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general fixed lead after review for accuracy

122.179.100.119 at 09:59, 20 June 2021

2021-06-20T09:59:05Z

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	{{Quote\|Of horses, know Me to be the nectar-born [[Uchchaihshravas]]; of lordly elephants, Airavata and of men, the monarch.<ref>[http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/10/27/en1 Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 10, Verse 27)] {{webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015252/http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/10/27/en1 \|date=30 September 2007 }}</ref>}}		{{Quote\|Of horses, know Me to be the nectar-born [[Uchchaihshravas]]; of lordly elephants, Airavata and of men, the monarch.<ref>[http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/10/27/en1 Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 10, Verse 27)] {{webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015252/http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/10/27/en1 \|date=30 September 2007 }}</ref>}}

	At [[Darasuram]] near [[Tanjore]] is [[Airavatesvara Temple\|a temple]] where it is believed that Airavata worshipped the [[Lingam]]; the Lingam is named after him as ~~Airavateswara~~. This temple, which abounds in rare sculpture and [[architectural]] workmanship, was built by [[Rajaraja Chola II]] (1146–73).<ref>{{cite book \|title=World Heritage Monuments and Related Edifices in India \|url=https://archive.org/details/worldheritagemon00javi \|url-access=limited \|author=Ali Javid \|author2=ʻAlī Jāvīd \|author3=Tabassum Javeed \|publisher=Algora Publishing \|date=2008 \|page=[https://archive.org/details/worldheritagemon00javi/page/n66 57]}}</ref>		At [[Darasuram]] near [[Tanjore]] is [[Airavatesvara Temple\|a temple]] where it is believed that Airavata worshipped the [[Lingam]]; the Lingam is named after him as Airavateshwara. This temple, which abounds in rare sculpture and [[architectural]] workmanship, was built by [[Rajaraja Chola II]] (1146–73).<ref>{{cite book \|title=World Heritage Monuments and Related Edifices in India \|url=https://archive.org/details/worldheritagemon00javi \|url-access=limited \|author=Ali Javid \|author2=ʻAlī Jāvīd \|author3=Tabassum Javeed \|publisher=Algora Publishing \|date=2008 \|page=[https://archive.org/details/worldheritagemon00javi/page/n66 57]}}</ref>

	==Jain tradition==		==Jain tradition==

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New page

{{Short description|Mythical creature i n Hinduism}}
{{redirect|Erawan|Airavata Elephant Foundation in Cambodia|Airavata Elephant Foundation| other uses|Erawan (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Gajendra|the elephant rescued by the Vishnu|Gajendra Moksha|the films|Gajendra (1984 film)|and|Gajendra (2004 film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
[[image:Indradeva.jpg|thumb|[[Indra]] (alias Sakra) and [[Shachi]] riding the five-headed Divine Elephant Airavata, Folio from a Jain text, [[Panch Kalyanaka]] (Five Auspicious Events in the Life of Jina [[Rishabhanatha]]), c. 1670–1680, Painting in [[LACMA]] museum, originally from [[Amber, India|Amber]], [[Rajasthan]]]]

'''Airavata''' ({{lang-sa|ऐरावत}} "belonging to [[Iravati]]") is a [[white elephant (pachyderm)|white elephant]] who carries the deity [[Indra]]. It is also called 'abhra-Matanga', meaning "elephant of the clouds"; 'Naga-malla', meaning "the fighting elephant"; and '[[Surya|Arka]]<nowiki/>sodara', meaning "brother of the [[sun]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=Dowson|first=John|title=A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature|year=1870|publisher=Trübner & Company|location=London|page=180}}</ref> 'Abhramu' is the elephant wife of Airavata. Airavata has ten [[tusks]] and five [[Elephant#Trunk|trunks]] and is spotless white. Airavata is also the third son of [[Iravati]]. In the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' he is listed as a great serpent.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ganguli |first=Kishori Mohan |title=SECTION XXXV |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01036.htm |work=[[Mahabharata]] |publisher=Pratap Chandra Babu}}</ref>

==Hindu tradition==
[[File:Bangkok Wat Arun Phra Prang Indra Erawan.jpg|thumb|200px|Detail of the Phra Prang, the central tower of the [[Wat Arun]] ("Temple of Dawn") in [[Bangkok]], [[Thailand]], showing [[Indra]] on his three-headed elephant Erawan (Airavata).]]

According to the [[Ramayana]], the elephant's mother was [[Iravati]]. According to the Matangalila, Airavata was born when [[Brahma]] sang sacred [[hymns]] over the halves of the [[Egg (biology)|egg]] shell from which [[Garuda]] hatched, followed by seven more male and eight female [[elephant]]s. [[Prithu]] made Airavata king of all elephants. One of his names means "the one who knits or binds the clouds" since myth has it that these elephants are capable of producing clouds. The connection of elephants with [[water]] and [[rain]] is emphasized in the [[Hindu mythology|mythology]] of Indra, who rides the elephant Airavata when he defeats [[Vritra]]. This mighty elephant reaches down his trunk into the watery [[underworld]], sucks up its water, and then sprays it into the clouds, which Indra then causes to rain forth cool water, thereby linking the waters of the [[sky]] with those of the underworld.{{cn|date=February 2017}}

