Saffron (color)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the colour. For other uses, see Saffron (disambiguation).
"Bhagwa" redirects here. For the village, see Bhagwa, Jammu and Kashmir.
"Saffron yellow" redirects here. For the RAL color, see
Saffron yellow (RAL)
.
Saffron
 
CIELChuv (L, C, h)
(81, 90, 63°)
SourceMaerz and Paul[1]
ISCC–NBS descriptorVivid yellow
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)
Rajah
 
CIELChuv (L, C, h)
(76, 83, 42°)
Source[Unsourced]
ISCC–NBS descriptorModerate orange
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)
Deep saffron
(Bhagwa)
 
CIELChuv (L, C, h)
(72, 105, 37°)
Source[Unsourced]
ISCC–NBS descriptorStrong orange
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)
India saffron
(Kesara/Kesariya)
 
CIELChuv (L, C, h)
(65, 125, 26°)
SourceVexillological:
ISCC–NBS descriptorStrong orange
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Saffron is a

saffron crocus thread, from which the spice saffron is derived.[2] The hue of the spice saffron is primarily due to the carotenoid chemical crocin
.

Etymology

The word saffron ultimately derives (via Arabic) from the

Middle Iranian ja'far-. The name was used for the saffron spice in Middle English from c. 1200. As a colour name, it dates to the late 14th century.[3]

Deep saffron approximates the colour of India saffron (also known as bhagwa or kesari).[4][5]

In

Rajasthani, this colour is called kesariya. The word derives its name from kesar, the Hindustani name for saffron, an important crop in Kashmir
.

Religion

The color Saffron (

romanized: Bhagawā) is considered as a sacred color in Hinduism. According to Hindu mythology, Saffron (or Kesariya) is the color of Sunset (Sandhya) and Fire (Agni) which symbolises sacrifice, light, and quest of salvation.[6] The color is worn by Hindu saints and ascetics as their devotion toward the religion.[7] Many Hindu kingdoms and dynasties had Saffron color in their flag denoting the Sanātana Dharma, including Maratha Empire
.

Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism associate saffron with the pious renunciation of material life.[8][9][10]

Vajrayana Buddhist
monks — is worn). The tone of saffron typically worn by Theravada Buddhist monks is the lighter tone of saffron shown above.

Saffron holds symbolic meaning in

Turbans worn by Sikhs most often are blue or white,[13] but basanti colour is common.[11][14]

Political & religious uses

Flag of India
The Flag of India (since 1947) is saffron, white and green
Bhagwa Dhwaj, used as the flag of the Maratha Empire
.

In

Flag Code of India as follows:

The colour of the top panel shall be India saffron (Kesari) and that of the bottom panel shall be India green. The middle panel shall be white, bearing at its centre the design of Ashoka Chakra in navy blue colour with 24 equally spaced spokes.[18]

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became India's first Vice President and second President

, described the significance of the Indian National Flag as follows:

Bhagwa or the saffron colour denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to (the) soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends. The "Ashoka Chakra" in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principle of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change.[19]

The use of saffron in the national flag and as political symbolism has been opposed.[8] One line of opposition asserts that the color is sacred and should not be politicized.[8] Another source of opposition comes from Islamists who claim the color is forbidden in Islam and strongly prohibited to be worn by the males.[8][20]

Basanti turbans are associated with the

Punjab region of Pakistan and India.[11]
Even otherwise Basanti turbans are commonly used by Sikhs and not all wearing Basanti turban should be associated with separatist movement.

Because Therevada Buddhist monks were at the forefront of the

2007 Burmese anti-government protests, the uprising has been referred to as the Saffron Revolution by some in the international media.[21][22]

Hindu nationalism

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in saffron robes
Saffron flags in an election rally of the Bharatiya Janata Party

The saffron flag (bhagwa dhwaj) of the medieval Hindu warrior

Hedgewar demanded obeisance from the RSS members. "The Gerva [saffron] Flag shall be the flag of the Hindu nation. With its Om, the Swastik and the Sword, it appeals to the sentiments cherished by our race since the Vaidik [Vedic] days," he said.[23]

The Bharatiya Jana Sangh and its successor Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) both used saffron as their colour. The BJP used a saffron lotus on its flag, along with a green side band that possibly reflected accommodation with Islam.[24] The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu religious body affiliated to the RSS, also used saffron as its predominant colour, with its ascetic leaders clad in saffron robes and the lay leaders wearing saffron scarves.[25] During the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the 1990s, the VHP and its affiliate Bajrang Dal distributed saffron flags and saffron headbands to their followers by the millions.[26][27][28]

The predominance of the saffron symbolism in the BJP and its allies led to the BJP being referred to as the 'saffron party' in the 1990s, and the term 'saffronisation' came to be used describe the increasing influence of Hindu nationalism in party politics. This period saw phrases such as the "saffronisation of the coastal belt",[29] "saffronisation of Karnataka"[30] and "saffronisation of the Congress(I)".[31] Academic and non-academic scholars wrote books with titles involving 'saffron' to refer to Hindu nationalism: Brotherhood in Saffron,[32] Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags,[33] The Saffron Wave,[34] and The Saffron Swastika.[35]

Clothing

Saffron-coloured cloth had a history of use among the

Irish regiments in the British Army, and the saffron léine in the defence forces of the Republic of Ireland. The latter garment is also worn by some Irish and Irish-American men as an item of national costume (though most wear kilts
, believing them to be Irish). Its colour varies from a true saffron orange to a range of dull mustard and yellowish-brown hues.

