VISHNU RESCUING GAJENDRA

Gajendra Varadar is a name given to Lord Vishnu based on a specific episode that involved the elephant king, Gajendra. Gajendra the elephant was in fact king Indradyumna a great devotee of Vishnu, who was cursed by Sage Agastya to be born as an elephant. When in the forest with his herd, Gajendra is attacked and his leg caught by a crocodile in a lake. After many futile attempts to free himself and seeing the imminent death, the elephant prays to Lord Vishnu holding a lotus up in the air as an offering, to save him. Hearing his devotee’s call, Vishnu rushes to the scene and kills the crocodile with his sudarshana chakra. Gajendra then attains salvation and accompanies Vishnu to Vaikuntha to stay by his side always.

Similar intricately carved wooden panels were used to decorate chariots this piece of Gajendra Varadar is from Tamil Nadu.Temple cars or chariots also called as “Rathas” are vehicles used to carry idols of Hindu gods in processions on annual festival days. These are usually made of wood and in most cases have exquisite and intricate carvings on multiple set-in panels. The carvings can be images depicting stories from puranas, deities, mythical animals like Yali, ganas, dancers, real animals etc.

The Anglo-Indian term “Juggernaut” was inspired by the large temple cars at Jagannath temple, Puri. The chariot at Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu is said to be the largest – 29 metres tall and weighing over 300 tonnes.Rathas from different parts of India vary in style and size. These rathas decorated with flowers and jewels are pulled with thick ropes by hundreds of devotees.