And to confuse the search, exactly the same nuts appeared in other colors, swaying on the water surface.

The fisherman failed to find the ring of his beloved. They say that this ring is still kept in the middle of a beautiful flower, and whoever finds it will receive a beautiful river fairy as his wife, and as a dowry - power over all rivers and lakes.

In every culture lotus endowed with special properties and magical features. The species diversity of these properties depends on many qualities of the lotus and, of course, on culture. Lotus flowers are characterized by several criteria, such as the number of petals, the shape, size and color of the flower itself.

Lotus with five petals denotes the five stages of life that a person goes through: birth, teaching, marriage, rest from work and, finally, death.

seven petal lotus is the symbol of the seven planets.

Lotus flower with eight petals symbolized in India as the Heart of Being. That is where Brahma resides.

nine petal flower- designation of a person, and ten-petalled- God and the universe.

IN Medieval Europe the ordinary lotus was the prototype of the sun, the center and the heart, and the many-petalled lotus with a triangle in the center was the prototype of emptiness and the end.

As for man and human body, then here the lotus can also symbolize a lot. This unusual and mysterious flower is a symbol of human reproduction and the unity of male and female principles, as well as all opposites.

In ancient Rome there was a legend that said that during the persecution of Priapus, the nymph Lotis turned into a lotus flower. Ovid's "Metamorphoses" tells how Dryope, having plucked a lotus, turned into a lotus tree.

Romans considered the lotus flower of Apollo.

Greeks this flower was a romantic love bed for Zeus and Hera.

In Egypt this flower was associated with ideas about fertility and productive power, about death and resurrection. He contacted the Nile and the Sun; and also served as a throne for the supreme deities and therefore often symbolized the highest power. The lotus became the emblem of Upper Egypt, while the papyrus of Lower Egypt. The images of a closed and open flower bud formed the basis of two types of Egyptian column capitals, Egyptian blue lotus blooms during the day and closes at night, it has become a symbol of dawn, awakening from sleep; it was placed in the tombs so that the dead would wake up in the next world. The white lotus is closed during the day and blooms only at night; he became a symbol of sleep. The Egyptians believed that the fruits of the white lotus give oblivion and bliss. Subsequently, the symbolism of the lotus spread from Egypt to Greece; so, for example, Homer reflected the plot of the lotus eaters, the island of which Odysseus visited: having tasted the lotus, his companions wanted to stay on the island forever.

Besides all this, lotus flowers are a symbol life path man and nature. For example, in Tibet, the wheel of life is arranged so that the past, present and future exist simultaneously, and the lotus, in turn, symbolized all three stages of being: the bud is the past, the flower is the present, and the seeds are the future. A person has three worlds (material, spiritual and intellectual), in which he lives all his life, and the lotus exists in three elements. The three stages symbolized by the lotus, exist also in the form of a reflection of the gradual spiritual improvement of a person in the course of his whole life. First it is ignorance, then an attempt to overcome it, and finally acquired with life experience understanding.

IN China lotus was revered as a sacred plant even before the spread of Buddhism. The lotus was endowed with a sacred meaning (as the personification of fertility and purity at the same time): incense was burnt to the spirit of the lotus in order to exile evil forces, in the west of the world, according to legends, the so-called lotus paradise-lotus lake was located. Each lotus that grows on this lake corresponds to the soul of a deceased person. Depending on the virtue or sinfulness of a person's earthly life, lotus flowers either bloom or wither.

The meaning of lotus flowers:

White Lotus was a symbol of sleep, as it was revealed only at night, symbolizes the state of spiritual perfection.

blue lotus symbolized awakening from sleep and the beginning of a new day, therefore, in order for the dead to wake up in another world, a blue lotus was placed in their coffin. The lotus was also used by the Romans, Greeks and Christians during burial. And among Christians, he was also a “flower of Light”, which symbolized Trinity and Christ.

In Buddhism, it is a symbol of the victory of the spirit over feelings, a symbol of wisdom possessing knowledge.

red lotus- symbolizes the original nature and purity of the heart. The red lotus is the lotus of love, compassion, the suffering of martyrs, passion and all other properties of the heart.

pink lotus- the supreme lotus, always corresponds to the highest deities - is associated with the Buddha himself.

The lotus often symbolized the gods in different cultures. The ancient Egyptian Horus (the god of royalty, who was represented as the incarnation of the ancient Egyptian king) rose from the lotus, which meant the birth of the world from water and fire.

The Indian Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was depicted sitting on a lotus - a symbol of everything new, renewed and reborn. Vishnu is the Hindu Supreme God, the personification Absolute Truth- compares the lotus, which grows from his navel, with the universe arising from the central sun.

