lotus

A lotus flower in Bali. The lotus flower, a species of water lily, is a sacred symbol in Hindu and Buddhist cultures.

Any of several different plants, especially the water lily (Nymphaea lotus), frequent in Egyptian art, and the pink Asiatic lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), a sacred symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, whose flower head floats erect above the water.

Others are those of the genus Lotus (family Leguminosae), including the bird's foot trefoil (L. corniculatus); the jujube shrub (Zizyphus lotus), known to the ancient Greeks who used its fruit to make a type of bread and also a wine supposed to induce happy oblivion – hence lotus-eaters; and the American lotus (Nelumbo lutea), a pale yellow water lily of the southern USA.

lotus

Popular symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism. The flower of the lotus (a type of water lily) conveys the idea of beauty, and symbolizes the means to achieve non-attachment, as it lives in the earth but rises above the water. In Hinduism it has been used to represent the sun, and is associated with mother goddesses as a symbol of fertility. Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and beauty, and Sarasvati, goddess of knowledge and art, are sometimes depicted enthroned on a lotus.