NEW DELHI: A gold-studded Sengol has been brought to Kashi-Tamil Sangamam-2. This is the only replica of the Sengol kept in the new Parliament House. It is also 5 feet long, made from silver and gold.
The historic Sengol kept in the new Parliament House is symbolic of the era of the Ramayana and Mahabharata era. In the Shanti Parva of Mahabharata, at the coronation of Yudhishthir, a similar Sengol was given to him by his Guru. At that time, it was called Scepter or Dharamdand.
Dr. Sujit Kumar Choubey, curator at Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts, Delhi said “The history of Sengol is divided into 3 parts. Nehru period, Chola Empire and Ramayana-Mahabharata period.”
The use of Sengol is also mentioned in the cultures of Vijayanagara rule, the Gupta period, the Maurya period, the Ramayana-Mahabharata and the Vedic period.
During the period of Ramayana and Mahabharata, when a king handed over the sceptre to his successor, you got the right to rule a certain area, give fruits and give punishments.
At the beginning of the 8th century, Sengol came into existence in Indian culture for the second time. The kings of the Chola Empire of South India made Sengol a symbol of handing over power to their successor. This tradition continued for 400 years i.e. till the 12th century.
The Nandi on the top of Sengol reminds the king of his religious devotion, ethics, dedication and stable mind. The ball-shaped design symbolizes the afterlife. Whoever becomes the king, whatever work he does, should not harm anyone in the whole world. The artwork of a woman on Sengol shows that she is a symbol of wealth. The king is not the possessor of wealth but the protector.
The Sengol in the hands of every successor is 5 feet long because all the subjects are equal. Therefore, its height was never tampered with.
When Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, transferred power to India, he gave a Sengol to Jawaharlal Nehru as a symbol of the transfer of power. However, that Sengol was kept at the Anand Bhavan in Prayagraj. On May 28, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building and a Sengol was near the Speaker’s chair as a symbol of justice and equality. (ANI)