In Buddhism, the lotus symbolizes the primordial waters, spiritual unfoldment, wisdom, and nirvana. The lotus is dedicated to the Buddha, the "Pearl of the Lotus", who emerged from the lotus in the form of a flame. This is an image of purity and perfection: growing out of the mud, it remains pure - just like the Buddha, born in the world. Buddha is considered the heart of the lotus, he sits on a throne in the form of a fully opened flower. In addition, in Buddhism, the beginning of a new space age is associated with the appearance of the lotus. The full bloom of the lotus personifies the wheel of a continuous cycle of existence and is a symbol of Kwan-yin, Buddha Maitreya and Amitabha. In the Buddhist paradise, as in the paradise of Vishnu, in the reservoirs made of jewels, "amazing lotuses bloom different colors".

In Taoism the lotus acts as an analogue of the world tree, connecting the three levels of the universe: it grows from silt, its stem is in the water, and the flower is facing the sky. The lotus also symbolizes the evolution of man. It expresses the unity of yang and yin and as such is perceived as a symbol of the Tao.

It is not for nothing that the lotus is a symbol of purity in almost all traditions. He is able to clear the space around him from negative vibrations. The aura of this plant exudes an energy field so powerful that no filth can coexist next to it. The room where the lotus is located becomes sacred from its very presence, which is why the lotus is so often used to consecrate the altar.

Often the lotus is used to protect against witchcraft. The biofield of this plant is able to neutralize any negative energies. Where the lotus is located, not a single black magic works, any attempts to create any evil will be nullified.

LOTUS JUICE

Divine and childlike
Forehead - through the tropical darkness.
In the eyes that persist on the floor
The shyness of good families.
-
Through the virgin letters
You seem to me to be a ravenous shoot,
Whose virginity is entwined
Upbringing, like a creeper.
-
Extend your holiness! Mouth and eye
Keep the sacred vessels!
Born under the tropics
Love, and I'm from there to you:
-
From ferns, horsetails,
Flocks of reeds, traceless paths ...
Where is all the oblivion of things
In the palm of a lotus stem
-
Resting. Induces sleep
Lotus juice. Wine without foam
Lotus juice... Children and wives
How swoon reduces members
-
Lotus juice... Look, it's empty
Palm. - But at the hour of the moon from the East
(Lotus juice...) - word of mouth
Taste - the dream of lotus juice.
-
July 23, 1923
Tsvetaeva Marina

Head down sleepy
Under the fire of daylight,
Quiet lotus fragrant
Waiting for shimmering nights.
-
And just floats
In the sky a gentle moon,
He raises his head
Waking up from sleep.
-
Shines on fragrant sheets
His pure tears dew,
And he trembles with love
Sadly looking up at the sky.

Heinrich Heine

Lotus - the sacred flower of Buddhism surprises scientists all over the world, its leaves and petals always remain clean. The flower serves as a symbol of the spirit that has risen above the sensual world, as it keeps its spotless White flower emerging from muddy water. This is due to its rough surface, visible under a microscope, from which all dirt is washed away by rain.

Photo of a pink lotus in the sun. For three days, pale pink or white flowers open in the morning in all their splendor and close in the evening. But on the fourth day beautiful flowers wither. And this is not surprising, because the lotus flowers spent a lot of energy ...

Lotus is a relative of water lilies and grows in Africa in the waters of the Nile River. The leaves of the lotus are concave in the middle, 1.5 m wide, and its pinkish or white flowers reach 35 cm in diameter. When the Nile flooded, bringing fertile silt to the fields, lotuses began to bloom along the banks of the river, in ditches and ditches. From ancient times, a proverb has been preserved: "There are many lotuses on the water, fertility will be great."

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote: "When the river overflows its banks and floods the plain, on the water grow into in large numbers lilies, called by the Egyptians "lotus". They cut them, dry them in the sun, then break the poppy-like seeds extracted from the middle of the lotus, and prepare a dough that is baked on a fire. The root of this plant is also edible and has a rather pleasant sweetish taste, it is round and the size of an apple. "The plant gave people delicious food and a cure for many diseases.

Lotus flowers are amazingly beautiful and always facing the sun. Purity and beauty is what makes it sacred. Although the lotus grows out of muddy water, it always remains dry, radiates purity and freshness. The reason for this is the special structure of its petals and leaves: they can repel water and self-clean. Water collects in drops and flows down, while collecting from the leaf everything that can pollute it.

