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AllatRa by Anastasia Novykh 2 www.allatra.org

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<strong>AllatRa</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>Anastasia</strong> <strong>Novykh</strong><br />

But some pictured the snake's head counterclockwise knowingly, while others because<br />

of the basic human confusion, loss of knowledge or incorrect copying of the ancient<br />

information, on the basis of which the given plot was drawn. For example, the same can<br />

be seen today in the symbolic representation of the world in the form of the legendary<br />

ancient Indian serpent Ananta-Shesha. According to the Indian mythology, the Universe<br />

is a giant global snake biting its tail and wrapping the Universe in a ring. Inside the ring,<br />

it was carrying a giant turtle, on whose back there were four elephants supporting the<br />

world. In the centre of the world was the inhabited land Jambudvipa, the form of which<br />

reminded of a blossoming lotus flower with Mount Meru in the middle of it.<br />

Figure 6. The Ancient Indian symbolic representation of the world<br />

The traditional interpretation of the image in encyclopaedias, according to the myths: 1)<br />

the legendary serpent Ananta (from Sanskrit — "infinite", "endless") floating in the<br />

waters of the cosmic ocean; its other name is Shesha; legends mention that god Vishnu<br />

rests on its rings; 2) the triangle above the truncated pyramid represents the power of<br />

the higher over the lower; 3) conventional representation of an image of Mount Meru, in<br />

this case in the form of a truncated pyramid; 4) symbol of the visible physical world in<br />

the form of a hemisphere; 5) four elephants (symbol of the elements) supporting the<br />

1<br />

<strong>www</strong>.<strong>allatra</strong>.<strong>org</strong>

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