Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c4.483

Purāṇic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Purāṇic Literature c4.483

Language: English

c4.483

7) The story of Airāvata. Indra's tusker Airāvata was responsible for the churning of the ocean of Milk. But in the Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapter 18, Verse 42 it is said that a white elephant with four tusks arose during the churning of the ocean of Milk and that Devendra caught and tamed it. This is an obvious contradiction. Besides, in Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇyakāṇḍa, 14th Sarga, the wounded Jaṭāyu describing his family history to Śrī Rāma, gives the following account about the origin of Airāvata:

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Cites (2)

Vālmīkirāmāyaṇa — Vālmīki, Sanskrit
Mahābhārata — Vyāsa, Sanskrit