How did it get to India to become one of the seven treasured lotus blooms? In order to prevent insects from feasting on them, the necks of true lotuses are covered with small thorns, and the sutras, in order to distinguish between them and water lilies, refer to them as the "thorny lotus."
那又是如何到了印度，成為天上蓮花的一員？荷花為避免被小蟲啃食，莖上長滿小刺，佛典為與睡蓮分別，還稱荷花為「有棘的蓮」。