The (Sanskrit: हंस or hansa ) is an aquatic bird migratory bird, referred to in ancient Sanskrit texts which various scholars have interpreted as being based on the goose, the swan,[
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Identification
Asian language professor Monier Williams translates the term from Sanskrit as "a goose, gander, swan, flamingo (or other aquatic bird, considered as a bird of passage migratory ...)."[ In Indian philosophical literature, hamsa represents the individual soul or spirit (typified by the pure sunlight-white like color of a goose or swan), or the "Universal Soul or Supreme Spirit".][
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The word Hamsa is cognate with Latin "(h)anser", Greek "χήν", German "Gans", Dutch "gans", English "goose", Spanish "ganso" and Russian "гусь".
Swan or goose controversy
Jean Vogel, in 1952, questioned if hamsa is indeed a swan, because according to Dutch ornithologists George Junge and E.D. van Oort he consulted, swans were rare in modern India while Bar-headed goose ( Anser indicus) were common.[ According to Vogel, Western and Indian scholars may have preferred translating hamsa from Sanskrit to swan as the indigenous goose appears plump while the swan (and, Vogel adds, the flamingo) appears more graceful.]
Some have criticised Vogel's view as being over-reliant on artistic representations from south India and Sri Lanka, where the white swan is rare. American ornithologist Paul Johnsgard, in 2010, stated that mute swans (Mute swan) do migrate to the northwestern Himalayan region of India every winter, migrating some 1000 miles each way.[ Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World Paul Johnsgard (2010), University of Nebraska-Lincoln, page 29-31] Similarly, the British ornithologist Peter Scott, in his Key to the Wildfowl of the World (1957), states that northwestern India is one of the winter migration homes for mute swans, the others being Korea and the Black Sea.[Peter Scott (1957), Key to the Wildfowl of the World, Collins, Plate II, , ] Grewal, Harvey and Pfister, in 2003, state that the mute swan is "a vagrant mainly in Pakistan but also northwestern India" and include a map marking their distribution.[Grewal, Harvey and Pfister (2003), A Photographic Guide to the Birds of India, Princeton University Press, , page 58] Asad Rahmani and Zafar-ul Islam, in their 2009 book, describe the three species of swans and 39 species of ducks and geese found in India.[Asad Rahmani and M. Zafar-ul Islam (2009), Ducks, Geese And Swans of India, Oxford University Press and IBCN, , Chapters 5–7]
Dave stated, "the present position according to Hume is that Swans do not occur anywhere within Indian limits outside the Himalayas except in the extreme North-West", and suggested that they were perhaps more common in the "hoary past."[KN Dave (2005), Birds in Sanskrit Literature, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120818422, page 423.]
The hymns of Rigveda, verses in Hindu epics and Puranas, as well as other early Indian texts, states KN Dave, mention a variety of birds with the root of hamsa (हंस), such as Maha-hamsa, Raj-hamsa, Kal-hamsa and others. These should be identified as members of the Anatidae family, namely swans, geese or ducks.[ This identification is based on the details provided in the Sanskrit texts about the changes in plumage over the bird's life, described call, migratory habits, courtship rituals and flying patterns.][KN Dave (2005), Birds in Sanskrit Literature, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120818422, pages 422-447 with footnotes.] Specific examples where "hamsa" should be interpreted as "swan" include hymns 1.163, 3.8, 4.45, 8.35, 9.32 and others in the Rigveda, verse 7.339 of Ramayana manjari, chapter 30.56 of Skanda Purana, chapter 101.27 of the Padma Purana, and others. Dave also lists examples of Indian texts where " hamsa" should be interpreted as "goose". Some Sanskrit texts, states Dave, distinguish between "hamsa" and "kadamb", the former according to him being a swan and the latter a bar-headed goose.[
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The Indian ornithologist Salim Ali stated in his Azad Memorial Lecture of 1979 that Sanskrit names for birds were based on their calls, coloration, habits, gait, method of feeding or other observed traits. However, these are sometimes difficult to assign unambiguously to species. He mentions 4th to 5th-century Kalidasa's poem about Lake Manasa. This Manasa, assumes Salim Ali, is Lake Manasarovar and then states that the hamsa birds therein should be interpreted as bar-headed geese that do migrate over the Himalayas from Tibet.
Ethnoornithology Sonia Tidemann and Andrew Gosler in Ethno-ornithology: Birds, Indigenous Peoples, Culture and Society state that hamsa has been identified as "swans" in early Indian texts, and that titles such as Raja-hamsa were applied to Asceticism and holy-men in Indian culture because ancient Hindu and Buddhist stories ascribed the ability to separate good from evil to the hamsa.
