Saffron (color)#Political and religious uses

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.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

Deep saffron approximates the colour of India saffron (also known as bhagwa or kesari).{{cite web |title=History of Indian Flag |url=http://india.gov.in/myindia/myindia_frame.php?id=4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211124657/http://india.gov.in/myindia/myindia_frame.php?id=4 |archive-date=December 11, 2011 |access-date=December 17, 2011}}{{cite web |title=Indian Standards |url=http://www.bis.org.in/sf/pow/txd.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911040808/http://www.bis.org.in/sf/pow/txd.pdf |archive-date=11 September 2008 |access-date=2 November 2011 |work=Bureau of Indian Standards |df=dmy-all}}

In Rajasthani, this colour is called kesariya. The word derives its name from kesar, the Hindustani name for saffron, an important crop in Kashmir. In kashmir it is popularly known as Kong posh.

The color Saffron ({{Langx|hi|भगवा|translit=Bhagwā}}) is considered as a sacred color in Hinduism. According to Hindu belief, Saffron (or Kesariya) is the color of Sunset (Sandhya) and Fire (Agni) which symbolises sacrifice, light, and quest of salvation.{{Cite web |date=2018-03-22 |title=Why do Indian saints wear saffron colour? Science tells us! |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/photo-stories/why-do-indian-saints-wear-saffron-colour-science-tells-us/photostory/63414644.cms |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=The Times of India |language=en}} The color is worn by Hindu saints and ascetics as their devotion toward the religion.{{Cite web |title=Significance of Saffron color in Hinduism |url=https://www.beautyofindia.in/saffron-color/ |website=Beauty of India|date=9 June 2018 }} Many Hindu kingdoms and dynasties had Saffron color in their flag denoting the Sanātana Dharma, including Maratha Empire {{Citation needed|reason=There is no archaeology evidence and reliable other sources|date=February 2025}}

Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism associate saffron with the pious renunciation of material life.{{cite book |author1=Ragini Sen |author2=Wolfgang Wagner |author3=Caroline Howarth |title=Secularism and Religion in Multi-faith Societies: The Case of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IvC3BAAAQBAJ |date=30 September 2013 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-319-01922-2 |pages=37–38}}{{cite book |author=Peggy Froerer |title=Religious Division and Social Conflict: The Emergence of Hindu Nationalism in Rural India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QegrDwAAQBAJ |date=23 July 2019 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-37812-3}}{{Cite web |url=https://wou.edu/wp/exhibits/files/2015/07/hinduism.pdf%26ved%3D2ahUKEwjhtdXf-OvxAhVjwzgGHbeFCEsQFjABegQIBBAG%26usg%3DAOvVaw0RVimP5Cz3sJGaXRcRg6HW |title=Colour Symbolism in Hinduism |date=18 July 2021 |access-date=18 July 2021 |archive-date=11 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811041304/https://wou.edu/wp/exhibits/files/2015/07/hinduism.pdf%26ved%3D2ahUKEwjhtdXf-OvxAhVjwzgGHbeFCEsQFjABegQIBBAG%26usg%3DAOvVaw0RVimP5Cz3sJGaXRcRg6HW |url-status=dead }}

Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition typically wear saffron robes (although occasionally maroon — the color normally worn by 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 Sikhism, representing spirit and sacrifice. Originally a shade of yellow called basanti, the field of the modern Nishan Sahib is saffron.{{cite book |author=Opinderjit Kaur Takhar |title=Sikh Identity: An Exploration of Groups Among Sikhs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UaeoDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT88 |date=5 December 2016 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-90010-2 |page=88}}{{cite book |author=Kartar Singh Bhalla |title=Let's Know Sikhism: A Religion of Harmony, Brotherhood and Tolerance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UVBTUj8MC4YC&pg=PA40 |year=2002 |publisher=Star Publications |isbn=978-81-7650-055-5 |page=40}} Turbans worn by Sikhs most often are blue or white,{{Cite web |url=https://www.sikhnet.com/pages/tyingturbans |title=Learn How to Tie Different Sikh Turbans |date=21 May 2008}} but basanti colour is common.{{cite book |author=Pashaura Singh |title=A Dictionary of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-tQBEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT78 |date=18 April 2019 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-250843-0 |page=78}}

File:भगवा ध्वज.jpg|Bhagwa colour flag, used by Hindus

File:Punjab flag.svg|Flag of the Sikh religion, the Nishan Sahib.

