() is a term for '

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

' used in

Vedic texts upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed i ...

. Other terms for 'elephant' include () and ().

The elephant in the ''Rigveda''

In ''

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

'' 1.84.17 and 4.4.1. and probably other instances, the ''Rigveda'' seems to refer to

s (e.g. Bryant 2001: 323), an animal native to South Asia. It has been speculated that some of these verses might be references to domesticated elephants. In RV 1.64.7, 8.33.8 and 10.40.4, "wild" elephants are mentioned.

In the ''Rigveda'' and in the ''

Atharvaveda The Atharvaveda or Atharva Veda (, , from ''wikt:अथर्वन्, अथर्वन्'', "priest" and ''wikt:वेद, वेद'', "knowledge") or is the "knowledge storehouse of ''wikt:अथर्वन्, atharvans'', the proced ...

'', the term is translated as 'elephant' (according to Keith and Macdonell, Roth and other scholars). In the ''Rigveda'', (animal with a hand) occurs in RV 1.64.7 and RV 4.16.14.

Ibha

RV 9.57.3 and RV 6.20.8 mention 's, a term meaning 'servant, domestics, household' according to Roth, Ludwig, Zimmer and other Indologists. Other scholars like Pischel and Karl Friedrich Geldner translate the term as 'elephant'.Vedic Index, I, 79 According to Sayana, Mahidhara and the

Nirukta ''Nirukta'' (, , "explained, interpreted") is one of the six ancient Vedangas, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Nirukta" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: ...

, is translated as 'elephant'. Megasthenes and Nearchos also connect with 'elephant'. The term is only used in the '' Samhitas'', and especially in the ''Rigveda''.

Another term that may mean 'elephant' is (RV 8.33.8; RV 10.40.4). According to Macdonell and Keith, refers to elephants.Vedic Index, II, 288

The elephant in other Hindu texts

The '' Akananuru'' (27) and the ''

Purananuru The ''Purananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the genre puram"), sometimes called ''Puram'' or ''Purappattu'', is a classical Tamil literature, Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') i ...

'' (389) state that elephants were raised and trained in ancient Tamilagam's northern boundary of Venkatam hills,

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to th ...

Notes

References

*Bryant, Edwin (2001). The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture. Oxford University Press. . *Macdonell, A.A. and Keith, A.B. 1912. The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects. *Talageri, Shrikant: The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis. 2000. {{ISBN, 81-7742-010-0

The elephant in the ''Rigveda''

Ibha

The elephant in other Hindu texts

Notes

References

See also