Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic - John Matthews - Страница 57

In the Hindu mythology of India, Airavata is one of sixteen giant white cosmic elephants who support the Earth on their backs. Airavata stands at the eastern quarter of the world with the god Indra upon his back. The name Airavata comes from the word iravat meaning ‘Child of the Water’. According to Hindu mythology, this wondrous beast was created from the churning of the waters at the beginning of time. He takes the form of a milk-white elephant with wings and was so beautiful that Indra chose him as a personal war elephant. As Airavata flew through the air, he sucked up all the waters from the Earth and sprayed them over the surface to bring the gift of rain to the human race.

Airavata is also seen as the father of all elephants and initially his many children were also winged; they subsequently lost the ability to fly after interrupting a class being taught by a sage after landing in a tree above him. The sage decreed that henceforward they would serve mankind in whatever way they were required. To this day, white elephants, which are extremely rare, are considered to be descendants of Airavata and as such are reserved for the use of royalty, often being given as gifts between kings. The origin of the term ‘White Elephant’ probably originates here, since the beasts in question were valuable but could not be used in any other way.

In the great Hindu mythological epic Mahabharata, a different origin is described for Airavata. Here we are told how the god Brahma took a cosmic egg and opened it, holding one half in each hand while chanting seven mantras over them. From the right-hand shell came eight pure white male elephants, each with four tusks; the chief among these was Airavata. From the left-hand shell emerged eight pure white female elephants. Together these sixteen cosmic creatures stood at the eight cardinal compass points to support the Earth. This idea almost certainly influenced the writer Terry Pratchett, who describes four elephants holding up the Discworld in his series of novels of that name.