Hindu goddess Lakshmi holding and

standing on a lotus.
From ancient times the lotus has been a divine symbol in Asian traditions
representing the virtues of sexual purity and non-attachment.
Hindus revere it with the divinities Vishnu and Lakshmi often portrayed
on a pink lotus in iconography. In the representation of Vishnu as
Padmanabha (Lotus navel), a lotus issues from his navel with Brahma on
it. Goddess Sarasvati is portrayed on a white-colored lotus.
Often used as an example of divine beauty, Vishnu is often described as
the 'Lotus-Eyed One'. Its unfolding petals suggest the expansion of the
soul. The growth of its pure beauty from the mud of its origin holds a
benign spiritual promise. In Hindu iconography, other deities, like Ganga
and Ganesha are often depicted with lotus flowers as their seats.
The lotus plant is cited extensively within Puranic and Vedic literature, for
example:
One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the
results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as
the lotus is untouched by water.
Bhagavad Gita 5.10:
In Chinese culture Confucian scholar Zhou Dunyi wrote:
I love the lotus because while growing from mud, it is unstained.
Chinese:
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Most deities of Asian religions are depicted as seated on a lotus flower. In Buddhist symbolism, the lotus represents
purity of the body, speech, and mind as if floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. According to
legend, Gautama Buddha was born with the ability to walk, and lotus flowers bloomed everywhere he stepped.
In the classical written and oral literature of many Asian cultures the lotus is present in figurative form, representing
elegance, beauty, perfection, purity and grace, being often used in poems and songs as an allegory for ideal feminine
attributes. In Sanskrit the word lotus (padma ) has many synonyms. Since the lotus thrives in water, ja
(denoting birth) is added to synonyms of water to derive some synonyms for the lotus, like ambuja (ambu= water
+ ja=born of), neeraj (neera=water + ja= born of), pankaj, pankaja, kamal, kamala, kunala, aravind, arvind,
nalin,nalini and saroja
[12]
and names derived from the lotus, like padmavati (possessing lotuses) or padmini (full
of lotuses).
[13]
These names and derived versions are often used to name girls, and to a lesser extent boys, in India,
Nepal and Sri Lanka, as well as in many other countries influenced by Indic culture, like Thailand, Cambodia,
Indonesia and Laos.
Drawing in turn on these beliefs, the international Bah' community adopted this symbolism in the design of the
Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India.
Other uses