Sengol: Not Symbol Of Power But Dharma Over Power

Today the entire nation speaks about the 'Sengol'. Crudely and only for the sake of convenience, it is translated into 'sceptre'.

But worse, it was labelled as 'the golden walking stick given to Nehru.'

One only wishes Nehru used it to walk the path of what it symbolised.

But what does a 'Sengol' actually symbolise?

It symbolizes that Dharma reigns over the temporal power. The purpose of Sengol is to protect Dharma and Truth.

The great Tamil sage Thiruvalluvar states this very clearly in his Thirukkural. He has dedicated an entire chapter for what he calls Senkonmai which means it is the Sengol defines good governance.

The great revolutionary colleague of Veer Savarkar, VVS Iyer has translated the entire Kural into English and he calls this chapter 'Just Government'. In the third of the ten couplets or kurals under this chapter, Thiruvalluvar says the following :

The sceptre of the prince is the mainstay of the science of the Brahmans and of righteousness also. (Kural 543: VVS Iyer)

The sceptre of the king is the firm support of the Vedas of the Brahmin, and of all virtues therein described. (Kural 543: GU Pope)

Thirukkural also has a traditional commentary, that of Parimelazhakar. In his commentary on this particular kural he states:

It is quite surprising that the wise interpreters of the preamble of the Constitution of India also came to a very similar conclusion:

So what is this Dharma? And does it mean that a religious belief is above the secular institutions of State?

Dharma is not theocracy or dogma of any kind. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad explains the following as the core of Dharma:

Dharma is that which makes the powerless powerful through justice, and truth. It is at once a humanistic principle and also an impersonal cosmic harmony.

In other words Dharma is eternal but it has to manifest itself in the human society prone to social entropy and the power of the ruler is created only to facilitate this Dharma in society.

It is this core principle of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad that we see echoing in the commentary of Parmelazhar on Thirukkural.

The bull at the top of the Sengol is the bull of Dharma. In the sacred literature of India, Dharma is always symbolised as a bull. It is also the all-pervading form of Vishnu. In Buddhist literature, Buddha is often called the bull.

Thus the Sengol represents at once the timeless Rta and the justice and truth of the constitutional social realm.

By restoring the Dharma Sengol to its place of honour in the Parliament, the Government of India under the prime ministership of Narendra Modi and the presidency of Droupadi Murmu, has redeclared its civilizational grandeur and commitment.