The sacred lotus flower was worshiped for many centuries, it occupied an honorable place in religious rites, traditions and legends, this is evidenced by numerous monuments of writing, architecture and art. More than five and a half thousand years ago, the Egyptians depicted lotuses on tombs, and on the altars of sacrifices, he symbolized the resurrection from the dead, although in the hieroglyphs of the Egyptians it meant joy and pleasure. Women, going to visit, decorated their hairstyles with lotus flowers, held their bouquets in their hands.

The sacred lotus of the ancient Egyptians, from which the god Ra was born and which served as a throne for the goddess of fertility Isis and the sun god Osiris, who was depicted sitting on a lotus leaf, and the god of Light Mountains on a flower. This expressed the connection of the flower with the sun, which, like the water lily flower, opens in the morning and sinks into the water in the evening. Even in ancient times, the Egyptians noticed that the lotus is very light-loving, it can open both at sunrise and at moonrise.

The flower has become a symbol of Egypt and five lotus flowers have been adorned in the state emblem since ancient times, and the scepter - a sign of the power of the Egyptian pharaohs - was made in the form of a flower on a long stem. The flower and buds were beaten out on Egyptian coins, the columns of Egyptian palaces and temples were decorated with its image, at the base of which were lotus leaves, and in the upper part - a bunch of stems with flowers and buds.

In addition to white, in the Nile Valley there is also a blue Nile lotus, which the Egyptians call "sky lily", and even bright red lotuses grow in Tibet, India and Mongolia. In India, they are loved and revered, still singing it in ritual dances. The red lotus is still the emblem of modern India. There is even a saying: "Lotus flowers are a ship on which a drowning person in the middle of the ocean of life can find his salvation."

Mythopoetic tradition ancient india she imagined the earth as a giant lotus blooming on the surface of the waters, and paradise as a huge lake overgrown with beautiful pink lotuses, where righteous, pure souls live.

In the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, a lotus is described, which had a thousand petals, shone like the sun and scattered around a delicious aroma. This lotus, according to legend, lengthened life, returned youth and beauty.

The white lotus is an indispensable attribute of divine power. In India, a flower is a symbol of purity - growing out of dirt, it is never dirty, and therefore it is compared with a chaste person who does not stick to any filth. Indian mythology endowed with such chastity the goddess Sri, or Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu, who was considered the patroness of fertility and prosperity. She was called "born of a lotus", "standing on a lotus", "colored with a lotus". In one of the temple medallions, the goddess Sri is depicted standing on a lotus. Surrounded by leaves and flowers, she swims across the ocean.

Many gods of India have traditionally been depicted standing or sitting on a lotus or holding a flower. Buddha sits on it and Brahma rests. Vishnu, the demiurge of the universe, holds a lotus in one of his four hands. "Lotus goddesses" are depicted with a flower in their hair. An abundant rain of lotuses poured down from the sky at the time of the birth of the Buddha, and wherever the foot of the divine newborn had set foot, a huge lotus grew.

And in China, the lotus was revered as a sacred plant. There, the flower also represents purity, chastity, fertility, productive force. In addition, he is a symbol of summer and is one of the eight emblems of a successful prediction.

In Taoist folklore, the virtuous maiden He Xiangu was depicted holding in her hands a "flower of open cordiality" - a lotus or a wand with elements of this flower. Its image plays an important role in Chinese, Buddhist art, in particular in painting: - in the western part of the sky, ancient Chinese artists painted a lotus lake. The lotus growing on this lake, according to their ideas, communicated with the soul of a deceased person. Depending on the degree of virtue of a person in earthly life, the flowers blossomed or wilted.

Colorful photos of blooming lotuses will give happiness and good luck in an effort to comprehend all the secrets of nature. .

Lotus in human life

As a medicinal plant, the flower was known in China for several millennia BC. In traditional Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Arabic, Tibetan medicine, all parts of the plant were used to prepare medicines - whole seeds or their large mealy embryos, receptacle, petals, pedicels, stamens, pistils, leaves, roots and rhizomes.

In addition, it is a valuable food and dietary plant. Its root and fruits are edible. After successful pollination, the plant produces edible seeds the size of a hazelnut. Boiled in sugar, they are considered a favorite children's treat in Asia.

In Japan and China, various dishes are also prepared from the roots and leaves of this plant. The rural populations of China, India and Japan still use their seeds and rhizomes to make flour and produce starch, sugar and oil. The rhizomes are often boiled into soup or cooked as a side dish. They say that among confectionery in China, candied lotus rhizomes are famous for cut into small slices, reminiscent of marmalade in taste. In addition, the Chinese eat stamens and stems, believing that this food restores beauty and youth to the elderly. Chinese women adorn themselves with its flowers, as the ancient Egyptians and Phoenicians once did.

