Śiva as Gajasamhāramūrti
MFA Boston
Gajahāmūrti (गजहामूर्ति) or simply Gajahā refers to one of the eighteen forms (mūrtis) of Śiva. For killing Gajāsura and donning his hide, Śiva received the names Gaja mūrti, Gajathāndava or Gajasamhāra mūrti.
As per the Rudra-saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa, Gajāsura was slain by Śiva, when His trident pierced through his body. The Daitya Gajāsura thought that he was raised up like an umbrella — he then sang the glory of Śiva.
“O great Lord, Lord of the gods, I am in every respect your devotee. O trident-bearing lord, I know you as the lord of heaven and destroyer of Kāma.
O enemy of Andhaka, O great lord, O slayer of Tripuras,
O omnipresent, my death at your hands is conducive to my great glory.”
Siva then granted the well-intentioned Gajāsura, son of the asura Mahiṣa, a boon.
“O nude one, if you are delighted, O lord Śiva, wear this hide of mine sanctified by the fire of your trident. It is of your size, it is gentle to the touch, it has been kept as a stake in the battlefield; it is of divine nature and it is always pleasing. Let it ever emit an agreeable smell, let it be soft for ever, let it be ever free from dirt, let it be your best ornament always. O Lord, even after being scorched by the flames of the fire of penance, this hide was not burnt, hence it is the storehouse of holy fragrance. O nude one, if my hide is not meritorious how did it get into contact with your limbs in the battlefield? O Śiva, please grant me another boon. Starting today, let your name be Kṛttivāsas (one clad in elephant-hide).”
Śiva, the Lord of the gods, was pleased upon hearing his words, and accepted the hide of the elephant demon Gajāsura and donned it.
An account of Śiva donning the skin of Gajāsura is also found in the Kūrma Purāṇawhile describing the Kṝittivāsēśvara liṅgā in Kāśi. Śiva is said to have come out of this liṅgā when an asura, who assumed the form of an elephant, came near it to disturb the meditations of several brāhmaṇās. He killed it and made its skin His garment. But the Varāha Purāṇa gives a different account (An asura named Nīla secretly plans to kill Śiva By appearing in the form of an elephant. When Nandy hears of this he informs Vīrabhadra, who takes the form of a lion (the natural enemy of the elephant) and attacks and kills Nīla. Vīrabhadra then presents the hide to Śiva, who wears it as his upper garment and sets out to kill Andhakāsura (see: Saptamaitrikās).
There are various versions of the story but the fact that Śiva kills an elephant and dons his hide are common to all. A village in Thanjavur district called Valuvūr is associated with this destructive act of Śiva, and is perhaps the only place with a beautiful metal image of Gajasamhāramūrti.
Iconography of Gajasamhāramūrti found in the Aṁśumadbhēdāgama, the Śilparatna and the Śaivāgamas:
In the Aṁśumadbhēdāgama, it is given that Śiva in this aspect may possess four or eight arms; and if there are four, the right hands should hold the pāśa and the skin of the elephant while the two left hands hold the rusk and the skin respectively. If there are eight, three out of the four right hands should carry the triśūla, ḍamaru, pāśa, and hide of the elephant, while one of the left is held in a vismaya pose, two carry the kapāla and tusk, and one the hide.
The left leg of Śiva should be planted firmly on the head of the elephant, while the right one should be raised and twisted in dancing (chathurbhanga) pose, above the level of the thigh of the other leg. The tail should be visible above the makuṭa, and the hollow elephant hide should be arranged so as to form a prabhāmaṇḍala around the figure of Śiva.
On the left side of Gajasamhāramūrti, Dēvi stands with Skanda, trembling with fear at the ferocity of the Lord.
According to the Śilparatna, the image of Śiva, when he is in the act of killing the Gajāsura, should have ten arms; when it has ten arms, the right hands should carry an akṣamālā, a sword, the śaktyayudha, the daṇḍa and the śūla; whereas the left hands should carry the khaṭvāṅga, a snake, a skull, the kheṭaka and the deer.
late 16th-early 17th century Tamil Nadu
Brooklyn Museum
11th century, Tamil Nadu, early Chola Period;Granite
In an exuberant dance posture with eight arms, Shiva is shown here in his wrathful aspect, with disheveled hair, bulging eyes, and fangs. He has just successfully flayed the skin of an elephant demon and triumphantly stretches it out behind him, its two hind feet sticking up at the right corner of the panel. The elephant in rut, in its demonic form, was used as a metaphor for uncontrolled passions that Shiva helps to conquer in the mind of the devotee, so that the devotee can better focus his attentions on the god himself. His wife, the goddess Parvati, looks on with admiration.
Cleveland Museum of Art
In the Śatārudriya of the Kṛṣṇayajurveda Taittirīya Samhita Śiva is conferred the epithet ‘कृत्ति वसान आचर’ or one who comes wearing the tiger’s or elephant’s hide. This is an early reference to Śiva as Gajāntaka.
Sources:
1. Elements of Hindu Iconography, Vol II Part I, by T. A. Gopinatha Rao, Superintendent of Archeology, Travancore State; published 1916
2. Śiva Purāṇa translated by J. L. Shastri pub. 1970
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