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| AIRAVATA - THE KING-GOD OF ELEPHANTS |
AIRAVATA, the king-god of elephants, is the mount of god
Indra. This elephant
emerged out of the waters when the gods churned the ocean. That is why its name
is derived from IRAVAT signifying one produced from water. Elephant is the mount
of each one of the eight guardian deities who preside over the eight points of
the compass.
The deities presiding over the four cardinal and four intermediate points of
the compass are:
(1) East - INDRA
(2) Southeast - AGNI
(3) South - YAMA
(4) Southwest - SURYA
(5) West - VARUNA
(6) Northwest - VAYU
(7) North - KUBERA
(8) Northeast - SOMA
Now each of these deities has an elephant that takes part in the defense and
protection of the allotted quarter. The chief among them
is Airavata of Indra.
He is also called ARDH-MATANGA (elephant
of the clouds), ARKASODARA (brother of the sun) and NAGA-MALLA (the fighting
elephant). The name of the wife of elephant
Airavata is ABHARAMU.
Airavata has four tusks and is spotless white. Prithu, according to Vishnu Purana,
made him King of all elephants. As per legend, Brahma held in his hands two halves
of an eggshell over which he read seven sacred hymns. From the right half portion
of the egg eight elephants including Airavata emerged and from the left half
eight cow-elephants. Another interesting myth says that initially all the elephants
had wings, and they could fly in the skies. Once one of these flying elephants
descended heavily on a tree under which a sage was performing his puja (worship
rituals). The branches of the tree broke and the sage felt much disturbed. He
laid a curse upon all elephants that they should lose their wings. Notwithstanding
this curse, they are still believed to be capable of producing clouds. Hence
Indra, when seated on Airavata, sends rains on the earth.
The cult of the white elephants as sacred deities is widely practiced in some
other parts of Asia too, e.g., in Thailand and Burma.
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