In ancient Greece, stories were circulated about people eating lotus - "lotophages" ("lotus eaters"). According to legend, the one who tastes the lotus flowers will never want to part with the homeland of this flower.

An ordinary lotus has fruits that are not sweet, a lotus-eater flower is another species (lotus tree) that has sweet fruits. The lotus tree, along with the flower, is of considerable importance in symbolism. In the same Greek mythology, the nymph Lotis (Lotis), escaping from Priapus pursuing her, turned into a lotus tree.

Lotus is often used to get rid of depression, longing and sadness. Moreover, its property is such that it brings out of a depressed state very smoothly, gradually. This enables the human body and psyche to properly adapt to the surrounding reality. And if you get out of depression abruptly, that is, from melancholy immediately into wild fun, then this will only give a negative result, since this is already an extreme, while health is harmony.

The aura of the lotus is capable of changing the consciousness of a person, directing his thoughts to more spiritual spheres. After all, it is not for nothing that in the East from ancient times to this day the lotus has been the most popular symbol spiritual development, as well as a symbol of almost all eastern deities.

The use of lotus is especially recommended for those people who are too mired in the material world, who all the time think only about work, money and gain, completely forgetting about the second side of their personality - the spiritual. If such a person carries lotus petals with him or sits near this plant for at least half an hour, then gradually his character and consciousness will change. His nature will become more refined, he will gradually begin to turn his gaze to spiritual matters.

lotus life force

In 1881, during the excavation of the tomb of Pharaoh Ramses II and Princess Nsi Khonsu, several dried blue lotus buds were found, which had lain in the ground for 3000 years and retained their color. Among the dazzling riches of the tomb, these flowers made the greatest impression. Such is the magical power and charm of flowers.

Sometimes lotus seeds are stored for hundreds of years and are fraught with a scientific sensation. In 1933, a report flashed in the magazines that in the Kew Botanical Gardens near London, Indian lotus plants were blooming, the age of the seeds of which was equal to four centuries. When the scientists questioned this claim and decided to test it out, they managed to germinate seeds that were 1040 years old!

American scientists from the University of California managed to grow a healthy young plant from a 1228 year old lotus seed, which was kept as a relic in one of the museums. They sprouted the seed in four days, the little seed sprouted as if it had just been born. Prior to this experiment, several more ancient lotuses were grown from seeds brought from the Beijing Institute of Botany, from seeds of no less "venerable" age. This is probably the oldest germinated seed. It was found in a dry lotus pond in China. The seed lay for many hundreds of years, and after four days it released a small green sprout.

Head down sleepy
Under the fire of daylight,
Waiting for shimmering nights.
And just floats
Red moon in the sky
He raises his head
Waking up from sleep.
Shines on fragrant sheets
His pure tears dew,
And lovingly he trembles,
Sadly looking up at the sky.
G. Heine

The lotus closes its petals in the evening and returns back to the muddy swamp water to emerge only at sunrise and, shining, open up. As such, it represents unsullied beauty and unspoilt purity in a polluted environment. Lotus is a common and ambiguous symbol in Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Egyptian traditions. This is an image of the source of the world, the productive force, the deployment of being, it acts as a symbol of rebirth, beauty, life, happiness, purity and spirituality. Opening at dawn and closing at sunset, the lotus personifies the rebirth of the Sun, and hence any other rebirth, renewal vitality, the return of youth, immortality. The Eastern tradition uses the lotus to denote three stages in a person's spiritual growth: ignorance, an attempt to overcome it, and gained understanding.

IN Buddhism The lotus is a traditional symbol of purity. It is a symbol of Buddha's enlightenment. The lotus is born in muddy swamp water, but is born unstained and pure. Similarly, "beings born in one of the worlds of samsara, but who sincerely practice the teachings of the Buddha, are able to get rid of defilements over time." The lotus is one of the most recognized and elaborate Buddhist symbols. Every important and revered deity in Buddhism is associated with a lotus. Usually in the images of deities they either sit on it or hold it in their hands.

In Buddhism, the lotus symbolizes the primordial waters, spiritual unfoldment, wisdom, and nirvana. The lotus is dedicated to the Buddha, the "Pearl of the Lotus", who emerged from the lotus in the form of a flame. This is an image of purity and perfection: growing out of the mud, it remains pure - just like the Buddha, born in the world. Buddha is considered the heart of the lotus, he sits on a throne in the form of a fully opened flower.