File:Phra Ajan Jerapunyo-Abbot of Watkungtaphao..jpg|Theravada monk in Thailand

File:Sadhu (hombre bueno en sánscrito).JPG|Hindu ascetic

{{anchor | Political | Religious | Politics | Religion }}

File:Flag of India.svg (since 1947) is saffron, white and green]]

File:Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg, used as the flag of the Maratha Empire]]

In politics, it was used by the Indian independence movement, and it was chosen as one of the three colours of the Indian national flag after independence in 1947, and is used by Hindus.{{Cite book |last=Krishna |first=Subhash |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ubxDwAAQBAJ&q=kesari+colour+hindus&pg=PT335 |title=Salvation by Lord Shri Krishna |date=2020-07-19 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=978-1-64587-108-8 |language=en}} India saffron, representing courage and sacrifice, was chosen for one of the three bands of the National Flag of India, along with white (peace and truth) and what is now called India green (faith and chivalry).{{cite encyclopedia |title=Flag of India |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |year=2009 |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1355310/flag-of-India |access-date=2 July 2009}}{{Cite web |url=https://knowindia.gov.in/my-india-my-pride/indian-tricolor.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813153838/http://knowindia.gov.in/my-india-my-pride/indian-tricolor.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 13, 2017 |title = My India My Pride - Indian Tricolor - Know India: National Portal of India}} The Flag of India is officially described in the 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.{{cite web |url=http://mha.gov.in/pdfs/flagcodeofindia.pdf |title=Flag Code of India |website=Mha.gov.in |access-date=2016-02-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123232004/http://mha.gov.in/pdfs/flagcodeofindia.pdf |archive-date=2013-01-23 }}

{{cquote|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.{{cite web | title= Flag Code of India | publisher= Ministry of Home Affairs (India) | url= http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/flagcodeofindia.pdf | access-date= 2 November 2011 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130121163043/http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/flagcodeofindia.pdf | archive-date= 21 January 2013 }}

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The use of saffron in the national flag and as political symbolism has been opposed. One line of opposition asserts that the color is sacred and should not be politicized. Another source of opposition comes from Islamists who claim the color is forbidden in Islam and strongly prohibited to be worn by the males.Imaam Ahmad and Ibn Maajah, 3591

Basanti turbans are associated with the Khalistan movement in the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. 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.{{cite news |title=Burmese Days |website=Timesonline.co.uk |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/asia-travel/china/burmese-days-fs2znw8cgcx |access-date=2016-02-27}} {{subscription required |date=February 2016}}{{Cite news |quote=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. |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2516773.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511221739/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2516773.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 11, 2008 |title=Nuns join monks in Burma's Saffron Revolution |work=The Times |location=London |date=24 September 2007 |first=Richard |last=Lloyd Parry | access-date= 10 April 2009 }}

File:Narendra Modi unveiling the plaque to lay the foundation stone of Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh on August 05, 2020. The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath and other dignitaries are also seen.jpg, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in saffron robes]]

File:Supporter of Bharatiya Janata Party at an election rally in Amethi.jpg]]

The saffron flag (bhagwa dhwaj) of the medieval Hindu warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was held in high esteem by the Hindu Mahasabha and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the 1920s as a representative of Hindu resurgence and militaristic tradition. The saffron flag was the "true guru" to which 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.{{citation |last=Bapu |first=Prabhu |title=Hindu Mahasabha in Colonial North India, 1915-1930: Constructing Nation and History |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-0415671651 |page=99}}

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.{{citation |last1=Marty |first1=Martin E. |last2=Appleby |first2=R. Scott |last3=Sciences |first3=American Academy of Arts and |title=Fundamentalisms Observed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qd5yzP5hdiEC&pg=PA573 |date=1 July 1994 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-50878-8 |pages=573–}} 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.{{citation |last=Katju |first=Manjari |title=Vishva Hindu Parishad and Indian Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b70nKb-8YuMC&pg=PA40 |year=2003 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-2476-7 |pages=40–}} 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.{{citation |last=Basu |first=Amrita |title=Violent Conjunctures in Democratic India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TTrjCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA93 |date=30 June 2015 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-08963-1 |pages=93–}}{{citation |last=Varadarajan |first=Siddharth |title=Gujarat, the Making of a Tragedy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kc9GmFWePUC&pg=PA85 |year=2002 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-302901-4 |pages=85–}}{{citation |last1=Dossani |first1=Rafiq |last2=Rowen |first2=Henry S. |title=Prospects for Peace in South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TwO9zmj6aQ0C&pg=PA190 |year=2005 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-5085-1 |pages=190–}}

