Buddhist Scriptures tell of how queen maha maya, the mother of Prince Siddartha (who attained enlightenment as Gautama Buddha), dreamed of a white elephant holding a white lotus flower and entering foretold the conception of Siddaratha Gautama.
In Indian mythology, "Airavana," the vehicle of the Gold King Sakra, was the first divine elephant to be created by the gods. The Ring Vedas describe the creation of the elephant as " after the sun bird Gurudu was created, Brahma sang seven holy hymns over the two halves of the Guruda's egg and suddenly sixteen elephants sprang up, led by Airavana. They became the ancestors of all elephants."
According to the Vedas, all elephants had wings at one time. This corresponds to the old Arabian tales of flying elephants. They lost their wings when one flying elephant alighted on an old tree branch in the Himalayas under which a hermit was meditating. the branch broke and the disturbed hermit cursed the elephant, depriving it of its means of flight.
Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed god of the Hindu pantheon, is revered for his courage and wisdom. He is also believed to grant prosperity to traders, and one can invariably find a garlanded picture of Ganesha in most Tamil boutiques in Sri Lanka and India. There are two main versions the story of how Ganesha was endowed with an elephant's head. It is said that he valued privacy so much that he stopped his father, God Shiva, from entering the bath of his mother, and Shiva wrenched Ganesha's head off in anger. In remorse, Shiva ran out and brought back the head of the first being he came across - that of an elephant. Another story says that Lord Shani (Saturn) glanced at the newborn Ganesha and that glance burnt his head off, whereupon God Vishnu brought an elephant's head to make amends.
Evan the Bible has references to the elephant, discussing it thus:"Behold the behemoth whom I made with tree. He eateth grass like as ox: ha sleepeth under the shadow;in the coverts of the reeds andin moist places. Behold he will drink up a river;and he trusteth that the Jordan (River) may run into his mouth.
In Indian mythology, "Airavana," the vehicle of the Gold King Sakra, was the first divine elephant to be created by the gods. The Ring Vedas describe the creation of the elephant as " after the sun bird Gurudu was created, Brahma sang seven holy hymns over the two halves of the Guruda's egg and suddenly sixteen elephants sprang up, led by Airavana. They became the ancestors of all elephants."
According to the Vedas, all elephants had wings at one time. This corresponds to the old Arabian tales of flying elephants. They lost their wings when one flying elephant alighted on an old tree branch in the Himalayas under which a hermit was meditating. the branch broke and the disturbed hermit cursed the elephant, depriving it of its means of flight.
Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed god of the Hindu pantheon, is revered for his courage and wisdom. He is also believed to grant prosperity to traders, and one can invariably find a garlanded picture of Ganesha in most Tamil boutiques in Sri Lanka and India. There are two main versions the story of how Ganesha was endowed with an elephant's head. It is said that he valued privacy so much that he stopped his father, God Shiva, from entering the bath of his mother, and Shiva wrenched Ganesha's head off in anger. In remorse, Shiva ran out and brought back the head of the first being he came across - that of an elephant. Another story says that Lord Shani (Saturn) glanced at the newborn Ganesha and that glance burnt his head off, whereupon God Vishnu brought an elephant's head to make amends.
Evan the Bible has references to the elephant, discussing it thus:"Behold the behemoth whom I made with tree. He eateth grass like as ox: ha sleepeth under the shadow;in the coverts of the reeds andin moist places. Behold he will drink up a river;and he trusteth that the Jordan (River) may run into his mouth.
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