Ganpati Bappa Morya! The whole nation is celebrating the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi and on this festival, we want to reveal something about Hindu Lord Ganesha that can surprise you! Did you know Lord Ganesha’s picture is inscribed on the 20,000 rupiah note of Indonesia? Most people did not know it until film producer Tanuj Garg tweeted about it.
This even more surprising that Indonesia is the only country which is a Muslim majority country but even it has inscribed Hindu Lord Ganesha on its currency note. Indonesia is the largest Muslim populated country.
Along with the picture of Lord Ganesha, an inscription of Ki Hajar Dewantara – a celebrated Indonesian independence activist is also engraved on the Indonesian currency note. Behind the note, a picture of a classroom has been printed.
To let you know, the largest part of the population in Indonesia is of Muslims, around 87.2%. Whereas Hindus ratio is comparatively 1.7%, such a huge margin. Taking this into concern, Lord Ganesha’s picture on the Rupiah of Indonesia has taken everyone with surprise. However, it is because Indonesia’s history is inspired by Hinduism since the first century.
The natives of the country are well aware of Hindu Holy books Ramayana and Mahabharata and its stories. You will get surprised to know that there is a Krishna-Arjuna statue at Jakarta square, the Indonesian military also has Hanuman as their mascot and the Bali tourism logo is also inspired from Hindu mythology and its symbolism.