CHICAGO: Statue of Hindu deity Indra, riding his elephant Airavata, will be placed in front of new headquarters of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) in Thailand, according to reports reaching here from Bangkok, Thailand.
According to sources, some of Thailand’s finest artists will create this elegant bronze sculpture of vraja wielding Indra riding the white elephant with four ivory tusks. When the BMA moves to the new site in Din Daeng area next year, this masterpiece of 10.4 meters height and over 10 tons in weight (excluding base) should be installed by then. Initially budgeted for 37 million baht, it is being considered to raise it to 48 million baht.
It will be developed from the current City Hall emblem, Indra riding Airavata, said to be Bangkok’s “Symbol of Service”, which can be seen on BMA vehicles, etc. Airavata is the white elephant who carries Lord Indra. According to the Ramayana, Airavata’s mother was Iravati, the daughter of Kadru and granddaughter of Kasyapa. According to the Matangalila, Airavata was born when Lord Brahma sang sacred hymns over the halves of the egg shell from which Garuda hatched. He was followed at birth by seven more male and eight female elephants.
Abharamu is the elephant wife of Airavata, who has four tusks and seven trunks, and is spotless white. Prithu eventually made Airavata the King of all elephants.
The eight guardian deities who preside over the eight points of the compass each sits on an elephant vahana. They are: Kubera (north), Yama (south), Indra (east), Varuna (west), Isana (northeast), Agni (southeast), Vayu (northwest), and Nirrti/raksasa (southwest). Each of these elephants take part in the defense and protection of its respective quarter. Chief among them is Airavata of Indra. Airavata also stands at the entrance to Svarga, Indra’s palace.
Some newly appointed Thailand cabinet ministers in 2011 paid homage to Hindu deities before stepping into new jobs.
In the past, Thailand brought out postage stamps of Hindu deities Ganesa, Brahma, Narayana, and Siva and quotations from ancient Hindu scripture Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord).
Thailand is popularly called “golden land” and is known for its warmth and hospitality, white sandy beaches, and fertile rice fields. About 95% of Thailand’s population follows Theravada Buddhism. King Bhumibol Adulyadej is head of the state while Yingluck Shinawatra is the prime minister.
Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, welcomed BMA plans to install statue of Indra; the most frequently invoked deity in Rig-Veda, also referred as the king-of-the-gods; riding four-tusked white elephant Airavata which emerged from “Churning of Ocean” and became vehicle of Indra.
Madhu Patel, president of NRI Press Club in Chicago, also applauded the move by BMA to install Lord Indra statue and urged the concerned officials to strive constantly to serve the welfare of the Bangkokians, act selflessly without any thought of personal profit, keep welfare of public always in mind; and added that action was better than inaction.
Nand Kapoor, former president of Indian American Associations (AIA) said that it is heart warming that while so called secularists take pleurae in sidetracking Hindusim in their utterances, those abroad do think favorably about this age-old religion.
India Post News ServiceÂ
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