Death; time; the cutting off of life; an attribute of Chronos/Saturn and of the figures of the Reaper and Death. The scythe also symbolizes the harvest which, in turn, implies death and rebirth, the destructive and creative powers of the Great Mother.
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols by J.C. Cooper, 1978.
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols by J.C. Cooper, 1978.
Jagannath (Lord of the World) is one of the Krishna reincarnations of Vishnu. His temple is situated at Puri in Orissa, India… Legend has it that many fanatical devotees threw themselves under the wheels of his forty-five foot high cart to be voluntarily crushed, thinking they would be thus freed from the cycle of birth and rebirth. However, this was not part of the ritual and it is untrue.
The Dictionary of Misinformation by Tom Burnam, 1975.
