Antique Hindu Garuda Prayer Bell, India (9545XLC) $295

Description

Hand bells are used in daily puja (rituals), placed on a home altar, and rung to call the devoted to worship and ask the gods to grace their devotees with their presence. Their sound creates a spiritual atmosphere and increases the intensity of the Hindu religious experience, and bells are an important part of Hinduism with considerable symbolic meaning. A bell’s curved body represents Ananta, the Sanskrit term meaning limitless, eternal and infinity and symbolizes unending expansion. The clapper represents Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, knowledge and music. It requires much skill to design a good one, as the body may be mold made but the handle, decoration, image atop the handle and designs on the body are all done individually. More difficult, the maker must create a metal alloy not overly brittle to accommodate additions and alterations for decoration, last for generations and produce a pleasing, effective and spiritual sound. This bell is topped by a Garuda pair under the shelter of naga hoods.  Garuda is the mythic Hindu winged bird with the body of a man and the head of a falcon celebrated in the Hindu epic the Ramayana. As the mount (vahana) of Vishnu, it symbolizes the virtue of knowledge, bravery and discipline.  In many Hindu myths, as here, gods are protected by nagas. This bell is a fine example of Hindu ritual art used daily for home or temple devotions. In very good condition with a nice patina,  there is some loss of definition on the top section due to its considerable use, handling, and age.

Sources

Fredrick Bunce, A Dictionary of Buddhist and Hindu Iconography, New Delhi, D.K. Printworld, 1977.

Subhamoi Das, Deities We Live With: Deities as Symbols.