Fantastic Creatures in Mythology by Bulbul Sharma, An Excerpt:

Fantastic Creatures in Mythology by Bulbul Sharma transport you to the fantastical realms inhabited by the Hindu pantheon. An excerpt:

“Out of the hundreds of legendary creatures in Hindu mythology, some were absolutely wicked rakshasas with extraordinary powers, like the thousand-headed serpent Kaliya, while others were good characters who had been cursed to live as horrible demons, like the terrifying Tataka. Did you know that Maricha, Tataka’s son, was forced to turn evil? And then there were Vatapi and Ilvala, two demon brothers who were tired of eating animals every day and wanted to gobble up every human in sight. But as I said, not everyone was bad. Here you will also meet noble and tender beasts, like Indra’s trusted vahana Airavata, a stunning white elephant with four tusks, and the bravest of all birds, the mighty Garuda with golden wings.

We also have great gods taking on animal form. Learn about how Lord Vishnu transformed into Narasimha—half-man, half-lion—to destroy an asura, while the oldest and wisest bear in the world, Jambavana, helped Lord Rama rescue Sita. When you encounter these creatures, you will be amazed by their unusual avatars with more unusual stories, and you will see that good always wins over evil.”

Airavata - The Magnificent White Elephant

Everyone knows that elephants are enormous, but there was one who was far greater than any—Airavata! He was the largest elephant in the world, and was born from an egg, no less. When the egg had hatched, there was a deafening explosion, and the blast was so exceptionally loud that even Lord Brahma, the god of creation, came to find out what had caused this noise.

When he saw baby Airavata, Brahma blessed this unique calf.

Even then, this heavenly creature had a body as big as a hill and his enormous tusks were already formidable weapons. And Airavata did not have two tusks like other elephants. He was, in fact, blessed with four of them. His skin was different too. It was extremely tough and gleamed with a silvery sheen when he walked. Lord Indra, the king of the gods, admired him so much that he made this beautiful white elephant his special vehicle.

As Indra traipsed around the heavens astride Airavata, all the other gods watched with envy and wished they too had a vahana like him. Indra, meanwhile, was very pleased, and his heart swelled with pride.

All were at peace, but one day, this noble creature made a terrible mistake through no fault

of his own. A sage named Durvasa visited Indra’s palace in heaven and offered him a fragrant garland of blossoms. Made from rare flowers with a sweet, powerful scent that filled the air, the garland had been given to the sage by the apsaras that lived in the high mountains.

After Durvasa presented the garland to Indra, he waited to be thanked for this generous and enchanting gift. But Indra just took it in his hands and laughed. He was in a playful and jovial mood, and did not know the value of this garland. So he casually threw it around his favourite elephant’s trunk. The flowers had such an alluring smell that a swarm of bees immediately started buzzing around the elephant’s head. Airavata tossed his head restlessly. He tried to move away, but the bees did not relent. He could not stand the buzzing noise in his ears any longer, and so, he flung the garland down with force. As the garland fell to the ground and as Airavata stepped back, the blossoms got crushed under his massive feet.

Durvasa, who was known for his fierce temper, stared open-mouthed. He began trembling with anger. He took it as an insult to his honour. How could they disrespect him like this? He pointed a finger at the crumpled flowers and thundered at Indra, ‘How dare you behave in this ungodly manner. I presented you with this fragrant, beautiful garland made of flowers hand-picked by the apsaras themselves. And you! You carelessly threw it away.’

In his rage, he clenched his fists and declared in a loud and angry voice that echoed all around the heavens, ‘I curse you, Indra, for this insult and for your ungrateful, rude behaviour. I curse all the gods in Devaloka, as they are your friends. Each one of you will lose your immortality. You will all grow old and weak like ordinary men.’

Excepted with permission from Fantastic Creatures in Mythology by Bulbul Sharma published by India Puffin.

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