Eric,
Thank you for showing these quite fantastic katar side guards and the addtional museum texts. Do you agree with all the downloaded museum texts here and on your homepage?
I do however fail to see, how these pictures and the museum texts brings us any closer to getting an answer to the question - the development of the katar.
Richard,
Yes the symbolism is there, and in many other places as well.
The fish - Matsya is said to be the first avatar of Vishnu, as he saved the first man from drowning by making himself a fish. It is also used in the coat of armes of Oudh. It was highly appresiated when a golden fish on a pool was given by the Mugahal emperor to someone of destinction.
The peacock, besides from being a royal bird, is connected to Dugra, but also to Murugan the god of war, and the commander-in-chief of the gods.
To this comes that several of the animals and the plants used for decoration can have many different meanings, depending from where in India they are used.
Jens
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