India, Aug. 7 -- By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik - Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist

We cannot imagine India without elephants. Elephants have been a powerful symbol of wealth and power since ancient times. Elephants are found on Harappan seals, but they were probably wild elephants or baby elephants kept in zoos and parks. Some argue that Harappan elephants were used to collect timber, but that remains speculative.

In early Vedic texts, the elephant is referred to as hasti-mriga or wild elephant with a hand. It was domesticated in the late Vedic period, as the king of Anga, in the Brahmana texts, gifts elephants to those who perform rituals for him. Images of elephants appear on the gateway of the Barabar caves in Bihar, gifted by Mau...