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",{{sfn|Assadi|1996}} "saffronisation of Karnataka"{{cite journal |last=Assadi |first=Muzaffar |title=Karnataka: Saffronisation with Upper Castes Support |date=March 1998 |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=33 |number=12 |pages=626–628 |jstor=4406542}} and "saffronisation of the Congress(I)".{{cite news |author=Venkitesh Ramakrishnan |title=A Pyrrhic victory? |newspaper=Frontline |volume=14 |number=22 |date=1 November 1997 |url=http://www.frontline.in/navigation/?type=static&page=flonnet&rdurl=fl1422/14220200.htm |accessdate=2014-11-08}}

Academic and non-academic scholars wrote books with titles involving 'saffron' to refer to Hindu nationalism: Brotherhood in Saffron,{{citation |first1=Walter K. |last1=Andersen |authorlink=Walter K. Andersen |first2=Shridhar D. |last2=Damle |title=The Brotherhood in Saffron: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu Revivalism |orig-date=Originally published by Westview Press |publisher=Vistaar Publications|location=Delhi |year=1987}} Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags,{{citation |author1=Basu, Tapan |author2=Sarkar, Tanika |title=Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags: A Critique of the Hindu Right |publisher=Orient Longman |year=1993 |isbn=0863113834}} The Saffron Wave,{{citation |last1=Hansen |first1=Thomas Blom |authorlink=Thomas Blom Hansen |title=The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1999 |isbn=9781400823055}} and The Saffron Swastika.{{citation |last=Elst |first=Koenraad |title=The Saffron Swastika: The Notion of "Hindu Fascism" |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9G3XAAAAMAAJ |year=2001 |publisher=Voice of India |isbn=978-81-85990-69-9}}

Saffron-coloured cloth had a history of use among the Gaelic-Irish. A saffron kilt is worn by the pipers of certain 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,{{Cite web |url=https://www.focloir.ie/en/dictionary/ei/saffron |title=saffron - Translation to Irish Gaelic with audio pronunciation of translations for saffron by New English-Irish Dictionary |website=www.focloir.ie |access-date=Jan 5, 2021}} derives directly from the Latin Crocus sativus. In Ireland between the 14th and 17th centuries, men wore léinte (singular léine),{{Cite web |url=https://www.focloir.ie/en/dictionary/ei/shirt |title=shirt - Translation to Irish Gaelic with audio pronunciation of translations for shirt by New English-Irish Dictionary |website=www.focloir.ie |access-date=Jan 5, 2021}} loose saffron-coloured shirts that reached down to mid-thigh or the knee.{{Cite web |url=http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/articles/irish-articles/an-leine-crioch-the-irish-leine-in-the-16th-century.html |title=An Leine Crioch — The Irish Leine in the 16th century – Reconstructing History |date=Mar 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312100633/http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/articles/irish-articles/an-leine-crioch-the-irish-leine-in-the-16th-century.html |access-date=Jan 5, 2021 |archive-date=2016-03-12}} (see Irish clothing).

The colour saffron is associated with the goddess of dawn (Eos in Greek mythology and Aurora in Roman mythology) in classical literature:File:Lord Frederic Leighton - Cymon and Iphigenia - Google Art Project.jpg c. 1884 by Frederic Leighton - saffron suffuses the canvas at sunrise]]

Homer's Iliad:{{cite web |author=Next Page |title=The Iliad - Free Online Book |url=http://publicliterature.org/books/iliad/xaa.php |access-date=2016-02-27 |website=Publicliterature.org |archive-date=2010-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316151549/http://publicliterature.org/books/iliad/xaa.php |url-status=dead }}

Now when Dawn in robe of saffron was hastening from the streams of Okeanos, to bring light to mortals and immortals, Thetis reached the ships with the armor that the god had given her. (19.1)

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.

