They are also used in festivals in Sri Lanka such as the Esala Perahera. Among the most famous of the temple elephants is Guruvayur Keshavan of Kerala, India. Temple elephants are specially trained captive elephants that are lavishly caparisoned and used in various temple activities. Įlephants remain an integral part of religion in South Asia and some are even featured in various religious practices. To the royal sages, the white elephant signifies royal majesty and authority they interpreted the dream as meaning that her child was destined for greatness as a universal monarch or a buddha. She had a vivid dream foretelling her pregnancy in which a white elephant featured prominently. In Buddhist iconography, the elephant is associated with Queen Māyā of Sakya, the mother of Gautama Buddha. It is often considered sacred and symbolises royalty in Thailand and Burma, where it is also considered a symbol of good luck. A white elephant is rare and given special significance.
Indra was said to ride on a flying white elephant named Airavata, who was made the King of all elephants by Lord Indra.
The elephant vāhana represents wisdom, divine knowledge and royal power it is associated with Lakshmi, Brihaspati, Shachi and Indra. In addition to providing a means of transport, they symbolically represent a divine attribute. In Hindu iconography, many devas are associated with a mount or vehicle known as a vāhana. In Japanese Buddhism, their adaptation of Ganesha is known as Kangiten ("Deva of Bliss"), often represented as an elephant-headed male and female pair shown in a standing embrace to represent unity of opposites. Lord Ganesha's birthday (rebirth) is celebrated as the Hindu festival known as Ganesha Chaturthi. The deity is very distinctive in having a human form with the head of an elephant which was put on after the human head was either was cut off or burned, depending on the version of the story from various Hindu sources. Wisdom is represented by the elephant in the form of the deity Ganesha, one of the most popular gods in the Hindu religion's pantheon. The classical Sanskrit literature also attributes earthquakes to the shaking of their bodies when they tire. The Earth is supported and guarded by mythical World Elephants at the compass points of the cardinal directions, according to the Hindu cosmology of ancient India. Similarly, the African elephant is seen as the wise chief who impartially settles disputes among the forest creatures in African fables, and the Ashanti tradition holds that they are human chiefs from the past. They are treated positively and are sometimes revered as deities, often symbolising strength and wisdom. The Asian elephant appears in various religious traditions and mythologies. Elephant seal from Indus Valley civilization 2500–1500 BC
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