In addition, in Buddhism, the beginning of a new space age is associated with the appearance of the lotus. The full bloom of the lotus personifies the wheel of a continuous cycle of existence and is a symbol of Kwan-yin, Buddha Maitreya and Amitabha. In the Buddhist paradise, as in the paradise of Vishnu, in the reservoirs made of jewels, "amazing lotuses of different colors bloom."

One of the most powerful and beloved bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism in Tibet, China and Japan is the Lotus-bearing Avalokiteshvara, "God who looks down with compassion" ... A prayer repeated millions of times is addressed to him: Om mani padme hum, "O Treasure in the core lotus"... He holds the lotus of the world in one of his left hands" (J. Campbell).

Lotus in Sanskrit - "padma", in Tibetan - pad ma

The lotus comes in a variety of colors, each associated with a specific Buddhist deity.
1) the white lotus is associated with. White color- the color of the body of White Tara symbolizes the state of spiritual perfection - the perfect nature of White Tara.

2) red lotus - symbolizes the original nature and purity of the heart. The red lotus is the lotus of love, compassion, the suffering of martyrs, passion and all other properties of the heart. The red lotus is associated with Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.

3) blue lotus - a symbol of the victory of the spirit over the senses, a symbol of wisdom possessing knowledge. This flower is associated with Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom.

4) pink lotus - the supreme lotus, always corresponds to the highest deities - is associated with the Buddha himself.
Pink Lotus is a symbol of the presence of the Deity on earth.

As a lotus exists in three elements (earth, water and air), so a person lives in three worlds: material, intellectual and spiritual. Moreover, the water where the lotus grows means the changing world of illusions. As a symbol of creation and knowledge, the lotus flower in Indian playing cards personifies the Buddha-avatar.

In the Tibetan tradition, the lotus symbolizes the wheel of life, where the past, present and future are represented simultaneously. An unblown bud, a blossoming flower, as well as lotus seeds symbolized the past, present and future, respectively, and the "pearl in the lotus" meant the exit from the wheel of rebirth and death and the achievement of Nirvana.

The color, size and number of lotus petals determine its symbolism.
The five-petalled lotus has many meanings: it symbolizes the five senses and worlds, birth, initiation, marriage, rest from work and death.
The seven lotus petals represent the seven planets.
The eight-petalled lotus was perceived in India as the Heart of Being, in which Brahma resides, and as a visible manifestation of occult activity.
The nine-petal lotus is a symbol of man, and the twelve-petal lotus is the symbol of the Universe and God.

Lotus is an element of a kind of religious paraphernalia:

* in Egypt it meant the sacred royal dignity,
* in Greece served as a love bed for Zeus and Hera on Mount Ida.
* in Rome, the nymph Lotis, pursued by the lustful Priapus, turned into a lotus.
* Ovid in his Metamorphoses describes how Dryopa, having plucked a lotus flower, turned into a lotus tree.

IN ancient india the lotus acts as a symbol of creative power, as an image of the creation of the world. The lotus was seen as a symbol of the universe, a reflection of the earth, which floats like a flower on the surface of the ocean. The open cup of the flower, located in the middle, is the mountain of the gods Meru.

In the Upanishads, Vishnu becomes the creator and preserver of the world. He is the beginning, middle and end of the whole world. When Vishnu wakes up, a lotus flower grows from his navel, and Brahma, who creates the worlds, is born in it. In the center of Vishnu's heavenly paradise, the heavenly Ganges flows, Vishnu's palace is surrounded by five lakes with blue, white and red lotuses that shine like emeralds and sapphires.
The lotus is associated with the wife of Vishnu - Lakshmi, the goddess of happiness, wealth and beauty. According to one of the myths, when the gods and asuras were churning the ocean, Lakshmi emerged from it with a lotus in her hands. According to other ideas, Lakshmi arose at the very beginning of creation, emerging from the primordial waters on a lotus flower; hence her names Padma or Kamala ("lotus"). The lotus-shaped throne is an attribute of most Hindu and most revered Buddhist deities.

Lotus in Indian culture personifies the mother goddess and correlates with the yoni, the female reproductive organ. The goddess of fertility was depicted with a lotus in her hair; later this detail was extended to other female deities, who were called "lotus goddesses." In general, this flower acts as a symbol of creative power: the image of the cosmic lotus is considered as the forming principle of the universe, as the source of creation. The image of the lotus in India can be endowed, in connection with its general meaning, with the functions of a mandala; it is also part of the state emblem of this country.

White Lotus

IN Ancient Egypt creation, birth and the Sun as the source of life were associated with the image of the lotus. This flower was associated with ideas about fertility and productive power, about death and resurrection.

