About
Anjana — Celestial Elephant, Guardian of the West
Anjana · Angana
Anjana is the fifth of the Ashtadiggajas, the eight great celestial elephants who guard the eight directions of the cosmos in the Puranic world-system. He holds the station of guardian of the western quarter and is a son of Iravati, who is the daughter of Bhadramada, herself a daughter of Krodhavarsha, wife of Kashyapa the great progenitor sage. Anjana is named in canonical enumerations of the dik-gajas across multiple primary texts including the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the Matanga-Lila. No individual narrative episodes are attributed to him beyond his cosmological role. His consort is Tamrakarni, the fifth of the eight female dik-gaja elephants born of Iravati. It should be noted that the name Anjana is shared by several figures in the Hindu tradition, most notably the mother of Hanuman, the celebrated divine monkey and devotee of Rama — that figure is wholly distinct from the elephant Anjana.
✦ The Name
Anjana in Sanskrit refers to collyrium, the dark eye-salve or eye-pigment used in traditional Indian cosmetic and medicinal practice, and by extension the word denotes a dark or dark-hued appearance. Applied to an elephant, the name may suggest a dark-coloured or dusky complexion, which would distinguish this dik-gaja from the celebrated whiteness of Airavata. The name also carries connotations of something that illuminates or clarifies — collyrium being used to sharpen the sight — though this secondary meaning is not elaborated in the texts in relation to the elephant Anjana.
✦ Lineage
- Paternal great-grandfather: Kashyapa — the foremost progenitor sage
- Paternal great-grandmother: Krodhavarsha — daughter of Daksha, wife of Kashyapa
- Grandmother: Bhadramada — one of the ten daughters of Krodhavarsha
- Mother: Iravati — daughter of Bhadramada; mother of all sixteen dik-gaja elephants
- Siblings (male): Airavata, Pundarika, Vamana, Kumuda, Pushpadanta, Sarvabhauma, and Supratika
- Siblings (female): Abhramu, Kapila, Pingala, Anupama, Tamrakarni, Shubhradanti, Angana, and Anjanavati
- Consort: Tamrakarni — fifth of the eight female dik-gaja elephants, daughter of Iravati
- Directional station: Guardian of the West
✦ Role as Directional Guardian
The western direction in the Puranic system is presided over by Varuna, the ancient deity of cosmic law, the waters, and the night sky. Anjana's station at the western boundary of the cosmos places him in association with this domain of vast waters and cosmic order. His function as one of the Ashtadiggajas is collective — the eight elephants together sustain the world's directional structure — and no individual narrative is recorded for Anjana in the primary sources.
✦ References
- Primary Sources
- Mahabharata, Adi Parva and Sabha Parva: Names Anjana in enumerative lists of the eight directional elephants.
- Valmiki Ramayana: Includes Anjana among the dik-gajas in cosmological passages.
- Matanga-Lila (attributed to Nilakantha): Records Anjana's place as the fifth dik-gaja with directional station and lineage.
- Secondary Sources
- Mani, Vettam. Puranic Encyclopaedia. Motilal Banarsidass, 1975: Brief entry on Anjana within the account of the Ashtadiggajas, distinguishing him from the other bearers of this name in the tradition.