The birds painted at the Ajanta Caves in central India (Maharashtra) on the Hamsa Jataka, as well as those in Sanchi resemble a swan (and a series of swans in one panel), states the art historian C. Sivaramamurti. These early Buddhist arts can be dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE.
According to Nanditha Krishna, the hamsa in the early north Indian tradition is best identified as a swan as the mythical symbol of wisdom. However, the hamsa became a popular motif included in temple artwork, Textile printing and other artworks. It became a highly stylized mythical bird, with a plump body and short neck, along with flowery beak and tail, one that looks more like a goose.
In Hinduism
The hamsa is often identified with the Supreme Spirit, Ultimate Reality or Brahman in Hinduism.[ The flight of the hamsa symbolizes moksha, the release from the cycle of birth, death, and reincarnation known as samsara.][John Bowker (1998), Picturing God, Series Editor: Jean Holm, Bloomsbury Academic, , pp 99-101][Richard Leviton (2011), Hierophantic Landscapes, , pp 543]
The hamsa is also the vahana (mount) of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and creative arts, Brahma, the god of creation and one of the Trideva (Hindu trinity), and Gayatri, the goddess of vedas.[
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Paramahamsa
In view of the association of the hamsa with several attributes as indicated above, Hindu (sages) and (Hindu ascetic or holy person) have been given the title of paramahamsa, that is, the supreme hamsa. It connotes a particular person who has reached a high level of spirituality.
For example, Paramahamsa Upanishad calls that yogi a Paramahamsa who is neither opinionated nor affected by defamation, nor jealous, not a show off, is humble, and is oblivious to all the human frailties. He is immune to the existence of his body, which he treats as a corpse. He is beyond false pretensions and lives realizing the Brahman. In chapter 3, the Paramahamsa Upanishad states that the one who understands the difference between "staff of knowledge" and "staff of wood", is a Paramahamsa.
In Indian text
Hamsa, or hansa, are part of Indian text. Arayanna, or heavenly hamsa (swans), are said to live in Manasasaras in the Himalayas.[ They are mentioned in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana.][ Hamsa, the swan, is part of the mythical love story of Nala and Damayanti, where it carries the stories, historical information and messages between the two strangers.]
In Indian text, it is said to eat pearls and separate milk from water from a mixture of the two.[Helen Myers (1999), Music of Hindu Trinidad: Songs from the India Diaspora, University of Chicago Press, , page 4] Charles Lanman states that the references to hamsa being able to separate or discriminate is used primarily in a metaphorical sense in Sanskrit poetry. One possibility is the belief that the milk refers to the sap exuded from the stems of lotuses ( kshira). The other, states Lanman, is that "the swan, goose, duck and flamingo have a series of lamellae which serve as a sieve for straining their food from the water that they take in". Thus, it may be referring to the bird's ability to extract the nourishing part from a mixture.
Buddhism
The hamsa was also used extensively in the art of Gandhara, in conjunction with images of the Shakyamuni Buddha. Nanditha Krishna translates this as swan, in the Gandharan context.
The hamsa is deemed sacred in the Buddhism, as a symbol of wisdom.
Contemporary usage
The name in other languages in which it is culturally important are Hindi: hans, Kannada: "ಹಂಸ", Telugu language: హంస, hamsa Tamil language: அன்னப்பறவை Aṉṉappaṟavai; , hong; , , and commonly spelt hintha or hinthar; , or hongsa; Shan language: ႁင်းသႃႇ, or hangsa; Thai language: hong (หงส์), . It is also borrowed into Malay language angsa (Jawi script: اڠسا), though modern definitions provided by dictionaries of its present literary standards differ: the Malaysian dictionary Kamus Dewan defines this specifically to the Anser genus especially Anser albifrons whereas the Indonesian counterpart Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia defines this towards Cygnus,[Compare sources in:
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both mirroring Monier's varied interpretations of the original Sanskrit word itself.
The hintha (equivalent to hamsa) is widely depicted in Burmese art, considered to be a ruddy shelduck in its culture, and has been adopted as the symbol of the Mon people.[Sylvia Fraser-Lu (1994), Burmese Crafts: Past and Present, Oxford University Press, , page 116][Robert Reid and Michael Grosberg (2005), Myanma (Burma), , page 140] In parts of Myanmar, the hintha iconography is more like a hen than a duck, reflecting the local fauna.[Pascal Christel (2020), Splendour of Buddhism in Burma, Patridge Singapore, , pages 79–84 with figures]
Gallery
, 2nd century CE]]
, 1st century CE]]
as depicted by Raja Ravi Varma (19th century)]]
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Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend () by Anna Dallapiccola
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