Theelephant goad,bullhook, orankusha[1] is a tool employed bymahout in thehandling and training of elephants. The pointed tip of an elephant goad or a bullhook could be used to stab the elephant's head if the elephant charged nearby people, risking injury or death to the rider and bystanders. The elephant goad consists of a hook (usually bronze or steel) which is attached to a 60–90 cm (2.0–3.0 ft) handle, ending in a tapered end.
A relief atSanchi and a fresco at theAjanta Caves depict a three-person crew on the war elephant, the driver with an elephant goad, what appears to be a noble warrior behind the driver and another attendant on the posterior of the elephant.[2]
Nossov and Dennis (2008: p. 19) report that two perfectly preserved elephant goads were recovered from an archaeological site atTaxila and are dated from 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE according toMarshall. The larger of the two is 65 cm (26 in) long.[2]
Nossov and Dennis (2008: p. 16) state:
Anankusha, a sharpened goad with a pointed hook, was the main tool for managing an elephant. Theankusha first appeared in India in the 6th-5th century BC and has been used ever since, not only there, but wherever elephants served man.[3]
The handle can be made of any material, from wood to ivory, depending on the wealth and opulence of the owner. Contemporary bullhooks which are used for animal handling generally have handles made of fibreglass, metal, plastic, or wood.
The elephant goad is found in armouries and temples all across India, where elephants march in religious processions and perform in various civil capacities. They are often quite ornate, being decorated with gemstones and engravings to be appropriate for the ceremonies in which they are used.
The elephant has appeared in cultures across the world. They are a symbol of wisdom in Asian cultures and are famed for their memory and intelligence, where they are thought to be on par withcetaceans[4] andhominids.[5]Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind".[6] The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greekἐλέφας, meaning "ivory" or "elephant".[7]
In iconography and ceremonial ritual tools, the elephant goad is often included in a hybridized tool, for example one that includes elements ofVajrakila, 'hooked knife' or 'skin flail' (Tibetan: gri-gug, Sanskrit: kartika),Vajra andAxe, as well as the goad functionality for example. Ritual ankusha were often finely wrought of precious metals and even fabricated fromivory, often encrusted with jewels. In Indian religions, the goad/ankusha and rope 'noose/snare/lasso' (Sanskrit: Pāśa) are traditionally paired as tools of subjugation.[8]
In Hinduism, an elephant goad is one of the eight auspicious objects known asAshtamangala and certain other religions of theIndian subcontinent. A goad is also an attribute of many Hindu gods, especiallyTripura Sundari &Ganesha. It is present as one of the marks, next to alotus flower on the right foot (sole) ofKrishna.
Wallace andGoleman (2006: p. 79) discuss 'śamatha' (Sanskrit),mindfulness andintrospection which they tie tometacognition:
Throughout Buddhist literature, the training in shamatha is often likened to training a wild elephant, and the two primary instruments for this are the tether of mindfulness and the goad of introspection.[9][10]
Rowlands (2001: p. 124) in discussing consciousness and itsself-conscious,self-reflexive quality ofapperception states that:
The most significant aspect of consciousness, I shall try to show, is its structure, itshybrid character. Consciousness can be both act and object of experience. Using the somewhat metaphorical notion ofdirecting, we might say that consciousness is not only the directing of awareness butcan be that upon which awareness is directed. Consciousness is not only the act of conscious experience, it can be experience's object.[italics preserved from original][11]
In the above quotation the metaphor of 'directing' is employed. In 'directing' consciousness or the mind to introspectively apperceive the directive forded by the goad is key.
In theTattvasamgraha tantra (c 7th century), one of the most important tantras of the BuddhistYoga Tantra Class, the ankusha figures in the visualization of one of the retinue. This tantra explains the process of the visualization of the Vajradhatu Mandala, which is one of the most visually stylized of Buddhist mandalas. The Ankusha is the symbolic attribute for the visualization of the Bodhisattva Vajraraja, an emanation within the retinue of Vajradhatu. This visualization is treated in Tachikawa (c2000: p. 237).[12]
_-_151.png)
InRudyard Kipling'sSecond Jungle Book story"The King's Ankus",Mowgli finds the magnificently-jeweled elephant goad of the title in a hidden treasure chamber. Not realizing the value men place on jewels, he later casually discards it in the jungle, unwittingly leading to a chain of greed and murder amongst those who find it after him.A jeweled goad also appears in the 1942 film adaptationRudyard Kipling's Jungle Book.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) (accessed: Saturday October 31, 2009)