Indra & Erawan, Carved Statue on Stand
33" High x 18" Wide x 8" Deep
According to Aryan legends, the god Erawan, also called Airawat, is huge, white, and has 33 heads. Each head bears seven tusks. For each tusk there are seven lotus ponds. Each pond has seven lotus pads, each pad has seven lotus blossoms and each blossom has seven petals. On each petal dance seven angels. Each angel has seven ladies-in-waiting. So altogether the god Erawan has 33 heads, 231 tusks, 1,617 ponds, 11,319 lotus pads, 79,23 lotus blossoms, 554,631 lotus petals, 3,882,417 angels, 27,176,919 ladies-in-waiting.
The main duty of Erawan the elephant god is to serve as Indra's mount in his travels to different locations in the heavens and on earth, where he observes the varying fortunes of mankind. Erawan is, in particular, associated with the East and the sun's care for that part of the world. Erawan also serves as Indra's war elephant in his battles with the demons. Indra, being the chief of the gods and responsible for the world's weather, uses the lightning bolt as his weapon to fight drought and bring the blessings of rainfall to the world of men. Erawan is thus assigned the task of drawing up moisture from the earth to the sky, whence Indra returns it to the earth in the form of rain. The people of South and Southeast Asia have long had a special regard for the god Erawan due to this life-giving benevolence.
As the beloved companion of Indra, the god Erawan is considered to be the lord of all elephants in the universe. He is, moreover, taken to be a symbol of Indra himself, of virtuous action, and of prosperity. For artistic reasons, he is usually portrayed with only three heads, rather than 33 heads in the myth.
Handcarved in teak wood in Thailand