The Elephant As a portion of Hindu Culture
There is no doubt and western historians gain the fact the Hindu civilization is perhaps the oldest in the world. It predates by almost 4500 years the Christian era, which really starts with the birth of Christ. Equally common is the fact that the elephant is closely interwoven in Hindu ethos and culture. The elephant has been archaic as an instrument of war and also as a herald for temple esteem. This fascination of the Hindu with the elephant has to be understood in the context of one of the prominent Hindu Gods Ganesh having a trunk as a nose. In addition the abundance of the elephant during all periods of history to the note day is also a factor that has made the elephant a determined section of Hindu culture.
The mature Indian memoir the Mahabharata makes the first mention of the elephant as an instrument of war. The battle between the Pandavas and the kauravas on the plains of kuruskshetra a town about 100 miles from Delhi is the first recorded spend of the elephant as a portion of military arsenal. Subsequently the elephant became the main discontinue of Hindu armies. The commander in chief usually went to battle mounted on an elephant. The elephant was a decisive element in battles fought on plains and without gun powder. It must be recorded that the Hindus were the first to utilize the elephant for war and the last to discard it as well.
Hindu religion also greatly reveres the 'elephant God 'Ganesh.He was a son of Lord Shiva, one of the principle Hindu Gods. Ganesh Chaturthi which is the birth day of the god is eminent with vast gusto all over India particularly in the southern and western portion of the country. The elephant is so considerable a piece of Hindu religion that they are also worn in temple ceremonies. This is very great in vogue in the Hindu temples of South India. The most eminent of the temples at Madumalai approach Coimbatore in South India has a very shiny pageant in which the elephant earn piece of temple ceremony.
honest as we have stud farms for Horses in South India so do the Hindus have elephant farms. The largest of them is attached to the Guruvayoor temple at Madumalai which has almost 50 elephants. The elephants are reared in a special environment and are taught the temple rituals.It is really a behold to seek the elephants going in procession in pair to pay their obeisance to the deity. The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi which lasts for a week is spectacle worth seeing. Many tourists from the western world advance to view this temple appreciate by elephants. Elephants are fragment of temple ceremonies all over South India.The station of kerela alone has about 500 elephants attached to temples for admire.
The elephants normally approach in procession and enter the temple in pairs. They are decked with ornate jewelry and fade to the accompaniment of music and devotional songs with the beating of drums and blowing of conch shells. The elephants on approaching the deity kneel down and then carry on.It is a tribute to the trainers that the elephants can be so trained that they become allotment of the pageant and assume section in love of the Gods.
This all looks lovely but there is another side to the coin. A gargantuan many elephants are kept chained and not looked after properly. The mahouts are generally untrained and are prone to catch drugs. This reflects on the treatment of the elephants. I do feel the Hindu like for the elephant has to be translated to their better up hold and looking after. Can we put a question to animal rights activists and the Government to intervene?
