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Is there some connection between the ear and water in Hinduism?

I have heard saying Ganga resides in a person's ear referring to Rishi Jahnu letting out Ganga Devi from his ears.

One of the important associations we can see is Lord Vishnu has Makara Kundala or Capricorn earrings. Makara is a mythical sea creature approximating a crocodile often fused along with another animal like an elephant etc.

What is the story of Vishnu and Makara Kundala. What's its philosophical significance of it? Does it have to do with any association of the ears with water?

You can also see Vittala, who is a manifestation of Vishnu has Fish Earrings.

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As far as I see this, there's no connection between water and ears, and the associated motifs with the 'makara-kundala' of god Vishnu.

The water is one of the five pancha-mahabhootas and it is associated with the Rasatanmātra, which is represented by the sensory organ of the tongue, and not the ear.

The tanmātra associated with ears is sound (Śabda-Tanmātra), with the governing element as ether (akasha). Refer to the Brahmāṇḍapurāṇa 4.1.3 or Bhavishyapurāṇa 1.2 for some details on the tanmātras and the associated great-elements.

As regards, the Makara-Kundala of the god Vishnu, although Puranas like Padma Purana Verse 6.196.2 do talk about Vishnu wearing crocodile-shaped earrings, however, as far as I know, there seems no uniqueness attached to this attribute of Vishnu, unlike the Kaustubha gem and other ornaments, since as per the Mānasāra śilpaśastra, all the three deities of the trinity (Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśa) wear (or must be sculpted in their murtis) with Makara-kundalas only.

Chapter 51 - The Triad

Brahmā

  1. It (the image of Brahmā) should have four arms, four faces, two legs, and eight eyes.

...

  1. The flower or the earrings marked with the crocodile (Makara) should be put on the two ears.


Viṣṇu

  1. It (the image of Viṣṇu) should be furnished with four arms, two eyes, and the crowns known as the kirīṭa and the makuṭa

....

  1. The ear leaf (karṇapatra) should fully cover the ear, and the crocodile-shaped earrings should be also put on the ears.


Śiva

  1. It (the image of Śiva) should be furnished with four arms, three eyes, and be adorned with the matted hair and the makuṭa crown.

....

  1. The long leaf-ornament should be on the left ear and the crocodile ear-ring on the other (i.e., right) ear.

English Translation by Prasanna Kumar Acharya

Also note that god Śiva is also said to wear sarpa-kundala (earrings of snakes) - "Sarpa kundala maalaaya" (the one with serpents for earrings), in Puranas like the Linga Purana 1.18.38, etc.



To Conclude

What is the story of Vishnu and Makara Kundala?

  • As far as I know, there seems no specific story to this.

What's its philosophical significance of it?

  • I couldn't find any worthwhile scriptural source explaining the philosophy behind the makara-kundala iconography. However, somewhere, I remember reading or listening to a discourse, that the two 'crocodile-shaped earrings' represent the two forms of knowledge viz. the para-vidya (transcendental knowledge) and the apara-vidya (mundane-materialistic knowledge), however, no source for this could be gathered.

Does it have to do with any association of the ears with water?

  • As explained in the starting, the water element is associated with the tongue's sensory organ, and not the ears (which are associated with the sound, and ether element).
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