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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011
Fire and water are natural symbols, individually and in combination, in mythologies throughout the world. They assume a unique meaning in the Indian context, where tradition has attached particular significance to each element. Together, as an apparent conjunction of opposites, fire and water resolve some of the major paradoxes of Indian—especially Śaiva—mythology. The most striking instance of this symbolism is the image of the mare who wanders beneath the ocean, breathing fire.
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26 Atharva Veda, with the commentary of Sāyaṇa (Bombay, Government Central Book Depot, 1895), 7. 87. 1.
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62 Rāvaṇa Vaha or Setubandha, with commentary (Kāvyamālā 47, 1895), V. 34.
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73 Padakūsalamāṇava Jātaka (§432); Mahāvaṃsa, 10. 53–62 (W. Geiger ed.).
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113 Taittirīya Saṃhitā, 5. 5. 10. 6.
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117 Mahābhārata, I. 172. 1–17.
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