HAMSA The Swan Mystical Symbol of Greatness

The swan is called hamsa in Sanskrit. The swan is a very popular motif in traditional Hindu symbolism. It can be found in oil-lamps used in temples and at shrines in people's homes. The greatest masters in the advaita tradition are called paramahamsas - the great swans, such as Paramahamsa Yogananda.


The word *hamsa* is a variation of so'ham: I am He, which constitutes the highest realization. There are other equivalences between the swan and the Advaitin, which make the swan a particularly apt symbol for Advaita Vedanta

The swan stays in water, but its feathers remain dry. Similarly, the Advaitin lives in the world, yet strives to remain unaffected by life's ups and downs. In India, the swan is also mythically credited with the ability to separate milk from water. Similarly, the Advaitin discriminates the eternal Atman from the non-eternal world.The Atman that is Brahman is immanent in the world, just like milk is seemingly inseparably mixed with water

But It can never be truly realized without the nitya-anitya-vastu viveka-right discrimination between the eternal and ephemeral - that is essential for the Advaitin. The swan is thus a symbol for the jivanmukta, who is liberated while still alive in this world, by virtue of having realized Brahman.

Sacred Symbols

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HAMSA The Swan Mystical Symbol of Greatness