Batu Caves

COLOURFUL STAIRCASE

I went to Batu caves last weekend. I was really amazed by the new look of colourful staircase of the Batu Caves. So I decided to talk about the colours of the staircase here.

Before that a few intro about Batu Caves.

Batu Caves is a limestone hill that has a series of caves and cave temples in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu (Stone River), which flows past the hill. It is the tenth limestone hill from Ampang. Batu Caves is also the name of a nearby village.

The cave is one of the most popular Tamil shrines outside India, and is dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is the focal point of Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia.

The colourful steps represent many Hindu symbols.

Red indicates both sensuality and purity. In Hindu religion, red is of utmost significance and the colour most frequently used for occasions like marriages, birth of a child, festivals and etc. The most sacred colour for the Hindu saffron. It represents fire, and as impurities are burnt by fire, this colour symbolizes purity. It also represents religious abstinence.

Green is a festive colour. In Maharashtra, it represents life and happiness. For that reason, a widow does not wear green. Symbolizing peace and happiness, green stabilizes the mind.

Yellow is the colour of knowledge and learning. It symbolizes happiness, peace, meditation, competence and mental development. It is the colour of spring and activates the mind.

White is a mixture of seven different colours. It symbolizes a little bit of the quality of each. It represents purity, cleanliness, peace and knowledge. The goddess of knowledge.

Blue the creator has given the maximum of blue of nature (the sky, the oceans, the rivers and the lakes). The deity who has the qualities of bravery, manliness, determination, the ability to deal with difficult situations, of stable mind and depth of character is represented as blue coloured.