Many composite creatures like NaraSimha, Kirti Mukha, Yali, NavaGunjara, Gaja Simha and Makara exist only in mythology and our imagination. When we reflect on their significance and read their stories, we can glean several insights..
Yali or Vyala
The Vyala, commonly known as the Yali, is a mythical creature with the head and body of a lion, trunk and tusks of an elephant and tail of a serpent. Scholars say, “Yalis are typically found in South Indian temple architecture. There are 16 kinds of Yalis the most popular ones being the Simha Vyala (lion head), Gaja Vyala (elephant head), Ashwa Vyala (Horse head), Nir Vyala (human head) and Shvana Vyala (dog head). In some temples we find Surul Yalis which have open mouths and a water fall emerges from it. We find a Yali even at the end of Saraswati Devi’s Veena.”
The story of Budh
Scholars say, “The Yali is also the vahana of Budh (planet Mercury). The story goes that Chandra falls in love with Brihaspati’s wife Tara and elopes with her. The devas intervene on behalf of Brihaspati. So, Tara returns to her husband, Brihaspati. A few weeks later when Tara realizes she is pregnant, both Brihaspati and Chandra insist on knowing who had fathered the child in her womb.
When Tara reveals that Chandra was the father of her child, Brihaspati curses the child saying it will be neither male or female. Thus Budh, Tara’s child has a neuter gender. Budh in turn goes on to marry Ila, a prince called Sudyumna who transforms into Ila, a woman when he unknowingly enters Shiva’s enchanted forest called Sharavana. But the kind Shiva reduces the impact of His curse and allows Sudyumna to transform into a man for a fortnight and into a woman Ila during the next fortnight. When Ila meets Budh in another part of the forest, they fall in love and get married. Thus, Budh, who was neither completely man nor woman marries Ila who is both male and female.
Budh’s vahan, the Yali too depicts both masculine and feminine traits. The Yali is aggressive and cunning like a lion, quick to adapt to any situation and graceful, intelligent and powerful like an elephant. Yali’s serpent tail infuses fear.
Yalis guard temple doorways, passages and thresholds, ward off negative forces, and protect us. Yalis infuse us with fear, awe and reverence and help us approach God with the right mindset. As Budh’s vahan, Yali helps us appreciate traits that are typically male or female. And reminds us that we can live more meaningful lives only we complement the traits of our spouses.
Navagunjara
We come across a mythological creature called the Navagunjara only in the Odian version of the Mahabharata written by Sarala Das. We find the Navagunjara and Arjuna sculpture in the Jagannath temple of Puri. The Nila Chakra atop this temple has 8 Navagunjaras carved on the outer circumference.
The story of the Navagunjara
Once Arjuna comes across a creature that has the head of a rooster, the neck of a peacock, the back of a bull, the waist of a lion and the tail of a serpent. The Navagunjara has the feet of an elephant, tiger and deer or horse and the fourth limb is the raised human arm carrying a lotus or a wheel.
When Arjuna first sees the Navagunjara, he instinctively raises his bow to shoot it. But he feels fascinated by the uniqueness of the beast because it seemed to have emerged from beyond the limits of human comprehension. Arjuna quickly realizes that the Navagunjara was not a monster to be feared but a manifestation of the divine Vishnu. His ego completely shattered, and out of sheer humility Arjuna drops his bow, worships the Navagunjara and seeks Vishnu’s blessings.
Yes, the Navagunjara enables us to shed our vanity. For whether we acknowledge and accept it or not, several realms do exist beyond the imagination of the human mind and will continue to do so for eternity. And we, mere manavas can never fully grasp the essence of divinity with our limited minds.
Gajasimha
We find a mythical creature called Gajasimha on the thresholds of several temples in India, Cambodia and Thailand. In the Hindu Buddhist Khmer empire of present-day Cambodia, we find statues of GajaSimhas with scales on their bodies.
Scholars say, “During the reign of Suryavarman 11, the people venerated their kings and believed He was an avatar of Vishnu. So, they replaced the earlier vision of Vishnu reclining on Ananta Sesha on the Kshirasagara with the face of their king, Suryavarman riding a Gajasimha.
That is why we find Gajasimha carvings in palaces, temples, thrones, crowns with scales on their bodies. They wanted to retain the memory of Ananta Sesha and believed that like Ananta, the Gajasimha was their guardian deity and enabled their king in the process of creation and dissolution.
We also find some Gajasimhas with a crystal ball in their mouth or brain. Buddhists used to say, “We believe the Gajasimha, our guardian takes care of material wealth like gold, pearls, other precious metals, holy texts and relics of Buddha and bestows us with water, Amrit, Soma and timely rain.
Only a determined and extremely brave person can extract the pearl from a Gajasimha’s mouth against its will. But if the person is an enlightened king or a Bodhi Sattva, the Gajasimha will readily turn over all the prized jewels to him.”
In India, we find Gajasimhas flanking both sides of Nata Mandapa in the Sun temple at Konark. Here a lion strides an elephant who in turn crushes a human being with its weight. Scholars say, “The elephant symbolises Goddess Lakshmi’s wealth, the lion symbolises Goddess Durga’s power and the man below them depicts the pitiable plight of manavas who succumb to wealth and power.
When we enter a temple, the Gajasimha symbolically tells us that before we worship God, it is imperative that we shed our desire for wealth and power.
Makara
The Makara Varuna’s and Ganga’s vahan. We also find it in the banner of Kama Deva. The Makara is an ancient mythical sea beast. Some Makaras have the head of a crocodile at either end with an arching body of a Naga. Other Makaras may have the head of a Simha, Gajasimha or Kirtimukha. We find the Makara in arches of temple gates, doorways and statues, crowns, thrones and jewellery too.
Some scholars say the Makara symbolises cosmic creation and destruction. And everything that is created or destroyed must pass through a Makara’s mouth first. Others believe the Makara is an enigmatic sea monster with many incarnations in various forms, has the ability of shapeshifting and symbolises the essence of life-giving water and fertility.
In some sculptures of the Makara, we find dwarf like Yakshas trying to remove a pearl like object from the Makara’s jaws or an armed warrior fighting within the jaws. This is perhaps due to the influence of Buddhism and conveys the same message as Gajasimhas with crystal balls in their mouth or head. So, the next time we spot a Makara when we enter a temple, let us appreciate the value of the Pancha Mahabhutas.
And live through our transient lives with awareness. Let us shed our pride and keep a firm check on our desires every now and then. And remember that we manavas too are mere creatures who will come and go with time. But divinity will continue to pervade the cosmos for eternity.
Thank you, Giridhari and Seema for your input.