• The lyrics of Donovan's 1966 song, "Mellow Yellow" repeat the line, "I'm just mad about Saffron".{{cite web |last=Donavan |title=Mellow Yellow |url=http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Donovan/Mellow-Yellow.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423052404/http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Donovan/Mellow-Yellow.html |archive-date=April 23, 2008 |access-date=May 20, 2008}}
• In the Pokémon franchise, in the region of Kanto there is a city named Saffron City. It is one of the largest cities in the region, and home to the headquarters of the major tech corporation Silph Co. and the region's Psychic-type Gym.
• The Gates is a site-specific art installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The artists installed 7,503 metal "gates" along 23 miles (37 km) of pathways in Central Park in New York City. From each gate hung a flag-shaped piece of deep saffron-coloured nylon fabric. The exhibit ran from February 12, 2005, through February 27, 2005.
• Saffron Monsoon is a character in Absolutely Fabulous.

File:Iran saffron threads.jpg

File:Saffron Crop.JPG (i.e., flower threads) from saffron crocus are plucked, piled, and dried.]]

Plants

• Byzantine meadow saffron (Colchicum × byzantinum) is a hybrid flowering plant.
• Cape saffron (Cassine peragua) is a flowering tree with saffron-coloured bark.
• Cobra saffron (Mesua ferrea) is a tree found in southern Asia.
• Meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnale) is a flowering plant found in Europe.
• Mediterranean meadow saffron (Colchicum cupanii) is a flowering plant found in central Mediterranean basin.
• Saffron buckwheat (Eriogonum crocatum) is a species of wild buckwheat endemic to the Conejo Valley.
• Saffron spice is derived from the flowers of the plant named saffron crocus (Crocus sativus).
• Saffron plum (Sideroxylon celastrinum) is a flowering plant found in North, Central, and South America.
• Saffron thistle (Carthamus lanatus) is a thistle native to the Mediterranean basin.
• Spring meadow saffron (Colchicum bulbocodium) is a flowering alpine plant found in Europe.
• Steven's meadow saffron (Colchicum stevenii) is a flowering plant found in the eastern Mediterranean.

Birds

File:Saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola) male.JPG (Sicalis flaveola)]]

• The saffron-billed sparrow (Arremon flavirostris) is a bird found in South America.
• The saffron-breasted prinia (Prinia hypoxantha) is a passerine bird found in eastern South Africa and Swaziland.
• The saffron-crested tyrant-manakin (Neopelma chrysocephalum) is a bird found in the Guianas, southern Venezuela, and the northwestern Amazon basin.
• The saffron-crowned tanager (Tangara xanthocephala) is a bird found in the montane forests of South America.
• The saffron-headed parrot (Pyrilia pyrilia) is a parrot found in the montane forests of South America.
• The saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola) is a tanager from South America, and is common in both open and semi-open areas in lowlands outside the Amazon basin.
• The saffron siskin (Spinus siemiradzkii) is a finch found in Ecuador and Peru.
• The saffron toucanet (Pteroglossus bailloni) is a toucan from South American's Atlantic Forest.

Aquatic animals

File:Saffron shiner.jpg (Notropis rubricroceus)]]

• The saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis) is a commercially harvested fish in the North 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

• The saffron-bellied frog (Chaperina fusca) is a frog found in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and the Philippines.

Insects

File:Lactarius deliciosus 1 (1).jpg (Lactarius deliciosus)]]

• The saffron-winged meadowhawk (Sympetrum costiferum) is a dragonfly found in North America.
• The saffron beetle (Calosoma schayeri) is a beetle found in Australia.
• The saffron sapphire (Iolaus pallene) is a butterfly found in Africa.
• The saffron skipper (Poanes aaroni) is a skipper found in North America.

Fungi

• False saffron milkcap (Lactarius deterrimus) is a fungus found in Europe and Asia.
• Saffron milk cap (Lactarius deliciosus) is an edible fungus found in Europe.
• Saffron ringless amanita (Amanita crocea) is a Amantia found in Europe.

Viruses

• The Saffron Scourge is another name for yellow fever.{{cite book |author=Jo Ann Carrigan |title=The Saffron Scourge: A History of Yellow Fever in Louisiana, 1796-1905 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V71vjwEACAAJ |date=15 December 2015 |publisher=University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press |isbn=978-1-935754-48-0}}

• Saffron, spice of the saffron crocus
• History of saffron
• RAL 1017 Saffron yellow
• List of colours
• Saffron Type System, an anti-aliased text-rendering engine

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