‘Sengol’ bears striking resemblance to carving on 7th century Virupaksha temple in Pattadakal

BAGALKOT: The ‘Sengol’, symbolising the transfer of power from the British, which will be placed in the new Parliament building on Sunday, bears striking resemblance to a carving on the historic Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal in Badami taluk of the district.

On May 24, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had tweeted, “Sengol’ is the symbol of the transfer of power to India from the Britishers on the 14th of August in 1947. PM @narendramodi Ji at the inauguration of the new Parliament building will respectfully install the sacred ‘Sengol’ in the Lok Sabha”, with the hashtag #SengolAtNewParliament.

The 7th century Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal, built during the reign of the Chalukyas, has a carving on the left wall which shows Lord Shiva in a dancing pose on the Nandi bearing a Rajadanda in his left hand. The Rajadanda bears strong resemblance to the ‘Sengol’, with a Nandi atop the spectre.

The ‘Sengol’ is said to be part of the ancient tradition of the Rajadanda (royal sceptre) held by the reigning ruler. The word ‘Sengol’ is derived from the Tamil word ‘Semmai’, meaning ‘Righteousness’ and kol, meaning rod or staff. It is an Indic civilisational practice from the Chola kingdom, which was among the leading kingdoms in the Indian sub-continent for centuries.