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Airavata
Indra (alias Sakra) and Shachi riding the five-headed Divine Elephant Airavata, Folio from a Jain text, Panch Kalyanaka">Shachi.html" ;"title="Indra (alias Sakra) and Shachi">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 ( 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 ' Arkasodara', meaning "brother of the sun". 'Abhramu' is the elephant wife of Airavata. Airavata has four tusks and seven trunks and is spotless white. Airavata is also the third son of Iravati. In the ''Mahabharata'' he is listed as a great serpent. Hindu tradition According to the Ram ...
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Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes/ref> Indra's myths and powers are similar to other Indo-European deities such as Jupiter, Perun, Perkūnas, Zalmoxis, Taranis, Zeus, and Thor, part of the greater Proto-Indo-European mythology. Indra is the most referred deity in the ''Rigveda''. He is celebrated for his powers, and as the one who killed the great evil (a malevolent type of asura) named Vritra, who obstructed human prosperity and happiness. Indra destroys Vritra and his "deceiving forces", and thereby brings rains and sunshine as the saviour of mankind. He is also an important deity worshipped by the Kalash people, indicating his prominence in ancient Hinduism. Indra's significance diminishes in the post-Vedic Indian literature, but he still plays an important role in various m ...
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White Elephant (pachyderm)
A white elephant (also albino elephant) is a rare kind of elephant, but not a distinct species. In Hindu ''puranas'', the god Indra has a white elephant. Although often depicted as snow white, their skin is normally a soft reddish-brown, turning a light pink when wet. They have fair eyelashes and toenails. The traditional "white elephant" is commonly misunderstood as being albino, but the Thai term ''chang samkhan'', actually translates as 'auspicious elephant', being "white" in terms of an aspect of purity. White elephants are only nominally white. Of those currently kept by the Burmese rulers—General Than Shwe regards himself as the heir of the Burmese kings—one is grey and the other three are pinkish, but all are officially white. The king of Thailand also keeps a number of white elephants, eleven of which are still alive . Persia There were white elephants in the army of the Sasanian king Khusrau II. According to al-Tabari, a white elephant killed the commander of th ...
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Svarga
Svarga (), also known as Indraloka and Svargaloka, is the celestial abode of the devas in Hinduism. Svarga is one of the seven higher lokas ( esoteric planes) in Hindu cosmology. Svarga is often translated as heaven, though it is regarded to be not the equivalent of the Abrahamic Heaven. Description Svargaloka is a set of celestial worlds located on and above Mount Meru, where those who had led righteous lives by adhering to the scriptures delight in pleasures, before their next birth on earth. It is described to have been built by the deity Tvashtar, the Vedic architect of the devas. The king of the devas, Indra, is the ruler of Svarga, ruling it with his consort, Indrani. His palace in the abode is called Vaijayanta. This palace holds the famous hall, Sudharma, unrivalled among all the princely courts. The capital of Svarga is Amaravati, and its entrance is guarded by the legendary elephant, Airavata. Svarga is described to be the home of Kamadhenu, the cow of plenty, as w ...
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Bangkok Wat Arun Phra Prang Indra Erawan
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 10.539 million as of 2020, 15.3 percent of the country's population. Over 14 million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2010 census, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy. Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities, Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand's political struggles ...
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Darasuram
Darasuram or Dharasuram is a locality in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. The area is known for the Airavateswara temple constructed by the Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century CE. The temple is a recognised UNESCO World Heritage monument. Demographics India census, Darasuram had a population of 13,027. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Dharasuram has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77% and, female literacy is 63%. In Dharasuram, 11% of the population is under six years of age. Kumbakonam temple This temple is a storehouse of art and architecture. The ''vimana'' is 85 feet high. The front mandapam itself is in the form of a huge chariot drawn by horses. The temple has some exquisite stone carvings. The main deity's consort Periya Nayaki Amman temple is situated adjacent to Airavateshwarar temple. The Great Living Chola Temples. (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) at Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapur ...
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Vritra
Vritra () is a danava in Hinduism. He serves as the personification of drought, and is an adversary of the king of the devas, Indra. As a danava, he belongs to the race of the asuras. Vritra is also known in the Vedas as Ahi (Sanskrit: ', lit. "snake"). He appears as a human-like serpent blocking the course of the Rigvedic rivers, and is slain by Indra with his newly-forged vajra. Name ''Vritra'' literally means "cover, obstacle", in reference of him holding back the waters. It stems from Proto-Indo-Iranian ''*wr̥trás'', from the Proto-Indo-European root ''*wer-'' "to cover, to obstruct". The Indo-Iranian word is also found in Avestan as '' vərəθraγna'' (Vedic ''vṛtraghná''), literally "(one who) slays obstacles". Functionally, he is related to Jörmungandr of Norse myth, Typhon of Greek myth, and Veles of Slavic myth. Literature Vedas According to the Rig Veda, Vritra kept the waters of the world captive until he was killed by Indra, who destroyed all th ...