As per another legend, Airavata is believed to have come out of churning the [[ocean of milk]] and it is believed that the elephant guards one of the points of compass.<ref>{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year= 1990| page= [https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/64 64]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}</ref>
Airavata also stands at the entrance to [[Svarga]], Indra's [[palace]]. In addition, the eight [[Guardians of the directions|guardian deities]] who preside over the points of the [[compass]] each sit on an elephant. Each of these deities has an elephant that takes part in the defense and protection of its respective quarter. Chief among them is Airavata of [[Indra]]. There is a reference to Airavata in the [[Bhagavad Gita]]:

{{Quote|Of horses, know Me to be the nectar-born [[Uchchaihshravas]]; of lordly elephants, Airavata and of men, the monarch.<ref>[http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/10/27/en1 Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 10, Verse 27)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015252/http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/10/27/en1 |date=30 September 2007 }}</ref>}}

At [[Darasuram]] near [[Tanjore]] is [[Airavatesvara Temple|a temple]] where it is believed that Airavata worshipped the [[Lingam]]; the Lingam is named after him as Airavateswara. This temple, which abounds in rare sculpture and [[architectural]] workmanship, was built by [[Rajaraja Chola II]] (1146–73).<ref>{{cite book |title=World Heritage Monuments and Related Edifices in India |url=https://archive.org/details/worldheritagemon00javi |url-access=limited |author=Ali Javid |author2=ʻAlī Jāvīd |author3=Tabassum Javeed |publisher=Algora Publishing |date=2008 |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldheritagemon00javi/page/n66 57]}}</ref>

==Jain tradition==
In Jain tradition, when a [[Tirthankara]] is born, [[Indra]] descends with his consort, [[Shachi]], riding their mount, the great elephant Airavata, to celebrate the event.{{sfn|Goswamy|2014|p=245}}

==Flags with Airavata==
; Laos
<gallery widths="200px" perrow="3">
Flag of French Laos.svg|Flag of [[French Laos]] (1893–1952)
Flag of Laos (1952-1975).svg|[[Flag of Laos]] (1952–1975)
Royal Standard of the Kingdom of Laos.svg|Laotian royal standard (1952–1975)
</gallery>

; Siam (Thailand)
<gallery widths="200px" perrow="3">
Siamese Royal Standard (absent) (Rama IV).svg|[[Royal Standard of Thailand#Fourth reign|"Thong Airaphot" (ธงไอยราพต) King's Absent Standard (1855–1891 & 1897–1910)]]
Siamese Royal Standard (absent) (Rama V).svg|[[Royal Standard of Thailand#Fifth reign|"Thong Chuthathipathai" (ธงจุฑาธิปไตย) King's Absent Standard (1891–1897)]]
Flag of Bangkok.svg|Flag of the [[Bangkok Metropolitan Administration]]
</gallery>

==Erawan==
[[File:Erawan.JPG|200px|thumb|Erawan statue in [[Chiang Mai]], Thailand.]]

'''Erawan''' ({{lang-th|เอราวัณ}}, from [[Pali|Pāḷi]] ''Erāvana'', or [[Sanskrit]] ''Airāvana'') is one of the [[Thai language|Thai]] names of Airavata. It is depicted as a huge elephant with either three or sometimes thirty-three heads which are often shown with more than two tusks. Some statues show [[Indra]], the king of Tavatimsa Heaven, riding on Erawan. The elephant is sometimes associated with the old [[Lao people|Lao]] Kingdom of [[Lan Xang]] and the defunct [[Kingdom of Laos]], where it was more commonly known as the "three-headed elephant" and had been used on the royal flag.<ref>{{Cite book|editor-first=Frank E.|editor-last=Reynolds|title=Three worlds According To King Ruang: A Thai Buddhist Cosmology|publisher=[[University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley]]|year=1982|isbn=0-89581-153-7}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
Airavata is a recruitable character in the ''[[Megami Tensei]]'' video game series.

Airavata is referenced in the song "The Animal Tent" on the album ''The Circus'' by [[The Venetia Fair]]:

{{Quote|Here comes Airavata; the elephant controls the rainclouds,
His skin the rumbling earth (Airavata!)}}

Airavata is the name of the Volvo bus service that [[Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation]] provides.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/ksrtc-launches-volvo-buses-with-pantry-and-toilet/article3655889.ece | title=KSRTC launches Volvo buses with pantry and toilet | newspaper=[[The Hindu]] | date=19 July 2012 | access-date=27 August 2014}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Erawan Shrine]]

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General references ==
* {{citation |last=Goswamy |first=B. N. |author-link=B. N. Goswamy |title=The Spirit of Indian Painting: Close Encounters with 100 Great Works 1100–1900 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J5E3BQAAQBAJ |publisher=Penguin Books |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-670-08657-3 }}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category inline|Airavata}}

{{Hindu deities and texts}}

[[Category:Elephants in Indian culture]]
[[Category:Elephants in religion]]
[[Category:Elephants in Thailand]]
[[Category:Hindu iconography]]
[[Category:Hindu legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Indian legendary characters]]
[[Category:Mythological elephants]]
[[Category:Non-human races in Hindu mythology]]
[[Category:Thai art]]
[[Category:Thai culture]]

Airavata - Revision history

Jefferykip: general fixed lead after review for accuracy

122.179.100.119 at 09:59, 20 June 2021

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