Gajasurasamhara

Gajasurasamhara
Gajasurasamhara
Affiliation	Aspect of Shiva

Gajasurasamhara (lit. "The Slayer of the elephant demon"), also Gajasamhara, Gajantaka and Gajaha (all three lit. "the Slayer of the elephant") and Matangari ("The Enemy of the elephant"), is a fierce aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as the Destroyer of the elephant demon, Gajasura. The icon is popular in Pallava and Chola art, which portray him dancing vigorously in the flayed elephant hide of Gajasura.

The chief temple of Gajasurasamhara is at Valuvur (Vazhuvur), Tamil Nadu, where the chief icon is an eight-armed bronze Gajasurasamhara. Valuvur is one of the Atta-virattam temples, the eight sites of the heroic acts of Shiva.

The Gajasurasamhara form is associated by scholars to the epithet Krittivasa ("who has skin as his garment"), used in the Vedic hymn Shri Rudram Chamakam for Rudra, a Vedic God associated with Shiva. Often, devotional hymns of the Tevaram call Shiva the one who wears the elephant hide, alluding to this incident. The Shiva Sahasranama ("The thousand names of Shiva") describe Shiva as Gajaha, the slayer of the elephant.

The Kurma Purana describes the tale of Gajasurasamhara, when discussing the Krittivashvara ("The Lord who has skin as his garment") linga (the iconic, phallic form of Shiva) of Varanasi. When an demon (Rakshasa) assumed the form of an elephant and terrorized Brahmins who were worshipping the linga, Shiva emerged from this linga, slew the demon, and removed the elephant skin, thereafter wearing the hide on his upper body. Another version narrates that Gajasura gained various powers by practising severe penance. However, he got proud and started harassing, robbing and killing people. Even the Gods feared him. One day, Gajasura attacked the devotees of Shiva in Varanasi and Shiva appeared to rescue them and ripped the elephant's body. Valuvur, where the chief temple of Gajasurasamhara, is sometimes described as the place where the incident occurred, instead of Varanasi.

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