2018-12-22 Sat

Symbols plays important role in our life; whenever we come across any symbol we try to connect it with any culture or religion. But, the truth is, symbols are part of religious and cultural beliefs. We come across various symbols everywhere in our culture, but when it appears on coins the whole definition, perception and its explanation changes.

The finest example of this is the hollow cross symbol which appears on the above coin. Hollow cross symbol has many belief and different people have different opinion. We will now discus about this in detail.

Some experts have a belief that this hollow cross symbol might be related to the Buddhist religion. Some relate this symbol to a sacred fire altar or ‘Agni Kund’, on the other hand some suggest that it was a place where sacrifices were performed.

Some experts relate this open crossed symbol to a water tank, were the four arms schematically show access points to the centre where water is stored or it can also represent as a holy water tank which can be used possibly for ritual bathing.

I’m sure one day we will soon be able to unveil the mysteries of these symbols on ancient Indian coins and come to a concrete conclusion. Until then the true meaning of ‘Hollow Cross’ on coins is open for debate.

Image Courtesy: personal Collection Amit Udeshi