Thread by @vakibs

In this thread, I will discuss the most beloved of all Indian animals - the elephant, and how it was seen by Indians amidst the stars in the sky, as the very image of cosmos.

This is a statue of the four-headed Airāvata (Erawan) from Thailand, a form of the auspicious Swastika.

I recently visited the beautiful city of Udaipur in Rajasthan, where I overheard a conversation between two foreigners behind me.

"What do those symbols mean? What are they for?", referring to the many Swastikas at the palace gate.

"It is a solar symbol, it represents the sun".

This is correct. The Rajputs of Mewar venerated the sun. The Swastika is depicted along with the Pūrṇa Kalaśa (a pot filled with water, with a coconut placed at the top). It refers to contentment with Ṛta (the cosmic flow of seasons) and happiness therein. An auspicious symbol.

But why is there a Gaṇēśa presiding at the top? 🙂

In fact, the elephant faced Gaṇēśa most commonly accompanies any depiction of the Swastika. He is the one who leads the people to the sacred realm, where one humbly tries to understand the Ṛta and yoke one's own self to it.

So let us invoke Gaṇēśa and enter into the poem of the cosmic elephant. :) Before we speak about the elephant, we need to talk about the bull (Vṛshabha) - the original symbol of the sun. He heralded the annual turn of seasons.

Who is that cosmic bull? The constellation Taurus.

The Jains remember those most ancient times of human civilization, through the story of Ādinātha (also known as Rishabhanātha) who appears to his mother in a dream as a bull. Rishabhanātha is the first Tīrthankara (ford-maker), who enabled humans to step into the sacred realm.

The same bull was also venerated in the sacred Vēdas. The mighty Indra was saluted as the bull. This is a natural image. Just as early agriculture was inseparable from the bull which helped till the fields, the cosmic bull heralded the onset of rains.

But it would not last.

Any configuration of stars will shift over time due to precession (the slow rotation of earth's axis). The bull would be dethroned, but remembered in many myths around the world.

In India, Prajāpati (constellation Orion, close to the Taurus) would have his head cut off by Śiva.

But all is not lost. The elephant comes to the rescue.

In the story of Gaṇēśa, Pārvati fashions an idol of clay and breathes life into him. This refers to attempts by mere mortals like us trying to yoke with the Ṛta. Unaware that this boy was his son, Śiva cuts off his head.

Pārvati demands that her son be brought back to life! Śiva asks to find the first animal that one sees and connect its head to the body of the boy.

The first animal to be found was an elephant, and Gaṇēśa thus gets an elephant head. Śiva and Pārvati bring the boy back to life.

Now what is so peculiar about an elephant head ? The trunk.

And we remember how the trunk is so useful to track the Ṛta in a beautiful verse.

"Vakratunḍa mahākāya sūryakōṭi samaprabha"

The one with the curved trunk, the one dazzling with the brilliance of millions of suns.

The curved trunk (vakratunḍa) is precisely the tool that lets the Mahākāya (the one with the giant cosmic body) to catch the right set of stars and move them along the Ṛta, all the while staying put. This is exactly how an elephant eats its food, keeping still and jovial. 😃

See this brilliantly carved statue. Do you see an elephant? Or do you see a bull? Or do you see both?

This is an image of sacred reverence to nature, but also of great sense of humour. It is neither, and it is both. And it has a cosmic story. 🙂

The elephant's trunk refers to a flexibility in the mathematical models of India for tracking the calendar. This is why the Ashṭa-dikpālas (guardian deities of the 8 cardinal directions) each sit on top of an elephant. The most important of which is Airavata, the mount of Indra.

Airāvata would bring waters from the depths of Pātāla and release them as rain onto the parched lands of India. It heralded the annual monsoon rains, which are extremely important for the agriculture in India.
(This is a street art from Belgium, depicting similar joy in imagery).

The Airāvatēśwara temple in Darasuram shows elephants dragging the cosmic chariot of the sun across the seasons.

Such imagery has a dual purpose. Unti recent times in history, an elephant was an extremely important animal in the battle ground, and used as the seat of the king.

The Swastika is a compact depiction of the most important landmarks in the journey of the sun: the two equinoxes (right:spring & left:autumn) and the two solstices (south:summer & north:winter).

In Indian depictions, the Swastika is usually tilted like an elephant's trunk. 😃

But this journey of the sun refers not just to physical reality, but also symbolic of a Yogic journey: the deeper investigation of self, as the sun represents consciousness.

This is depicted in the Swasti Mantra. It is a sonic form of the Swastika.

The first deity invoked is Indra.

"Om swasti na indrō vṛddha śravāḥ"

May Indra, who is the one who receives ever growing praise, lead us to auspiciousness.

Indra refers to Dharma (ethical living) of the four Purushārthas. He guards the east, where the sun rises.

The second deity is Pūsha, the form of the sun who nourishes plants and animals. He is the south-facing sun of the summer.

"Om swasti na pūshā viśwa vēdāḥ"

May Pūsha, who knows all in the universe, lead us to auspiciousness.

Pusha refers to Kāma of the four Purushārthas.

The third deity is Tākshya (Garuda). He is the enemy of the snakes (symbolic of one's inertia, and the chains of desire).

"Om swasti nastākshyō arishṭanēmiḥ"

May Tākshya, the destroyer of enemies, lead us to auspiciousness.

Tākshya refers to Artha of the four Purushārthas.

The fourth deity is Bṛhaspati (Jupiter), the Guru of the Dēvas. In this chant, he refers to Mōksha of the four Purushārthas. Along the Swastika, he refers to the north which signifies renunciation.

"Om swasti no bṛhaspatirdadhātu"

May Bṛhaspati lead us to auspiciousness.

Gaṇēśa actually represents all these four deities and the Purushārthas. This is why Gaṇēśa is the first deity to be invoked in any Yajña (auspicious activity). The elephant is thus a charm of good luck in India.

And probably anywhere in the world. (Art by Tamara Phillips).

So the next time you look at the night sky and its Sūryakōṭi (multitude of suns/stars), try to check if you can see the cosmic elephant which is safely guiding them along the Ṛta with its Vakratunḍa (curved trunk).

May be, you will see it. 😉 (End of thread).