There are countries in the world where certain animals are revered, many, to the point of becoming mythological symbols of society and its traditions. In India, a place full of spirituality, certain animals are highly respected and valued because they are considered reincarnations of godsof the Hindu worldview.
According to ancient tradition, it is forbidden to kill them as they could contain the soul energy of some of the ancestors. The current Hindu culture, both in India and around the world, continues to maintain attachment to these ideas, especially in the rural areas of the Asian country. Some of India's most beloved gods possess animal qualities or are practically animal.
There are dozens of sacred animals of India, but the most popular are the following: the elephant, the monkey, the cow, the cobra and the tiger. Keep reading this article on our site if you want to know the history of each one of them.
1. Ganesha, the sacred elephant
The elephant is one of the most popular animals in Asia and is the first of our sacred animals in India. There are two theories that speak about its success. The best known is that the elephant comes from the God Ganesha, the god with a human body and the head of an elephant.
Legend tells that the god Shiva left his home for reasons of battle, leaving his wife Pavarti pregnant with his son, years later when Shiva returned and went to see his wife, he found a man guarding the room where Parvati was taking a bath, the two without recognizing each other entered into a battle that ended with Ganesha's beheading. Parvati, afflicted, admits to her husband that this man was her son and Shiva, in a desperate attempt to revive him, went in search of a head for Ganesha and the first creature he came across was an elephant.
From that moment on, Ganesha has become the god who breaks through obstacles and adversity, a symbol of good luck and fortune.
Discover the differences between the African and Asian elephants on our site.
two. Hanuman the monkey god
Just as monkeys dance freely all over India, there is also Hanuman, the mythological version of him. All of these animals are believed to be the living form of this god.
Hanuman is not only worshiped in India but also in almost every corner of the Asian territory. It represents strength, knowledge and above all loy alty because it is the eternal ally of both gods and men. It is said that he has unlimited supernatural strength and that he once jumped into the sun mistaking it for a fruit.
3. The sacred cow
The cow is one of the sacred animals in India because it is considered a gift from the gods For this reason Hindus consider it a sin to eat beef and its slaughter is totally repudiated. They are even more important than the Hindus themselves. You can see the cows circulating or resting, calmly, in the streets of India.
The veneration of this animal dates back more than 2000 years and has to do with abundance, fertility and motherhood. The cow was God Krishna's special envoy to earth to feed his children and establish a connection with them.
Discover on our site how cows produce milk.
4. Shiva's Cobra
This poisonous snake is considered sacred because it is closely related to the deity Shiva, lord of the two superior and contradictory forces: creation and destruction. It is another of the sacred animals of India.
Religious stories tell that the cobra was the animal that this teacher always carried around his neck, protecting him from his enemies and of all evil. According to another legend (one of the ones I like the most) the cobra was born from a tear of the creator god Brahma when he realized that he could not create the universe on his own.
5. The mighty tiger
We end the list of sacred animals of India with the tiger, a creature that has always seemed very mystical and enigmatic to us, in its stripes keep a special magic. This animal has always been highly appreciated in India, it is considered sacred for two fundamental aspects: first, because according to Hindu mythology, the tiger was the animal that the deity Maa Durga rode to fight in her battles, representing victory over any force negative and second, because it is the national symbol of this country
Tigers are considered the link between man, the earth and the animal kingdom. This bond has helped many people in India establish better relationships with the land they inhabit.
Also find out on our site why the Bengal tiger is in danger of extinction.