Since ancient times, the lotus has been associated with supreme power: the lotus was a symbol of Upper Egypt, and the scepter of the Egyptian pharaohs was made in the form of a lotus flower on a long stem. This great flower blossomed, rising from the depths of the primary waters, and carried on its petals the being embodied in the image of the solar deity, the golden baby: the sun god Ra is born from the lotus. The rising sun was also often represented as Horus rising from a lotus, representing the universe. The lotus flower could serve as the throne of Osiris, Isis and Nephthys.

The lotus symbolized the renewal of vitality and the return of youth, for according to the views of the Egyptians, the old god dies in order to be reborn young. The image of the deceased holding a lotus flower speaks of the resurrection from the dead, awakening on the spiritual plane.

As a symbol of prosperity and fertility, the lotus was an attribute memphis god vegetation of Nefertum, who was depicted as a young man in a headdress in the form of a lotus flower. In the Pyramid Texts it is called "the lotus from the nose of Ra". Every morning, the god Nefertum rises from the lotus and every evening descends into the water of the sacred lake.

He associated with the Nile and the sun; and also served as a throne for the supreme deities and therefore often symbolized the highest power. The lotus became the emblem of Upper Egypt, while the papyrus of Lower Egypt. The image of the lotus permeates all Egyptian art, from the lotus-shaped capitals of temple columns to miniature toilet vessels and jewelry. The Egyptian blue lotus blooms during the day and closes at night, it has become a symbol of dawn, awakening from sleep; it was placed in the tombs so that the dead would wake up in the next world. The white lotus is closed during the day and blooms only at night; he became a symbol of sleep. The Egyptians believed that the fruits of the white lotus give oblivion and bliss. Subsequently, the symbolism of the lotus spread from Egypt to Greece; so, for example, Homer reflected the plot of lotophages - lotus eaters, whose island Odysseus visited: having tasted the lotus, his companions wanted to stay on the island forever.

IN China lotus was revered as a sacred plant even before the spread of Buddhism and personified purity and chastity, fertility and productive power. According to the tradition of Chinese Buddhism, the "Lotus of the Heart" personifies the solar fire, as well as time, invisible and all-consuming, the disclosure of all things, peace and harmony. In the western sky, in the lotus paradise, there is a lotus lake, where Amitofo (Amitabha), the Buddha of the West, sits among flowers, surrounded by bodhisattvas. Each lotus growing on this lake corresponds to the soul of a deceased person. In the Taoist tradition, one of the eight immortals, the virtuous maiden He Xian-gu, was depicted holding a symbol of purity in her hands - a white lotus flower on a long stem, curved like a sacred wand for fulfilling desires.

Two lotus plants are considered in China a symbol of marriage - they mean "one heart and harmony."

From Egypt, India and China, the symbolism of the lotus penetrated to other countries. In Greco-Roman culture, the lotus was considered a plant dedicated to Hera and Aphrodite. In a golden boat in the shape of a lotus, the ancient Greek hero Hercules makes one of his journeys. Herodotus called the pink lotus, which was considered the most sacred and miraculous, "the pink lily of the Nile." An inscription in the Temple of Hathor in Denderah says: "Take for yourself the lotus that has existed since the beginning of time, the sacred lotus that reigned over the great lake, the lotus that comes out of Unit for you, it illuminates with its petals the land that was previously in darkness."

purple lotus

White Lotus

Goddess of flowers Vajravaraha ( female tantric deity, wisdom dakini)

For more than three millennia, the lotus has been a symbol of wisdom, happiness and eternal life.

The reason for this was the natural feature of the lotus - always turn towards the sun. Due to this feature, the Egyptians considered this plant sacred.

The lotus flower was worn by Nefertiti. The lotus symbolized Upper Egypt and adorned the coat of arms of the country. The Greeks believed that lotus flowers have a rare gift to expel grief, sadness, and resentment from the soul.

General characteristics of the lotus

The lotus family (Nelumbonaceae), isolated from the nymphaeal family, is represented by only one genus - the lotus (Nelumbo) and two species - the nut-bearing lotus (N. nucifera) and the yellow lotus (N. lutea).

The species differ mainly in the color of the flowers: in the nut-bearing lotus, the flowers are pale pink, in the yellow - cream or yellow; as well as the region of distribution: the first is found in Eurasia and Australia, the second - in the New World.

The birthplace of the lotus, of course, was located in the tropical climate zone. The northern border of lotus growth coincides with the border of grape cultivation (the lower temperature limit is minus 15°C).

