Metaphors regarding Elephants

We have discussed the issue of elephants as metaphors in chapter four yet some of the referneces to elephants where rulers and other significant persona are compared to elephants need mention here as well. Though this discussion here will be very brief and the elaborate discussion will be carried forth in the chapter on metaphors. The valour of the kings is often compared to that of the elephant par excellence i.e Airāvata the elephant of lord Indra.

For example the Badaun inscription of Lakhanapāla eulogises king Surapāla as Airāvana among the choicest of the elephants–

“Airāvaṇo gaja-vareṣu….”^[1].

The elephants guarding quarters were usually described as white in colur. Some records also mention the fame of the ruler as being similar to those elephants who guard the cardinal points or the quarters. The elephants of the frontal globes are used as the simile with the fame of the Cinda king Lalla.

It stated that:

“His fame wanders all around (the world)….in every quarter or the horizon to the frontal globes of the (guardian) elephants….”(L.19).

The elephants guarding quarters are white, just like the fame of Lalla^[2]. Balabhi grant of Dhruvasena III refers the illustrious Guhasena all whose sins were washed away by his prostrations at the lotus feet of his father and mother; who, ever showed in hand from his infancy, brightened the touch stone of his courage by splitting the temples of the rutting elephants of his foes and the tips of whose lotus hands were moistened with the water (sprinkle) at donations (as the tips of the trunk of an elephant with the rutting juice)….(l.29)^[3].

In the Kalegaon plates of Yādava Mahādeva, the verse 17 speaks about king Siṃhana that–

“maṃdaṃ muṃca karīndra(śai)laśikhare [śa]lyaṃ vinirvidya tadgrīvāmarddanimagnameva….”.

“Siṅghaṇa, the champion archer, is requested here to discharge his shaft at the enemy’s elephant not with full swing. For the full force of the shaft will not only kill the elephant, but, says the poet with a hyperbole, also pierce the earth to the base and fall on the Boar (Viṣṇu) or Śeṣa or the tortoise (i.e. the mythological supporters of the earth). And would this not be an outrage?^[4] ”.

It indicates the king’s proficiency in archery.

The Cintra Praśasti of the reign of Śāraṅgadeva provides a very interesting fact, it states that “through his (Śāraṅgadhara) power he in battle reduces the powers of the Yādava and the Mālava lords just as the lord of birds formerly (overcome) the huge body elephant and the tortoise”. This reflects the Puranic tales of Gaja-kacchapa which is very famous even now a day^[5].

The Badal pillar inscription refers to king Devapāla, who by his policy made tributary the earth as far as Revās parent whose piles of rocks are moist with the rutting juice of elephants. The inscription tells that “at his gate stood, awaiting his treasure the illustrious prince Devapāla scares visible among the vast armies attending on princes who had come from all quarters, (in such numbers) that the prospect of the regions was hidden by thick clouds of dust rising from the earth, (though) swept by the constant and abundant streams of rutting juice, flowing down from lustful elephants of various breeds (v.6)^[6].

Nalanda stone inscription of the reign of Yasovarmmadeva says–“Bālāditya, the great king of irresistible valor, after having vanquished all the foes and enjoyed the entire earth, erected, as if with a view to see the Kailāśa mountain surpassed, a great and extraordinary temple (prāsāda) of the illustrious son of Śuddhodhana (i.e. the Buddha) here at Nālandā. Nālandā had scholars, well known for their (knowledge of the) sacred texts and arts, and (was full of the) heaps of the rays of the Caityas shining and bright like white clouds. She was (consequently) mocking, as it were, at all the cities of the kings who had acquired wealth by tearing asunder the temples of the great elephants surrounded by the shining black bees which were maddened by drinking the rut in the hostile lands.” (v.4-6)^[7].

Nandamapundi grant of Rāja Rāja I, dated in his thirty second year (CE 1053) describes the donee Nārāyaṇa on account of his skill in composing poetry in various languages, is renowned as Kavirājaśekhara, “the crest of the kings of poets”, and who, because by his clever verses he puts to shame would-be poets, is rightly called Kavībhavajrāṅkuśa, “the adamantine elephant-goad of poets” (l.72)^[8], here his poetic skill is corroborated with the goad who ruled over the elephants, i.e. on famous poets. Another example of this kind of metaphors has been seen in the Konnur inscription of Amoghavarṣa I that the writer of the inscription Bhogikavatsarāja, an official in the court of justice born in the clan of the Vālabha Kāyasthas the son of Śrīharṣa and servant of Nāgavarman Pṛthvīrāma, keeper of village records and his excellence in compositions made him to be known as war-elephant of writers (l.57)^[9].

In the Aihole inscription of Pulakeśin II (Śaka Samvat 556, i.e. CE 634-35), the hundred fleets of the Cālukyas are described with the arrays of rutting elephants (v.21).

The strength of the elephant squad of the Cālukyas at the time of encountering over Kuntala it is stated that:

“….the land within it overspread with arrays of accoutered elephants–was like the cloud covered sky in which the red evening-twilight has risen” (v.28)^[10].

The Colas” fortress is corroborated with the forehead of the elephant (l.15)^[11] in one of the three records in the Bangalore Museum.

Sometimes the flowing rutting juice of the elephants is used as simile for liberality of a person. The best example of this inference can be found in Radhanpur plates of Govinda III, Śakasamvat 730 which describes the king Karṇa, seeing that His liberality exceeded the liberality of others, while their own practice of liberality lagged behind that of Karṇa (i.e. while the stream of their rutting juice flowed beneath their ears (Karṇa). mention may be made the adjective ending with saṃtatibhṛta can only be taken to qualify diggajāḥ. Employed in accordance with the figure of Kāvyaliṅga, it gives the poet’s reason why the elephants were ashamed and retired to the confines of the quarters. The king’s liberality exceeded that of all others, there was inferior of any rate to that of Karṇa. Karṇa is well known as a pattern of munificence.

