Elephant Batik Tapestry

The Elephant, because of its awesome strength and great size, is widely held to be a symbol of  of power - the brute force that supports the cosmos and its life forms, and also the majesty of royal power. In the wild, elephants are known to demonstrate notably human characteristics: longevity, social customs, and varied personality traits. This has given rise to many tales of elephants as companions to humans or stories where they exhibit human-like qualities such as fearfulness, rage, and stubbornness. In India, the elephant-headed god Gaha, is been widely revered as a remover of obstacles, hence, a bringer of success, among both Hindus and Buddhists.

According to the Mahabharata, the divine elephant Avatar was born out of the primeval milky ocean as it was being churned by the gods and demons. This elephant was destined to be the mount of Indra, the god of thunder and battle, protector of the cosmos. The intimate connection in Hindu mythology between Avatar and Indra indicates that the elephant is not simply a symbol for brute force, but is also associated with the powers that support and protect life. Probably because of its round shape and gray color, the elephant is regarded as a rain cloud that walks the earth, endowed with the magical ability to produce rain clouds at will. In present-day India, the elephant plays a significant part in an annual ceremony celebrated in New Delhi for the purposes of inducing rainfall, good harvest, and the fertility of human beings and their livestock.