By the time of the Puranas, the elephant acquired the status of the highest auspicious beings and in the matter of auspices even excelled the cow, which enjoyed the status of the most sacred of all animals and was worshipped as a deity. The cow was yet the most sacred of all animals but not as auspicious as the elephant. Whatever the related legends, it was largely in consideration of elephant's auspicious bearing that when looking for a head to graft on the torso of Ganesh, the god of auspices, the divinities chose an elephant head. And, after Lord Ganesh, the son of Parvati and Shiva, had his torso transplanted with such head, people began worshipping not only Gajanana, the elephant headed Ganesh, but also the elephant as an animal. It was with the Ganesh legend that the elephant was deified.

Elephant related legends are innumerable. Airavata, the milk white elephant, was one of the fourteen jewels obtained by churning ocean. It was acquired by Indra, the king of gods and ever since has been an inseparable part of his identity and iconography, and what of minor gods, even Lord Vishnu was one of them who envied Indra for his elephant. Airavata was not only his vehicle but also an invaluable asset. Indra realised his folly and also that Krishna was no one else but Vishnu, after he had lifted the mount Govardhana and held it for seven days on his little finger to protect peoples and cows of Vraja from Indra's wrath. The subdued Indra, leaving Airavata at Vrandavana's outskirts, rushed to Krishna to propitiate him, but did not succeed in his efforts. Finally, Airavata came to the rescue of his master. It reached Lord Krishna but before making a prayer bathed the lord of cows by sprinkling on him fresh milk from within it. This so much pleased him that he pardoned Indra for his impertinence.

The mythology of Lakshmi and Vishnu too is not bereft of the legendary elephant. In mythical tradition, Lakshmi even developed an elephant related form known as Gajalakshmi, an epithet she acquired as it were only the elephants that always bathed her by sprinkling water on her. One of the feats, for which Lord Vishnu is best known, relates to rescuing an elephant from a crocodile. The episode, widely known in Indian mythology as Gajendra-moksha, depicts how, when called for help, the benevolent Vishnu rushed and rescued the innocent animal. A zoological miracle, the massive sized animal elephant lives on pure vegetable diet and it is perhaps for such reasons that it has greatly suited the Jain and Buddhist cults. Exactly before Jain Tirthankara Mahavira was born, his mother Trisala perceived in her dream a chain of Airavata type white elephants. The auspicious dream was a precursor of a great divine birth. As the Jain tradition has it, after his Enlightenment, Lord Mahavira, before he entered the Samavasarana, was bathed by elephants. It is almost the same in Buddhist cult. When Mayadevi, the wife of king Suddhodana, the Sakya king of Kapilavastu, conceived Buddha, she dreamt that a baby elephant descended from the sky and, after circumambulating her three times, entered her womb.

Here, these two carved elephants stand with their trunks upraised in a gesture of triumph. These images are believed to be extremely auspicious and often entrances are adorned with such icons. The animals splendidly caparisoned in richly embroidered cloth are decked with jewels including a necklace with hanging bells adorning their necks, and an anklet in each foot. A two-crested crown adorns their heads. A chain-like ornament extends from the caparison and goes the whole way round each posterior, acting as a decorative adornment. The upraised trunks touch the center of their foreheads, as if welcoming the guest with a salute.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of ancient Indian literature. Dr Daljeet is the chief curator of the Visual Arts Gallery at the National Museum of India, New Delhi. They have both collaborated on numerous books on Indian art and culture.

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Sculpting Serenity: Unveiling the Art of Crafting Wood Statues

Wood has been a preferred material for sculptures and statues since ancient times. It is easy to work with than most metals and stones and therefore requires less effort to shape it into any desired shape or form. The texture of the wood gives an element of realism to the sculpture. The selection of an appropriate wood type is necessary for carving. Woods that are too resinous or coniferous are not considered good for carving as their fiber is very soft and thus lacks strength. On the other hand, wood such as Mahogany, Oakwood, Walnut wood, Weet cherry wood, etc., are preferred by sculptors because their fiber is harder. A wood sculptor uses various tools such as a pointed chisel in one hand and a mallet in another to bring the wood to the desired measurement and to make intricate details on it. A carving knife is used to cut and smooth the wood. Other tools such as the gouge, V-tool, and coping saw also serve as important tools in wood carving. Although the wood carving technique is not as complex and tough as stone carving or metal sculpting, nonetheless, a wood carver requires a high level of skills and expertise to create a stunning sculpture.

1. Selecting the right wood

The process of wood carving begins with selecting a chunk of wood that is required according to the type and shape of the statue to be created by the sculptor. Both hardwoods and softwoods are used for making artistic pieces, however, hardwoods are preferred more than softer woods because of their durability and longevity. But if heavy detailing is to be done on the statue, wood with fine grain would be needed as it would be difficult to work with hardwood.

2. Shaping the wood

Once the wood type is selected, the wood carver begins the general shaping process using gouges of various sizes. A gouge is a tool having a curved cutting edge which is useful in removing large unwanted portions of wood easily without splitting the wood. The sculptor always carves the wood across the grain of the wood and not against it.

3. Adding detailing

When a refined shape of the statue is obtained, it is time for making details on the statue using different tools. This is achieved by using tools such as a veiner to make and a V-tool to create decorative and sharp cuts.

4. Surface finishing

Once finer details have been added, the sculptor is ready to smoothen the surface and give it a perfect finish. Tools such as rasps and rifflers are used to get a smooth surface. The finer polishing is obtained by rubbing the surface with sandpaper. If a textured surface is required, this step is skipped. Finally, to protect the statue from excessive dirt accumulation, the sculptor applies natural oils such as walnut or linseed oil all over it. This also brings a natural sheen to the statue.