Kalash:
A kalash is a metal (brass, copper, silver or gold) pot with a large base and small mouth, large enough to
hold a coconut. Sometimes "Kalasha" also refers to such a pot
filled with water and topped with a coronet of mango leaves and a coconut. This combination is often used in Hindu rites and depicted in Hindu
iconography. The entire arrangement is called Purna-Kalasha (पूर्णकलश), Purna-Kumbha (पूर्णकुम्भ), or Purna-ghata (पूर्णघट).
Sometimes the Kalasha is filled with coins, grain, gems,
gold, or a combination of these items instead of water. The coronet of 5, 7, or
11 mango leaves is placed such that the tips of the leaves touch water in the
Kalasha. The coconut is sometimes wrapped with a red cloth and red thread; the
top of the coconut (called Shira – literally "head") is kept
uncovered. A sacred thread is tied around the metal pot. The Shira is kept
facing the sky.
The Purna-Kalasha is worshipped in all Hindu festivities
related to marriage and childbirth, as a mother goddess or Devi. In this
context, the metal pot or Kalasha represents material things: a container of fertility
- the earth and the womb, which nurtures and nourishes life. The mango leaves
associated with Kama, the god of love, symbolize the pleasure aspect of
fertility. The coconut, a cash crop, represents prosperity and power. The water
in the pot represents the life-giving ability of Nature.
The Purna-Kalasha is also worshipped at Hindu ceremonies
like Griha Pravesha (house warming), child naming, havan (fire-sacrifice),
Vaastu dosha rectification, and daily worship.
Other intrepretations of the Purna-Kalasha associate with
the five elements or the chakras. The wide base of metal pot represents the
element Prithvi (Earth), the expanded centre - Ap (water), neck of pot - Agni
(fire), the opening of the mouth - Vayu (air), and the coconut and mango leaves
- Akasha (aether). In contexts of chakras, the Shira (literally "head")
- top of the coconut symbolizes Sahasrara chakra and the Moola (literally
"base") - base of Kalasha - the Muladhara chakra.
A kalash is placed with due rituals on all important
occasions. It is placed near the entrance as a sign of welcome. It is also used
in a traditional manner while receiving holy personages.
