Hindus believe that the eight cardinal points of the earth are protected by eight mythical elephants, the Dig Gaja. The most important of these is Airavata or Eravana (‘he who was born from the waters’), who served as the mount of the god Indra, the bringer of rains and one of the main gods in the Hindu pantheon. Airavata is generally depicted with three heads and six tusks and is said to have been born from the churning of the sea.
Indra and Eravana
Tuesday 12 July 2011, by Sébastien Duffillot
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