_(alias_Sakra)_and_Shachi">Indra_(alias_Sakra)_and_Shachi_riding_the_five-headed_Divine_Elephant_Airavata,_Folio_from_a_Jain_text,_Panch_Kalyanaka.html" ;"title="Shachi.html" ;"title="Indra (alias Sakra) and Shachi">Indra (alias Sakra) and Shachi riding the five-headed Divine Elephant Airavata, Folio from a Jain text, Panch Kalyanaka">Shachi.html" ;"title="Indra (alias Sakra) and Shachi">Indra (alias Sakra) and Shachi riding the five-headed Divine Elephant Airavata, Folio from a Jain text, Panch Kalyanaka (Five Auspicious Events in the Life of Jina Rishabhanatha), c. 1670–1680, Painting in LACMA museum, originally from Amber, India, Amber, Rajasthan
Airavata ( sa, ऐरावत "belonging to
Iravati
Iravati () is a character in Hindu mythology. She is a daughter of Kadru or Bhadramada and Kashyapa, as featured in the Ramayana. She is also associated with a sacred Iravati river, which was one of the names of the river Ravi of modern-day ...
") is a white elephant (pachyderm), white elephant who carries the deity
Indra. It is also called 'abhra-Matanga', meaning "elephant of the clouds"; 'Naga-malla', meaning "the fighting elephant"; and '
Arkasodara', meaning "brother of the
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
". 'Abhramu' is the elephant wife of Airavata. Airavata has four
tusks
Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with pigs and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. Tusks share c ...
and seven
trunks and is spotless white. Airavata is also the third son of
Iravati
Iravati () is a character in Hindu mythology. She is a daughter of Kadru or Bhadramada and Kashyapa, as featured in the Ramayana. She is also associated with a sacred Iravati river, which was one of the names of the river Ravi of modern-day ...
. In the ''
Mahabharata'' he is listed as a great serpent.
Hindu tradition
According to the
Ramayana, the elephant's mother was
Iravati
Iravati () is a character in Hindu mythology. She is a daughter of Kadru or Bhadramada and Kashyapa, as featured in the Ramayana. She is also associated with a sacred Iravati river, which was one of the names of the river Ravi of modern-day ...
. According to the Matangalila, Airavata was born when
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
sang sacred
hymns over the halves of the
egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
shell from which
Garuda
Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...
hatched, followed by seven more male and eight female
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae a ...
s.
Prithu
Prithu (Sanskrit: पृथु, ''Pṛthu'', lit. "large, great, important, abundant") is a sovereign ( chakravarti), featured in the Puranas. According to Hinduism, he is an avatar (incarnation) of the preserver god—Vishnu. He is also called ...
made Airavata king of all elephants. One of his names means "the one who knits or binds the clouds" since myth has it that these elephants are capable of producing clouds. The connection of elephants with
water and
rain is emphasized in the
mythology of Indra, who rides the elephant Airavata when he defeats
Vritra.
As per another legend, Airavata is believed to have come out of churning the
ocean of milk
In Hindu cosmology, the Ocean of Milk (',', ''Malayalam: Pālāḻi'') is the fifth from the centre of the seven oceans. It surrounds the continent known as Krauncha. According to Hindu scriptures, the devas and asuras worked together for a mil ...
and it is believed that the elephant guards one of the points of compass.
Airavata also stands at the entrance to
Svarga, Indra's
palace. In addition, the eight
guardian deities who preside over the points of the
compass
A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...
each sit on an elephant. Each of these deities has an elephant that takes part in the defense and protection of its respective quarter. Chief among them is Airavata of
Indra. There is a reference to Airavata in the
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (ch ...
:
At
Darasuram
Darasuram or Dharasuram is a locality in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. The area is known for the Airavateswara temple constructed by the Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century CE. The temple is a recognised UNESCO World Heritage monument.
Demog ...
near
Tanjore is
a temple where it is believed that Airavata worshipped the
Lingam
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional i ...
; the Lingam is named after him as Airavateshwara. This temple, which abounds in rare sculpture and
architectural
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...
workmanship, was built by
Rajaraja Chola II (1146–73 CE).
Jain tradition
In Jain tradition, when a
Tirthankara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passa ...
is born,
Indra descends with his consort,
Shachi
Indrani ( Sanskrit: इन्द्राणी, IAST: ''Indrāṇī, lit.'' Indra's queen), also known as Shachi ( Sanskrit: शची, IAST: ''Śacī''), is the queen of the devas in Hinduism. Described as tantalisingly beautiful, proud and ...
, riding their mount, the great elephant Airavata, to celebrate the event.
Flags with Airavata
; Laos
Flag of French Laos.svg, Flag of French Laos (1893–1952)
Flag of Laos (1952-1975).svg, Flag of Laos
The flag of Laos ( Lao: ທຸງຊາດລາວ; ''thungsad Lāo'') consists of three horizontal stripes, with the middle stripe in blue being twice the height of the top and bottom red stripes. In the middle is a white disc, the diameter of ...
(1952–1975)
Royal Standard of the Kingdom of Laos.svg, Laotian royal standard (1952–1975)
; Siam (Thailand)
Siamese Royal Standard (absent) (Rama IV).svg, "Thong Airaphot" (ธงไอยราพต) King's Absent Standard (1855–1891 & 1897–1910)
Siamese Royal Standard (absent) (Rama V).svg, "Thong Chuthathipathai" (ธงจุฑาธิปไตย) King's Absent Standard (1891–1897)
Flag of Bangkok.svg, Flag of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( th, กรุงเทพมหานคร; ) (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok (also called ''Krung Thep Maha Nakhon'' in Thai), which includes the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. The govern ...
Erawan
Erawan ( th, เอราวัณ, from
Pāḷi
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhis ...
''Erāvana'', or
Sanskrit ''Airāvana'') is one of the
Thai names of Airavata. It is depicted as a huge elephant with either three or sometimes thirty-three heads which are often shown with more than two tusks. Some statues show
Indra, the king of Tavatimsa Heaven, riding on Erawan.
The elephant became the symbol of
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...
by association with Indra during
its foundation as the capital of the new
Rattanakosin Kingdom . It is also sometimes associated with the old
Lao Kingdom of
Lan Xang
existed as a unified kingdom from 1353 to 1707.
For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The meaning of the kingdom's name alludes to the power of the kingship and formidable war machine of the ea ...
and the defunct
Kingdom of Laos
The Kingdom of Laos was a landlocked country in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula. It was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
, where it was more commonly known as the "three-headed elephant" and had been used on the royal flag.
In popular culture
Airavata is a recruitable character in the ''
Megami Tensei
''Megami Tensei'', marketed internationally as ''Shin Megami Tensei'' (formerly ''Revelations''), is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji Okada, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed ...
'' video game series.
Airavata is referenced in the song "The Animal Tent" on the album ''The Circus'' by
The Venetia Fair
The Venetia Fair was an American rock band from Marblehead, Massachusetts, United States. Formed in 2006, the band's final line-up was lead vocalist Benny Santoro, guitarist Mike Abiuso, bassist Charles "Mr. Chark" King, keyboardist Joseph Occhi ...
:
Airavata is the name of the Volvo bus service that
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation provides.
See also
*
Erawan Shrine
Citations
General references
*
External links
*
{{Hindu deities and texts
Elephants in Indian culture
Elephants in Thailand
Hindu iconography
Hindu legendary creatures
Indian legendary characters
Mythological elephants
Non-human races in Hindu mythology
Thai art
Thai culture
Elephants in Buddhism
Elephants in Hinduism