Withdrawing into your shell is rarely seen as a valorous or important act. But not in the Hindu tradition, where the tortoise’s withdrawal into its shell is a symbol of the return to a primeval state, the basic spiritual attitude from which all others come.

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Withdrawing into your shell is rarely seen as a valorous or important act. But not in the Hindu tradition, where the tortoise’s withdrawal into its shell is a symbol of the return to a primeval state, the basic spiritual attitude from which all others come.

Source: Chevalier and Gheerbrant, The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols

Stone Tortoise Carrying Epitaph Steles

China & Japan: David Owsley Asian Art Gallery»

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