For the double meaning of the word karṇa compare (Vaś. p.62),

“Suyodhana-dhṛtiṃ iva karṇa-viśrānta-locanaṃ”,

“her eyes extended to her ears (karṇa), and she therefore was like Suyadhana’s firmness which left him when he saw karṇa”;

For that of dāna,

mattamātaṅga iva…. adharikṛta dāna,

“he eclipses the liberality (of others) and is therefore like a rutting elephant whose rutting juice is flowing down”; (Kād., p.90),

diggajjam iv=āvicchinna-mahādāna-saṃtānam; etc.

The elephants of the quarters, utterly abashed as it were, posted themselves at the confines of the quarters. This inscription also stated “having closely hemmed in the Pallava, on the one side by his army abounding in warriors with drawn swords, and on the other by the sea fearful with sporting sharks, and having received from him, bent in submission, elephants shedding streams of rutting juice, He, strange (to record), day after day touched never even an atom of rutting juice (i.e. He betrayed never even an atom of pride). In Harṣacarit it is similarly said of Skandagupta, the commandant of Harṣa’s elephant troop: ātmastha-samasta-matta-mātaṅga-sādhano’pyaspṛṣṭo madena, “with a whole army of rutting elephants at his disposal, he was yet untouched by rut (i.e. presumption; compare Lowells translation)^[12].

The war fare was denoted as the worship, and the oblation in the pious fire altar was given by elephants” blood slain by the chief one Bhāradvaja, as ghee-has been described in the Mesar inscription of a Sulki chief^[13] of Kṛṣṇarāja. This is a unique metaphor as far as the elephants in war are concerned.

The rutting juice of the elephants sometimes used as simile with the continuous flow of offerings. A unique feature about the king’s character is found in the Talegaon copperplate of Kṛṣṇa-rāja I, Śaka 690 which reflects through the metaphor relating to elephants. In the record the king is said while he (Kṛṣṇa-rāja I) was raining gifts on worthy people and did away with arrogance, as a lotus pond is by an elephant (who rains ichor and breaks down the post) (v.15)^[14]. Kings general features were corroborated with the elephants. Arthuna inscription of the Paramāra Cāmuṇḍarāja gives a unique simile of the king Kannada whose long arms were solid as an elephant’s trunk (v.17) and he was an expert in elephant riding (v.19). Again he is praised as “giving out constant streams of dāna (largesse or rutting ichor), stout in his long arm (or trunk), uniquely dhvavala (white with fame, or a bull), in his race, bhadra (brilliant, or a high-bred elephant), he was resplendent as the Elephant of the Gods (Airāvata) (v.27)^[15]. It also tells that king’s weighty sword, is a tithe ring-post for the elephant of victory (v.45)^[16].

In a Sanskrit couplet inscribed (Bl.238) on the Hayasaleśvara temple at Haḷebiḍ, the author describes himself as a poet Vaijaṇṇa. Some scholars assume that he may be the Vadārtha Vaijanāthabhaṭṭa mentioned in another epigraphic record (Ak.123). This inscription describes the king as encamped in 1234 at Ravitadāna-kuppa, while on a victorious expedition over Pāṇḍya. His sword being Vāsugi, and his arm Mandara, by violently churning of ocean the army of the hostile Magara, Narasiṃha obtained jewels of elephants and jewels of horses. When this up rooter of the Magara king and establisher of the Cola king came forth, the sea roared out with the sound of great fish, sharks and alligators, saying to the Pāṇḍya kings, -give up all, and live in peace as his servants^[17]. Thus we can see how elephants were used as similar to the metaphors in the epigraphs.

In the Khajuraho inscription No.II^[18] the illustrious Lakṣavarman’s enemies” horses became unmanageable with fright at the gurgling sound of the torrents of the Ganges, and which were crowded with his mighty elephants (v.30).

Elephants are fond of lotus-ponds. This characteristic of the elephants make them a part of the metaphorical consequence, such as a victorious king being described as an elephant to his enemies who were destroyed by the king like lotus pond. For example Nimbadevarasa, one feudatory of Śilāhāra king Goṇḍarāditya (Śaka era 1032 i.e. c. CE 1110-1135) at Kolhapur has been described by inscriptions as “an awful rutting elephant to the beds of lotuses, the barons of Toṇḍāi.^[19]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

EI, Vol.I, p.64.

[2]:

Ibid., pp. 77 & 81.

[3]:

Ibid., p.89.

[4]:

EI, Vol. XXXII, p.39.

[5]:

Ibid.,Vol. I, p.272.

[6]:

Ibid.,Vol.II, p.165.

[7]:

Ibid., Vol. XX, p.45.

[8]:

EI, Vol.IV, p.302.

[9]:

Ibid.,Vol.VI, p.37.

[10]:

Ibid., p.11.

[11]:

Ibid., p.56.

[12]:

EI, Vol.VI, p.248.

[13]:

Ibid., Vol. XXIX,p.20.

[14]:

Ibid., Vol. XIII, p.282.

[15]:

Ibid., Vol. XIV, pp.304-305.

[16]:

Ibid, p.307.

[17]:

EC, Vol. V, Pt.I, p.XXV

[18]:

EI., Vol.I, p. 133.

[19]:

CII, Vol.VI, p. xxxiii.