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The "world-elephants" are mythical animals, which according to some authors, appear in Hindu cosmology. However, this concept is not found anywhere in the Puranas or the Epics. and Al Biruni makes no mention of it, only quoting Brahmagupta who states "the earth is the only low thing". The popular rendition of the World Turtle supporting one or several World Elephants is recorded in 1599 in a letter by Emanual de Veiga.〔J. Charpentier, 'A Treatise on Hindu Cosmography from the Seventeenth Century (Brit. Mus. MS. Sloane 2748 A).' Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London 3(2) (1924), pp. 317-342, citing John Hay, ''De rebus Japonicis, Indicis, and Peruanis epistulæ recentiores'' (Antwerp, 1605, p. 803f.) 〕 Wilhelm von Humboldt suggested that the idea of a world-elephant was due to a confusion, caused by the Sanskrit noun N%C4%81ga having the dual meaning of "serpent" and "elephant" (named for its serpent-like trunk), thus representing a corrupted account of the world-serpent.〔 Sadashiv Ambadas Dange, Glimpses of purāṇic myth and culture (1987), p. 70.〕 The Amarakosha (5th century) lists the names of eight male elephants bearing the world (along with eight unnamed female elephants). The names listed are: Airavata, Pundarika, Vamana, Kumunda, Anjana, Pushpa-danta, Sarva-bhauma, Supratika. Four names are given in Ramayana 1.41: Viru-paksha, Maha-padma, Saumanas, Bhadra. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable lists ''Maha-pudma and Chukwa'' are names from a "popular rendition of a Hindu myth in which the tortoise Chukwa supports the elephant Maha-pudma, which in turn supports the world".〔Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 15th ed., revised by Adrian Room, HarperCollins (1995), p. 1087. also 14th ed. (1989). 〕 The spelling ''Mahapudma'' originates as a misprint of ''Mahapadma'' in Sri Aurobindo's 1921 retelling of a story of the Mahabharata, ''Love and Death''. :On the wondrous dais rose a throne, :And he its pedestal whose lotus hood :With ominous beauty crowns his horrible :Sleek folds, great Mahapudma; high displayed :He bears the throne of Death. There sat supreme :With those compassionate and lethal eyes, :Who many names, who many natures holds; :Yama, the strong pure Hades sad and subtle, :Dharma, who keeps the laws of old untouched. ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「World Elephant」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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