It is not age but pain that is killing me, destroying a memory that once was fairly good, enabling me to memorise over 400 cases, complete with various obiter dicta of presiding judges as well as the bare facts, names and so on... In any case, I know that some one once declared that Beauty and Terror are the stuff of which real gods are made. Perhaps I can find the quote on the internet or perhaps it was something told me in a dream. I do believe it is a good description of the Divine.
When I first saw photographs of this Sukunda lamp, I instantly felt it was an object of great power, reaching through the illusion of recorded image to seize me by the throat and inspire sheer terror in me as well as recognition of the beauty of the work itself.
It was this Sukunda lamp that showed me how one single object can be a book embracing an entire religion. Symbols as potent and definitive as those carved on rocks by paleolithic humankind... they are Truth in code form and there often are different layers of significance.
Sadly, I think much of the meaning has been lost through the centuries. Artists and craftsman place these symbols on spiritual and profane objects with only a small knowledge of the significance of each. It is the same in the West where Christianity once was enshrined in the carvings on Cathedral walls and doors as in the written books few ever touched or understood. Symbol is eternal and universal. Words are so much less. They are tools with which to conjure, to create little tales, inspire emotions and sway the masses or the enlightened variously but at the end of the day, they are chimerae. Symbols are Eternal.
We start with the elemental Powers: Fire, Earth, Water and Air. Some include Spirit in the list. Others consider that something very different. Magicians and witches create a circle of Power using these Elements... the Sukunda Lamp, I believe, does much the same because it actually involves the Elements in its rituals whether in actual form or in symbol.
This particular Sukunda lamp was USED by the family that owned it, not occasionally as many are, but regularly. The black residue left by the mustard oil burned in it is everywhere, not merely in the bowl where it was burned.
The bowl is the symbol of Water, the 'Beautiful Lake' from which these Lamps derived their name. Within the bowl often, as here, is the symbol of the Lotus, believed to be in the very centre of the Lake. Fill the bowl with oil or butter and light the flame and you have the sacred flame burning in the centre of the Sacred Lake.
The Naga serpents rise above the bowl, offering their protection. I believe they originally represented a coelacanth or something of that nature, much like the Loch Ness monster who still is said to inhabit the depths of the loch in Scotland. They were water snakes but not ordinary snakes. They were considered magical... much like the dinosaurs who mutated in the minds of ancient humans to become the Unicorn and the Griffith of myth. The Garuda, upon the wings of which the Gods travel and who is as well the sacred messenger of the gods, sits above the bowl.
The handle of this Sukunda is both serpent and dragon. You can see the head of the dragon at the very base of the lamp. The serpent skin rises to meet the seven serpents or seven-headed naga serpents that create their graceful parasol above.
This is no ordinary Sukunda though, containing only the basic symbols found in most lamps of its kind. It has so much to offer. Below the bowl is a pair of tantric lovers. Surrounding the vessel is a necklace of grinning skulls, symbol of Kali and Shiva both. Then there is the curious multi-headed figure dominating the entire lamp who appears to have two phalli. In the original photographs I saw, I thought it might represent the family who had the lamp made but a closer view made it evident that it represented one of the gods. This one has ten heads, making it possible that it is Rawan or Ravana, depicted with 10 heads, each one representing a branch of spiritual knowledge and moreover, said to have the nectar of immortality stored in his belly. The god shown on this Sukunda has a prominent stomach and perhaps the two phalli represent spigots. Hard to tell... although I have many books on HIndu myth, it is difficult sometimes to find definitive details about the gods and their iconography.
Another beautiful aspect of this Sukunda is the bird perched on the top of the handle. I do believe it must be a peacock rather than a vulture. Instead of the two lions often shown on either side of the bowl, there are two creatures resembling goats or sheep carrying stupas it appears. I have included photographs of all these details. My hope is that some one will read this one day and respond.
As I clean items such as these painstakingly and slowly, the act of cleaning becomes a meditation. As I wrote at the start, this Sukunda lamp terrified me from the outset. I had vivid dreams after seeing photographs. They were not entirely positive but were filled with power. I did believe it was important at this point in my life to conquer my childhood fears of the Hindu and Buddhist icons that I encountered in Nepal. This Sukunda lamp is by far the most powerful object I have encountered.
THe grinning skulls that encircle it caught my attention at once. I am not a person who dotes upon skulls. I know many people love the Day of the Dead and the skulls made from pastries and sweets that are popular in Mexico. Some people love skulls because of their association with the 'skull and crossbones' of pirates. I do have a very small crystal skull somewhere. I gave one to Freya as well when she was involved with 'Pirates of the Caribbean' as a child. She wore it as a pendant for awhile but I kept mine locked away in a box.
Now the Sukunda with at least three dozen grinning death'sheads is before me, visible from my bed. When I light it, the skulls glimmer, their eye sockets black with the residue from earlier offerings of mustard oil. Many of the aspects of this lamp deal with mortality and death. THe other side of this coin of course is immortality and rebirth.
