Airāvata
Sign in to savethumb|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, Rajasthan]]
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Hindu tradition
- Jain tradition
- Flags with Airavata
- Erawan
- In popular culture
- See also
- Citations
- General references
- External links
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, Rajasthan]]
Airavata (, Pāḷi Erāvana, Sinhala: Airāvana) is a divine elephant. According to sacred Hindu texts, Airavata was born with three heads, six tusks and three trunks. He is pristine white. Some Puranas say Airavata was born with ten tusks, five trunks, and 10 teeth, representing 10 directions. He is the "king of elephants" and serves as the main vehicle for the deity Indra. He is also called 'Abhra-matanga', meaning "elephant of the clouds"; 'Naga-malla', meaning "the fighting elephant"; and 'Arkasodara', meaning "brother of the sun". 'Abhramu' is the elephant wife of Airavata. Airavata is also the third son of Iravati. In the Mahabharata he is listed as a great serpent.