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Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. [175] According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era. [176]
Also, unlike his Hindu counterpart, whose image is prominently displayed and venerated in temples and homes, Shōten is regarded as a 'hidden' god too sacred to be seen: images of the deity in temples are permanently kept hidden from public view, rituals centered on him are performed in private by qualified monks, and lay devotees are ...
Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. [1] He is worshipped as the lord of beginnings and as the lord of removing obstacles, [2] the patron of arts and sciences, and the god of intellect and wisdom. [3] Stories about the birth of Ganesha are found in the later Puranas, composed from about 600 CE onwards. References to Ganesha in ...
The Hindu epic Mahabharata describes two more elephants by the same name – a mythical elephant that was an incarnation of a sage, and the one that belonged to Bhagadatta, the king of Pragjyotisha. Vinayaki is an elephant-headed Hindu goddess, a Matrika. The goddess is generally associated with the elephant-headed god of wisdom, Ganesha.
Vinayaki (Vināyakī) is an elephant-headed Hindu goddess. [1] Her mythology and iconography are not clearly defined. Little is told about her in Hindu scriptures and very few images of this deity exist. [2] Due to her elephantine features, the goddess is generally associated with the elephant-headed god of wisdom, Ganesha.
The elephant is viewed in both positive and negative lights in similar fashion as humans in various forms of literature. In fact, Pliny the Elder praised the beast in his Naturalis Historia as one that is closest to a human in sensibilities. [55] The elephant's different connotations clash in Ivo Andrić's novella The Vizier's Elephant.
The following list of art deities is arranged by continent with names of mythological figures and deities associated with the arts.Art deities are a form of religious iconography incorporated into artistic compositions by many religions as a dedication to their respective gods and goddesses.
Universal Virtue rides the white elephant for the sole purpose of guiding the people of Jambudvīpa, or the sahā-world, through practices that are associated with their environment. [7] The bodhisattva riding on his white elephant is a symbolic image of Buddhist practice, as well as a representation of purity.