Elephant Valley
Menu- WELCOME TO THE ELEPHANT VALLEY!
- FROM ASIA OR AFRICA?
- FROM THE LIFE OF ELEPHANTS
- WATER OVER GOLD
- BIG EATERS
- ELEPHANTS ENDANGERED
- HARD LIFE WITH ELEPHANTS
- HARD LIFE WITH PEOPLE
- PARTNERSHIP OF PEOPLE AND ELEPHANTS
- ELEPHANTS IN CEREMONIES
- ELEPHANTS AT WORK
- ELEPHANTS FROM PINNAWALA
- GANESHA
- ELEPHANTS IN HINDUISM
- THE SOVEREIGN WHITE ELEPHANT
- THE DREAM OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT
THE DREAM OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT
The elephant has a firm place within the culture of several Asian nations. It occupies a significant position also in one of the major world religions, Buddhism. According to legend, a white elephant stood at the conception of Buddha.
One day the Buddha’s mother, Queen Maya, had a peculiar dream. In the dream, she ascended to heaven and met a white elephant there, bearing a lotus flower in its trunk. The elephant came to her bed, touched her right side and vanished into her.
When the queen related the dream to her husband the next day, he went to consult the priests. He received this assurance from them: the queen had conceived a son who would grow to be a great man. He would either become a powerful ruler or an important spiritual leader.
When the time for the birth came, the boy passed painlessly from his mother’s body at the place the elephant had touched her in the dream. Many years later, he adopted the name of Buddha and established a new religion. Thus the priests’ words came true.