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Ever since the Stone Age, when elephants were represented by ancient petroglyphs and cave art, they have been portrayed in various forms of art, including pictures, sculptures, music, film, and even architecture. Elephant scalp worn by Demetrius I of Bactria (205–171 BC), founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, as a symbol of his conquest.
Gajasura, an elephant demon from Hindu mythology; Gajendra, from the Sanskrit text Gajendra Moksha; Girimekhala, the elephant that carries Mara in Theravada Buddhism; Kasogonagá, a Toba deity described as either an elephant or an anteater. Supratika, a name for several elephants in Hindu mythology; Behemoth, a demon depicted as a round-bellied ...
The elephant became the symbol of Bangkok by association with Indra during its foundation as the capital of the new Rattanakosin Kingdom. [10] It is also sometimes associated with the old Lao Kingdom of Lan Xang and the defunct Kingdom of Laos, where it was more commonly known as the "three-headed elephant" and had been used on the royal flag. [11]
Ganesha is mentioned in Hindu texts between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE, and a few Ganesha images from the 4th and 5th centuries CE have been documented by scholars. [13] Hindu texts identify him as the son of Parvati and Shiva of the Shaivism tradition, but he is a pan-Hindu god found in its various traditions.
'eight elephants of the quarters') is a group of eight legendary elephants that appear in Hindu cosmology, serving as the guardians of the eight zones of the universe. [1] There are also eight female elephants that stand beside the Ashtadiggajas, referred to as the Ashtadikkarinis.
An elephant is also one of several attributes of a Chakravartin, which he is expected to own to be bestowed with the title of a universal ruler. A legend states that Airavata, the first elephant, emerged from the churning of the ocean. There is another mythological account, which states that Brahma created elephants.
The use of symbolism in religion is a universal established phenomenon. Archeologist Steven Mithen contends that it is common for religious practices to involve the creation of images and symbols to represent supernatural beings and ideas. Because supernatural beings violate the principles of the natural world, there will always be difficulty ...
To this day (2024), important temples, especially in South India, keep their own temple elephants, which are acquired either by purchase or as gifts. [14] However, it is possible that elephants declared as a ‘gift’ to a temple at the end of the 20th or in the 21st century were actually acquired underhand on the illegal black market, but officially given as a ‘gift’ - this has been a ...