Category:Gajasurasamhara

Gajasurasamhara 

form of Hindu god Shiva
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Gajasurasamhara or Gajantak, "The Slayer of the elephant demon", is a fierce aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as the destroyer of Gajasura – the demon (asura) who pretends to be an elephant (gaja).

The Gajasurasamhara legend appears in many Puranas, dated in the first half of the first millennium CE. The details of the legend vary by the text. All of them have three elements: a demon takes the deceptive form of elephant to approach his targets who are dedicated to Shiva, the Gajasura torments and kills his victims, Shiva gets really angry and kills Gajasura, then dances on the dead Gajasura head or hide. One variant is found in Kurma Purana states that the devotees of Shiva were Brahmins meditating around a Shiva linga, while other versions describe generic Shaiva devotees and that Parvati watches Shiva as he dances over Gajasura head with flayed skin. The flayed hide is symbolism for peeling off the demon's deception. (For further discussions: T.A. Gopinatha Rao, Elements of Hindu Iconography; also, Kurma, Shiva and other Puranas).

The oldest Hindu artwork of Gajantak with inscriptions is found in the 6th-century bas-relief on the mountain walls of Kalinjar Fort – a historic Shiva pilgrimage site. In centuries that followed, this iconography is found all over India. It is particularly popular in Pallava, Chola and Hoysala temples, which portray him dancing vigorously in the flayed elephant head or hide of Gajasura.