() is a term for 'elephant' used in Vedic texts. Other terms for 'elephant' include () and ().
The elephant in the Rigveda The Rigveda seems to refer to elephants (e.g. Bryant 2001: 323), an animal native to South Asia. It has been speculated that some of these verses might be references to domesticated elephants.RV 4.4.1, 9.57.3 (where "the people deck him like a docile king of elephants"), 6.20.8; Talageri, Shrikant (2000)
In the Rigveda and in the Atharvaveda, the term is translated as 'elephant' (according to Keith and Macdonell, Roth and other scholars).Vedic Index, II, 501; II, 171 In the Rigveda, (animal with a hand) occurs in RV 1.64.7 "hastinaḥ", and RV 4.16.14 "hastī".
Ibha In Rigveda 1.84.17 "ibhāyota", 4.4.1 "ibhena", RV 9.57.3 "ibho", and RV 6.20.8 "ibhaṃ" mention s, a term meaning 'servant, domestics, household' according to Roth, Ludwig, Zimmer and other Indologists.In RV 4.4.1 and 6.20.8, ibha is translated as servants/attendants by Griffith. Other scholars like Pischel and Karl Friedrich Geldner translate the term as 'elephant'.Vedic Index, I, 79 According to Sayana, Mahidhara and the Nirukta, is translated as 'elephant'. Megasthenes and Nearchos also connect with 'elephant'. The term is only used in the Samhitas, and especially in the Rigveda.Vedic Index, I, 79.RV 1.84.17; 4.4.1; 9.57.3; and perhaps 6.20.8. Vedic Index, I, 79.
Another term that may mean 'elephant' is (RV 8.33.8 "vāraṇaḥ", and 10.40.4 "vāraṇā"). According to Macdonell and Keith, refers to elephants.Vedic Index, II, 288
The elephant in other Hindu texts
The Akananuru (27) and the Purananuru (389) state that elephants were raised and trained in ancient Tamilagam's northern boundary of Venkatam hills, Tirupati.
Notes
References
Bryant, Edwin (2001). The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture. Oxford University Press. . Macdonell, A.A. and Keith, A.B. 1912. The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects. Talageri, Shrikant: The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis. 2000.
See also Sacred cow