I was visiting bkk last week and while on the road found an imposing statue of a three headed elephant - the huge statue was called Erawan and was outside the Erawan Museum. some more checking and found that this is in fact our Iravatham..
as per thai literature aka their version of our Ramayana, Indra, a graceful green-skinned god rode on a mountain-sized elephant named Erawan. Erawan, the noblest of elephants was a magical gift from God Shiva to God Indra. Lord Indra also has 2 other magical elephants, Keereemeg Tridayuk and Eggatun, which were given to him by Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu respectively.
Erawan elephantâs said to be the most powerful of all. Described as a hugh elephant with silvery white body of 33 heads, each head has 7 long ivory tusks. Each of his tusk is 16 million meters long, so huge that it can house 7 large lotus ponds, within each tusk also live thousands of angels and their servants.
Itâs quite rare to see the full version of Erawan elephant with 33 heads, instead, many artists prefer to draw Erawan as a 3 headed elephant instead.
The Irrawaddy River in thailand is also named after Erawan
Indra's mount was the first elephant to emerge from the Garuda's egg. Brahma had held the pieces of shell in his hands while singing seven hymns and, led by Ayravana, 16 elephants manifested. The 8 females, the caryatids or supports of the world at each of the points of the compass are named: Pundarika, Vamana, Kumudu, Anjana, Pushpadanta, Sarvabhauma, Supratika and Aparanta.
The seven trunks of the white elephant in the golden yellow square (the earth element) represent the seven minerals, seven negative and seven positive qualities in man, seven forces in man, seven forces in nature, seven principal substances in man (chyle, blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow, semen). Seven negative qualities: pride, covetousness, lust , anger , gluttony, envy, and sloth.
find the workship of indra and airavatam among the temples of ankor, prasat preau, siam reap - adding them to the images folder.
also in a cave at Bhaja not far from Mumbai that was the site of a Buddhist monastery around 200 BCE, there is a stone relief carving showing Indra, king of the gods. He is seated upon Airavata [or Ayravata] his elephant.
Check out these images in the image gallery.
I remember in varalaru issue 7, in the topic Raja Rajisvaram - Certain Revelations by Dr.R.Kalaikkovan
quote"The holy pilgrimage to Kailas in the climax of Sundararâs life. In that panel he is seen over the elephant called Iravatham"