Elephant Statue, Pancha Ratham — Attraction in Tamil Nadu

Visited on 29th Jul 2019 #. The compound of the famous "Pancha Rathas" has Five Rathas & Three Statues. (Ref: Pl read our review of Pancha Rathas, Mahabalipuram; more details are given there).

#. One out of the 3 Statues, in Pancha Rathas compound, is this “Elephant Statue”. #. This Statue is dedicated to "Airaavatha" (a mythological white elephant, the Vahana Lord Indra). #. The attached Site plan (will give an idea of the placements of these), along with the photos, can give more ideas; for more details, refer Pancha Rathas in Wiki.

#. The “Pandava Brothers” were five {Yudhishtir, Bhim, Arjun and Nakul & Shadev} and a common wife (Draupati). #. There are three Rathas, individually dedicated to Yudhishtir, Bhim & Arjun; the 4th Ratha is shared by Nakul & Shadev – the 5th Ratha is dedicated to Draupadi, which is also known as Durga Ratha.

The Statues are: When you enter (an almost rectangular, Pancha Ratha compound), at the entrance, you will see the “TIGER Statue” {This statue is, also known as Lion Statue), the ‘Vahana’ (vehicle) of Goddess Durga (who is an incarnation of powers of Goddesses Parvathi, Saraswathy & Lakshmi!. Here, Draupati is also described as Godess Durga. The white Lion was gifted to Goddess Durga by Himavan, the father of Parvathy Devi; Due to Sun shine, the Lion looks golden.

Behind the Tiger Statue, is the “Elephant Statue”. A huge Elephant (Life size), without tusks. The Statue is done with lot of care - really beautiful; kindly do not forget to take photos, here.

Behind Arjun Ratha, you will find the third Staue, “The Bull Statue” which is the Vahana of Lord Shiva. Yudhishtir Ratha is also known as Shiva Ratha.

Other two statues are reviewed, in the respective heads.

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