The Antrim GAA teams are nicknamed "The Saffrons" because of the saffron-coloured kit which they play in. The Old Irish word for saffron, cróc,[36] derives directly from the Latin Crocus sativus. In Ireland between the 14th and 17th centuries, men wore léinte (singular léine),[37] loose saffron-coloured shirts that reached down to mid-thigh or the knee.[38] (see Irish clothing).

Literature

The colour saffron is associated with the goddess of

Frederic Leighton - saffron suffuses the canvas at sunrise

armor that the god had given her. (19.1)

Virgil's Aeneid:[40]

Aurora now had left her saffron bed,

And beams of early light the heav'ns o'erspread,

When, from a tow'r, the queen, with wakeful eyes,

Saw day point upward from the

rosy
skies.

Other media

In nature

Saffron threads from Iran
Stigmas (i.e., flower threads) from saffron crocus are plucked, piled, and dried.

Plants

Birds

A male saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola)

Aquatic animals

A male saffron shiner (Notropis rubricroceus)
  • The
    Pacific
    .
  • The
    saffron-coloured clam
    (Tridacna crocea) is a bivalve found in the Indo-Pacific region.
  • The saffron shiner (Notropis rubricroceus) is a fish found in Tennessee River drainage.

Amphibians

Insects

saffron milkcap
(Lactarius deliciosus)

Fungi

Viruses

See also

References

  1. ^ The colour displayed in the colour box above matches the colour called saffron in the 1930 book by Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Colour New York:1930 McGraw-Hill; the colour saffron is displayed on page 43 Plate 10, Colour Sample K8.
  2. ^ Oxford Living Dictionaries On-Line. Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language (1962)
  3. ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Colour New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 203; Colour Sample of Saffron: Page 43 Plate 10 Colour Sample K8
  4. ^ "History of Indian Flag". Archived from the original on December 11, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  5. ^ "Indian Standards" (PDF). Bureau of Indian Standards. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  6. ^ "Why do Indian saints wear saffron colour? Science tells us!". The Times of India. 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  7. ^ "Significance of Saffron color in Hinduism". Beauty of India. 9 June 2018.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-3-319-01922-2
    .
  9. ISBN 978-1-351-37812-3
    .
  10. ^ "Colour Symbolism in Hinduism". 18 July 2021.
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-1-351-90010-2
    .
  12. ISBN 978-81-7650-055-5
    .
  13. ^ "Learn How to Tie Different Sikh Turbans". 21 May 2008.
  14. ISBN 978-0-19-250843-0
    .
  15. ISBN 978-1-64587-108-8
    .
  16. ^ "Flag of India". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  17. ^ "My India My Pride - Indian Tricolor - Know India: National Portal of India". Archived from the original on August 13, 2017.
  18. ^ "Flag Code of India" (PDF). Mha.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  19. ^ "Flag Code of India" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs (India). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  20. ^ Imaam Ahmad and Ibn Maajah, 3591
  21. ^ "Burmese Days". Timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-02-27. (subscription required)
  22. ^ Lloyd Parry, Richard (24 September 2007). "Nuns join monks in Burma's Saffron Revolution". The Times. London. Retrieved 10 April 2009. Which meant that to the public the Monks and their religion played an important role throughout the protests. Along with the monks were nuns, students and activists who were protesting during the revolution.
  23. ISBN 978-0415671651
  24. ISBN 978-0-226-50878-8
  25. ISBN 978-81-250-2476-7
  26. ISBN 978-1-107-08963-1
  27. ISBN 978-0-14-302901-4
  28. ISBN 978-0-8047-5085-1
  29. ^ Assadi 1996.
  30. ^ Assadi 1998.
  31. ^ Venkitesh Ramakrishnan (1 November 1997). "A Pyrrhic victory?". Frontline. Vol. 14, no. 22. Retrieved 2014-11-08.
  32. ^ Andersen, Walter K.; Damle, Shridhar D. (1987) [Originally published by Westview Press], The Brotherhood in Saffron: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu Revivalism, Delhi: Vistaar Publications
  33. ISBN 0863113834
  34. ISBN 9781400823055
  35. ISBN 978-81-85990-69-9
  36. ^ "saffron - Translation to Irish Gaelic with audio pronunciation of translations for saffron by New English-Irish Dictionary". www.focloir.ie. Retrieved Jan 5, 2021.
  37. ^ "shirt - Translation to Irish Gaelic with audio pronunciation of translations for shirt by New English-Irish Dictionary". www.focloir.ie. Retrieved Jan 5, 2021.
  38. ^ "An Leine Crioch — The Irish Leine in the 16th century – Reconstructing History". Mar 12, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved Jan 5, 2021.
  39. ^ Next Page. "The Iliad - Free Online Book". Publicliterature.org. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  40. ^ The Aeneid by Virgil - Free Ebook. 1995-03-01. Retrieved 2016-02-27 – via Gutenberg.org.
  41. ^ Donavan. "Mellow Yellow". Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  42. ISBN 978-1-935754-48-0
    .
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