Lotus in nature grows in swampy lakes and slow-flowing rivers. Its creeping rhizomes are immersed in a sandy-silty bottom. When water bodies become shallow, the lotus develops normally on land for some time, but dies after a few years - obviously, when the supply of nutrients in the rhizomes is depleted.

Rhizomes are powerful, up to 5 cm in diameter, highly branched: numerous roots diverge from clearly distinguishable nodes in bunches. Substances are deposited in the rhizome that will nourish the plant all winter.

By autumn, tuberous thickenings form on it. In the spring, leaves grow from the buds at each node, and leaves and flowers grow from large buds.

Lotus leaves are of two types. Some - underwater sessile scaly - densely cover young buds and growth points of rhizomes. Others - surface floating or air - rise high above the water on flexible petioles. Floating leaves are flat, round-shield-shaped, and airy - funnel-shaped.

Lotus leaves are not wetted: water falling on them, like mercury, is collected in large drops and slides down the groove; a sheet dipped into water is covered with a silvery airy film. This is explained by a strong wax coating of leaves. In their tissues, in addition, there are air cavities.

The average height of the plant is about 1.5 m. Lotus flowers are up to 30 cm in diameter, with a delicate color of the petals, with a faint but exquisite aroma with hints of cinnamon.

There are only two sepals, and 20-30 petals; the latter, as well as numerous large stamens, are spirally arranged.

The lotus flower lives from four to five days, then fades, and lotus fruits appear - nuts that remain viable for a long time.

However, under natural conditions, the lotus reproduces mainly by branching the rhizome. Sometimes plants of the same thicket have a common, unusually extended system of rhizomes.

Tasty and healthy

Lotus seeds, leaves and rhizomes are suitable for food.

From rhizomes get flour, starch, oil. Lotus rhizomes are rich in dietary fiber, vitamin C, contain free amino acids, salts of potassium, phosphorus, copper, manganese. They are prepared like other root crops, such as Jerusalem artichoke.

Young leaves eat like asparagus. nuts popping like seeds. Leaves wrap food for heat treatment or storage.

stamens used for herbal teas and flavoring black tea.

In folk medicine, all parts of the lotus plant are used to treat diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular systems, for headaches and as a tonic.

Fragrant oil is obtained from flowers and fruits - an anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic agent.

Lotus breeding

The selection of lotus flowers has reached an unprecedented level: there are varieties from snow-white to intense purple, with many shades. Densely doubled lotuses and flowers with corrugated petals have already appeared.

Many varieties are created on the basis of hybrids of the walnut lotus and the yellow lotus. Propagate varieties by dividing rhizomes (with seed propagation offspring are heterogeneous.

In artificial reservoirs for the lotus, soil is prepared from silt, sand, a small amount of clay and gravel. Water must be clean and slow flowing. Keep in mind that lotuses grow quickly and can drown out other pond plants.

Growing from seeds

Lotuses grown from seeds bloom in the 3-5th year. Before germination, the seeds are filed (carefully so as not to damage the embryo), put in a jar with warm water placed on a sunny windowsill.

After a few days, the shell bursts, small leaves appear, and after another two or three weeks, the roots.

Seedlings are planted either immediately in a pond (if the water is warm enough), or in pots, which are placed in vessels with water.

As the lotuses grow, add water or transplant the plants into new containers: the leaves should float on the surface.

Vegetative propagation

For vegetative propagation, it is better to first plant the rhizome segments in a rooting container. The kidneys should be at the level of the surface of the pound.

During the period of rooting and growth of the rhizome, lotuses are recommended to be fed with special fertilizers for aquatic plants.

In the zone temperate climate water from reservoirs with lotuses is drained for the winter and the bottom is covered with a thick (at least 50 cm) layer of fallen leaves.

Sometimes lotuses are planted in containers, which are transferred to cellars for the winter and stored in wet sand at a temperature of 5-10 ° C.

IN winter gardens lotus is grown in large aquariums, in which the water layer above the soil surface must be at least 30 cm.

In our country, the lotus grows in the Volga Delta, in the North Caucasus (at the mouth of the Kura), in the Far East and in the Kuban estuaries on the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov.

In the Astrakhan region, before the announcement of the lotus thickets as protected areas, they were killed in the bud, feeding livestock and poultry. However, the lotus multiplies rapidly, and now its area there reaches 1500 hectares. It grows along the banks of numerous channels and lakes in the Volga delta, on the coast.

In the Far East, the lotus is found in the Amur region, along the lower reaches of the Ussuri, on Lake Malaya Khanka. Here it has been preserved from the Tertiary period; at that time the climate was warmer, but the lotus adapted to local conditions and became winter-hardy.