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Elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. The order was formerly much more diverse during the Pleistocene, but most species became extinct during the Late Pleistocene epoch. Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive skin. The trunk is used for breathing, bringing food and water to the mouth, and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears, and convex or level backs. Elephants ...
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Elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. The order was formerly much more diverse during the Pleistocene, but most species became extinct during the Late Pleistocene epoch. Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive skin. The trunk is used for breathing, bringing food and water to the mouth, and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears, and convex or level backs. Elephants ...
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Iravati
Iravati () is a character in Hindu mythology. She is a daughter of Kadru or Bhadramada and Kashyapa, as featured in the Ramayana. She is also associated with a sacred Iravati river, which was one of the names of the river Ravi of modern-day Punjab during the Vedic period. It is possible that the river Irrawaddy of Myanmar traces its name to this name for the Ravi river. Legend One legend states that Indra's divine elephant, Airavata, is the offspring of Iravati. See also * Ganga * Sarasvati * Kalindi Yamuna is a sacred river in Hinduism and the main tributary of the Ganges River. The river is also worshipped as a Hindu goddess called Yamuna. Yamuna is known as Yami in early texts, while in later literature, she is called Kalindi. In Hindu sc ... References External links *Vettam Mani; Puranic Encyclopaedia. Quotes the Ramayana (Aranyakanda) for her parentage, and the Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva, for the river). Characters in the Mahabharata Mythological rivers ...
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Ocean Of Milk
In Hindu cosmology, the Ocean of Milk (',', ''Malayalam: Pālāḻi'') is the fifth from the centre of the seven oceans. It surrounds the continent known as Krauncha. According to Hindu scriptures, the devas and asuras worked together for a millennium to churn the ocean and release amrita, the nectar of immortal life. It is spoken of in the ''Samudra Manthana'' chapter of the Puranas, a body of ancient Hindu legends. It is called as the ''Tiruparkadal'' (Sacred sea of milk) in Tamil, and is the place where Vishnu reclines over Adishesha, along with his consort, Lakshmi. Etymology "Ocean of Milk" is the English translation of the Sanskrit terms ', ' or ', from ' "milk" and ', ' "water, ocean" or ' "ocean." The term varies across Indic languages, including ''khir sagar'' in Bengali, ''pārkaḍal'' in Tamil, and ''Pāla Kadali'' in Telugu. The Churning of the Ocean One of the most fascinating episodes of Hindu mythology involves the churning of the cosmic ocean in order ...
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Prithu
Prithu (Sanskrit: पृथु, ''Pṛthu'', lit. "large, great, important, abundant") is a sovereign ( chakravarti), featured in the Puranas. According to Hinduism, he is an avatar (incarnation) of the preserver god—Vishnu. He is also called Prithu, Prithi and Prithvi Vainya, literally, "Prithu — the son of Vena". Prithu is "celebrated as the first consecrated king, from whom the earth received her (Sanskrit) name, Prithvi." He is mainly associated with the legend of his chasing the earth goddess, Prithvi, who fled in the form of a cow and eventually agreed to yield her milk as the world's grain and vegetation. The epic Mahabharata, Vishnu Purana, and the Bhagavata Purana describe him as a part-avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu.Singh p.1713 Legends Birth The birth of Prithu is without female reproduction. Thus being a ''ayonija'' ("born without (the participation) of the yoni"), Prithu is untouched by desire and ego and can thus control his senses to rule with dharm ...
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Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which housed the Roman Empire, Imperial residences. Most European languages have a version of the term (''palais'', ''palazzo'', ''palacio'', etc.), and many use it for a wider range of buildings than English. In many parts of Europe, the equivalent term is also applied to large private houses in cities, especially of the aristocracy; often the term for a large country house is different. Many historic palaces are now put to other uses such as parliaments, museums, hotels, or office buildings. The word is also sometimes used to describe a lavishly ornate building used for public entertainment or exhibitions such as a movie palace. A palace is distinguished from a castle while the latter clearly is fortified or has the style of a fortification ...
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