2015-12-24 Thu

Did you know that Indonesia has Lord Ganesh on its Banknote?

Ganesha is worshipped as God of wisdom which fits the main theme of the note, education. Ganesh appears on 20,000 rupiah bank notes of Indonesia. The reverse of the note depicts a typical classroom activity in Indonesia and in front, a picture of Ki Hajar Dewantara, the President of Indonesia, whose birth date is celebrated as National Education Day in Indonesia.

Lord Ganesha is a widespread symbol of wisdom in Indonesia. For example, the logo of Institut Teknologi Bandung - Indonesia's premier engineering institute - is also Lord Ganesha.

The use of Hindu's deities and symbols is common in Indonesia as in the early centuries; Indonesia was heavily influenced by Hinduism as many parts of modern day Indonesia were parts of the great Chola Empire of the South India.