Usually, the bottom layer of silt, in which lotus rhizomes hibernate, does not freeze through.

In the Sea of Azov and on the Taman Peninsula, lotuses settled about 40 years ago. Initially, they were planted in a fresh lake near the Sadki farm (Primorsko-Akhtarsk region).

Attempts to plant a lotus in the Kuban estuaries have been made before. So, in 1938, the hydrobiologist S. K. Troitsky grew lotus populations from Astrakhan seeds. But because of the violation of the environment in this region, they did not survive.

In the freshwater Akhtanizovsky Estuary in the Krasnodar Territory, floating lotus leaves in shallow water reach 80 cm in diameter. is a local attraction.

In India and China, the lotus is considered sacred plant. The site site will tell you about interesting features and about useful properties this ancient vegetable crop.

Description of the lotus

Lotus is a perennial amphibian plant. It belongs to the lotus family. Three types of plants are known: the walnut lotus, the American lotus (yellow lotus) and the five-petal lotus. The American (yellow) lotus can be found on the Atlantic coast of Central and North America, as well as on the Hawaiian Islands.

Nut-bearing lotus blossoms pink flowers- this species is common in the Malay Archipelago, in the northeastern part of Australia, in southern Japan, in Indochina, Hindustan, China, Northern Iran. In our area you can find the Caspian lotus (other names: Astrakhan, Caspian or Chulpan rose). It is a subspecies of the yellow lotus, it grows both in artificial reservoirs and in its natural habitat (in well-heated lakes).

In the Far East, the Komarov lotus grows - a relict plant that has adapted to the cold. The vitality of the roots is preserved by silt (it rarely freezes). There are also many cultural forms of the lotus. Lotus grows near the coastal parts of water bodies. The plant has 3 types of leaves:

- rounded floating leaves (they are located on very long petioles);
- small underwater scale-shaped leaves (short petioles extend from the root);
- high-rising large funnel-shaped leaves (their diameter reaches 50-70 cm).

Lotus leaves do not sink in water due to the waxy substance that covers them. Lotus flowers delight with exquisite beauty and pleasant aroma - they rise from the water on long curved pedicels (flower diameter - 25-30 cm). The flower consists of many petals, and in the middle are yellow stamens.

Lotus flowers can change their color throughout the day. They close at night and average duration their "life" is about three days. The lotus fruit is a one-seeded nut about one and a half centimeters long. In culture, the lotus is grown not only as an ornamental plant - edible rhizomes are highly valued (their average length is 60-120 cm, root diameter is 6-9 cm).

Lotus cultivation

Lotus is a heat-loving plant (a priority for areas with a hot tropical climate). A favorite habitat is slow-flowing water bodies (rivers with a slow current, lakes, etc.). In dry years it can also grow on dry land.

Lotus is propagated using rhizomes or seeds(the first way is preferable). In order for flowers to appear in the first year after planting, it is recommended to use the roots of seven-year-old plants.

When grown from seed planting material pre-immersed in a jar of water (seeds germinate on about the third day). With the seed method of reproduction, plants do not bloom immediately (in some cases, flowers appear in the fifth or seventh year of the plant's life).

Since lotuses are amphibious plants, they take away for planting small pond- the minimum allowable dimensions are 3x3 m at a depth of 1-1.5 m. A lotus is planted in water. After the plants take root, it is necessary to ensure that they do not grow near the shore, it is also worth monitoring the water level.

Ways to Use the Lotus

Lotus seeds and rhizomes are used as pet food. In cooking, rhizomes have found the greatest use - they are boiled, stewed, fried in fat. Pieces of fresh rhizomes are candied, and flour is made from dried raw materials. Coffee substitutes are made from the fruits. Lotus leaves are used less often in food - they serve as an ingredient for salads or seasoning for hot dishes. Lotus flowers are added to tea. Sometimes lotus stamens are eaten.

The chemical composition of the lotus

Lotus contains flavonoids, alkaloids, starch, resins, tannins, ascorbic acid. Petioles and young seedlings include nelumbin (poisonous substance).

Useful properties of lotus

The lotus rhizome is used in folk medicine as a hemostatic, diuretic and tonic facilities. It is recommended to use with insufficient intake of vitamin B1. Different parts of the lotus are used to make many preparations. traditional medicine India and China. A decoction of lotus leaves is used as antiseptic facilities.

Contraindications

Eat rhizomes and lotus leaves, and take medicines on the basis of this plant is impossible in case individual intolerance.

Lotus is a unique plant. Its seeds are able to germinate after several centuries, and the flowers maintain the optimum temperature throughout the day. This culture certainly deserves attention.