The Knot in Sanskrit Literature

Abstract

Gaṇeśa is depicted wearing the nāga-yajñopavita with a knot simulating the snake's head. Since the ancient times Indian civilisation has known the knot. It used the knots to get food, create clothes and build houses. Various deities, the pottery work, temple architecture contain the motifs of the knot. This shows the significance attributed to this technology by our ancestors.

ग्रन्थि, or granthi, has one of the meanings as a knot. Some other words like parvan (पर्वन्) are also used for a knot. The paper gives some examples of literal and metaphoric usage of a knot in the Sanskrit literature. Vedic literature and other literature are considered separately.