Elephants In Indian Culture C.R.Ramana Kailash Elephants are one of the most celebrated creatures in human history. Major religions around the globe depict elephants as strong, intelligent and powerful. But ironically, these creatures weren’t respected in most of our history. Despite being valued in most cultures, they were tortured and killed ruthlessly in most of human civilizations. Just like India’s diversity, elephant’s role in the cultures is diverse too. Ancient India Cave paintings in India depict elephants; Bhimbetka cave paintings (one of the oldest cave paintings in Madhya Pradesh, dating back to 10,000 years) depict herds of elephants alongside tigers, rhinoceros, deers, peacock and snakes. India had nearly half dozen of elephant species during prehistoric age. But Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) was the only species to survive in the country after 5000 years. During the first urbanization, trade and agriculture became modernized, and a vast civilization formed on the banks of the Indus, one of the longest rivers in Asia. Gradually the city expanded and became one of the three ‘Cradles of Civilization’ with a population of 5 million. Seals depicting elephants are excavated from Indus Valley civilization sites. Pasupathy Mahadeva seal, shows a horned deity surrounded by wild animals including elephants, tigers, rhinos and buffalo. Hair combs made from ivory of elephants were excavated from Keezhadi archaeological site. Archaeologists presume that Elephant taming in India is an ancient practice. They were used as beast of burden, helping to clear to forest, construct houses and lift heavy objects. As Indus valley civilization collapsed, the Vedic age started. Elephants had a major role in Vedic ages too; Indra, god of thunder had a four-tusked white elephant as his vehicle. All four Vedic books mention about elephants. Even though Rig Veda mentions about ‘ganapathi’ twice, neither of them refer to Modern Ganesha. The first statue of Ganesha was excavated in Kabul, Afghanistan; this marble statue dated back to early 4th or 5th century. The second urbanization occurred as empires emerged around the Northern parts of India. Mahajanapadas and various other republics appeared, wars became common between these states. Soon elephants became major war-machines in these battles; the number of elephants in the army was the most important factor in the war. During the war between Porus and Alexander the great, elephant army of Porus played the main role in making the war tough. But each war had deadly consequences, creating losses to both sides. Elephants were ruthlessly killed in these wars. Hunting and capturing elephants from wild was also common around India. Most of the tributes given to kings were mostly captured elephants, tiger skins or gems. Buddhism and Jainism emerged contemporary to Mahajanapadas; it created a new wave across the country.Elephants had a major role in these religions too. Elephants are associated with the birth of Gauthama Buddha; there is a tale of elephant portrayed as an incarnation of Buddha. In Sangam age of south India, elephants had a major role in wars. According to the age, gender and size, elephants are denoted with 50 names in Sangam literature. Using elephants in wars and rituals were common in the Chera, the Chola, the Pandya and the Pallava dynasties of south India. The Bible and The Quran mentioned about elephants. Elephants are shown alongside ancient artworks of Adam and Eve. Medieval India The medieval age in India played a major role in laying the foundation for modern India. Trade between continents expanded, creatures from east including elephants were exported to the other countries. People of Western world were surprised to see massive creatures like elephants; in turn creatures like giraffes and African elephants were imported to India. Sculptures in Konark sun temple show giraffes and African elephants alongside native animals. Many religious texts including ancient rock reliefs depicted elephants; Mahabalipuram has a fantastic rock relief depicting a herd of elephants. Elephanta cave in Maharashtra had a huge basaltic statue of elephant. In the 11th century, invasions to India became frequent after the raids of Muhammad of Ghazni. But elephant armies of Indian rulers helped to resist these invasions. Timur, one of the notorious nomadic rulers of Samarkhand, decided to invade India during the end of the 13th century. Though he feared to fight the vast, mighty elephant armies belonging to Delhi sultan, Timur’s army defeated Delhi’s sultan by scaring away elephants using fire. He raided Delhi, sacking tons of wealth including 500 elephants. Even after invention of guns and ammunition, usage of elephants in the army played a crucial role. After the conquest of Delhi by the Mughal dynasty, they expanded their elephant army; armored elephants were used for wars. Elephants played an important role in the construction of significant buildings of that age. Historical sources say that nearly 1000 elephants along with 20,000 workers helped to construct Taj Mahal. Royal members of Mughal courtyards used to ride on elephants; miniature paintings from Mughal age usually depict the Badshah on elephants, appearing before the huge crowd or on a hunt. Because of inventions of guns, trophy hunting increased. Thousands of elephants were killed for prestige and ivory carving. Courtyards of king from medieval ages were filled with mounted heads, tusks and tail of elephant alongside other game animals. Just like gladiatorial fights in Rome, fights among elephants were conducted as a form of entertainment. Thamukkam ground in Madurai is one such place. Modern India Modern technologies and weapons were introduced to Indian armies during colonial rule and the importance of elephants in the army decreased. But trophy hunting became even more frequent. Trophy hunting contests were conducted frequently among British officials and kings. Hundreds and thousands of animals including elephants were killed in these hunts. Hunting was considered as regal game in numerous states. The Nawabs, the zamindars, kings and the British officials use to engage in hunting as a hobby. Officials used to ride on the back of trained elephants and hunt down big game animals including tiger, lions and elephants. Long tusks of elephants were taken and kept as artifacts and trophy. Legs of elephants were also kept as stools; they were symbols of luxury of that age. Elephants are often featured in modern artistic works. Circuses around India used trained elephants to entertain people; they were treated badly in these shows. Soon, keeping wild animals in the circus including elephants became illegal. Still, elephants are symbols of intelligence, memory, strength and durability. Elephants are national heritage animal of India. Elephants are shown in the emblem of India and also the state of Kerala. Still, people in India keep elephants as pets. Pooram festival of Kerala showcasing decorated Elephants is a spectacular event that attracts global tourists even now. Various political parties use elephants as symbol of their parties. Even though elephants are associated with the culture of India for thousands of years, they are still wild animals. They were forcibly tamed by us for various reasons; our cultures depict them as tamed. Even children's rhymes portray them as a large animal begging in the temples. In this modern age, a temple has very little space for an elephant; mostly temple elephants are half-starved, as the temple administration can’t afford food. Wild elephants used to walk kilometers through forests but temple elephants used to stand on a restricted place for hours and walk short distances on hot tar road. Generally elephants are social but their tamed relatives lead a stressful solitary life in temples. News of elephant attacks in temples is quite uncommon. In 2012, an elephant in musth injured 62 people including mahouts, during the Pooram; the elephant had also attacked other elephants. Few elephants which turn rogue frequently are tortured and kept in small spaces of temples. Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, a partly blind tusker is one such elephant which is one of the largest Asian elephants in the world. This elephant had killed 6 people and another elephant in its active years. Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, was later banned from participating in poorams as he turns aggressive unprovoked. Not only this pachyderm, numerous other elephants in India turn violent and attack people because of the torture and cruelty they face in the hands of humans. It is true that taming elephants is an ancient practice which is associated with our archaic culture, but this ancient practice should be allowed to fade away. Elephants need to live in the wild, they are wild animals still. They are not pets or domesticated animals to be sold in the markets; they should be protected and respected by human community in their wild habitat. “We admire elephants in part because they demonstrate what we consider the finest human traits: empathy, self-awareness, and social intelligence. But the way we treat them puts on display the very worst of human behavior.” ― Graydon Carter.