Casket with fish-shaped Handle

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Time Period
C. 3rd Century BCE, Maurya

Location Found
Piprāhwā, Uttar Pradesh

Dimensions
H: 11.5, D: 10.3 cm

Material
Crystal and Gold

Number Assigned
Accession No. 5560/ A19741 (A & B)
Indian Museum, Kolkata, West Bengal

 

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The crystal relic casket with a fish-shaped handle, remarkable for its exquisite craftsmanship, is one of the five relic caskets discovered at Piprāhwā. Fashioned from transparent crystal, the casket radiates purity and sanctity, while its distinctive fish-shaped knob, filled with gold, adds a touch of splendour and symbolic depth. In Buddhist iconography, the fish is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols (Aṣṭamaṅgala), signifying fearlessness and spiritual liberation—moving freely through the vast ocean of existence, untroubled by the currents of suffering.

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