Girimekhala

Here’s my take on Girimekhala, who is, in Theravada Buddhism (one of the oldest branches of this religion, whose birthplace was Sri Lanka), a monstrous elephant used as a mount by the demon lord Māra, known for having tried to prevent Siddhartha Gautama from attaining enlightenment and becoming the first Buddha. Although this episode is recognized by all schools of Buddhism, the pachyderm is only named in Theravada Buddhism. His name can be translated from Sanskrit (and Pali, the dead language in which the first Buddhist texts were written) as “Moutain-girdled”, which could transcribe the massive and imposing power of the creature.

Little is known about his distinguishing features, except that he has the appearance of an elephant. But The Life of the Victorious Buddha, a Sri Lankan text written between the 12th and 13th centuries, says that he measured 150 leagues, or 724.205 kilometers ! Also, even if it is not stated in the Tripitaka (the set of texts of the Buddhist canon, which is said to have been written down in the 1st century BC, in Sri Lanka), it is said that whoever meets his gaze finds himself cursed, and/or struck by an incurable disease – a sort of “evil eye,” in short.
Let us now talk about the role that Girimekhala played in the life of the Buddha. At this period of his life – after he renounced his life as a prince – Siddhartha Gautama was emerging from six years of extremely austere asceticism that had weakened him greatly, without allowing him to attain a greater understanding of the world. Disappointed, he decided to give up these extreme practices and concentrate on the middle path and meditation. Remembering that he had attained the first jhāna (a state of consciousness that transcends the five senses) while meditating under a jambu tree in his palace’s garden, he came and sat under a peepal tree (or sacred fig), and vowed not to move from the spot until he had attained the ultimate truth. "Let my skin, my nerves and bones waste away, let my life blood dry up, I will not leave this seat before attaining perfect Enlightenment", he is said to have said. This attracted the attention of several benevolent gods, who came to attend Gautama ; but the news also reached the ears of Māra, the demon of death and passions, the embodiment of all human basic instincts. Having no interest in a human freeing himself from samsāra (the perpetual reincarnation in which living beings are caught because of their passions, their ignorance and their karmic actions, perceived as negative) and perhaps being able to free other men later, he went to war against the Bodhisattva (aspiring Buddha). Mounted on the terrible Girimekhala, and accompanied by his demonic armies, he came to meet Gautama, provoking the terror and flight of the gods who had attended him. But the man remained imperturbable and confident, increasing the anger of his adversary. The latter therefore persevered, unleashing natural disasters, calling on his three daughters to try to seduce Gautama with their dances, but nothing worked. A verbal joust then began between the two adversaries, Māra questioning the Bodhisattva's right to be seated where he was (or to attain Enlightenment), and saying that he was more deserving, all to get him to stop his meditations. Then, conscious of his virtues, Gautama called upon the Earth itself, asking it to testify in his favor, by touching the ground with the fingertips of his right hand. The Earth's response was manifested by rumblings and tremors so terrible that Girimekhala fell to his knees - sometimes involuntarily, by losing his balance, sometimes voluntarily, to bow before Gautama. But the movement of the pachyderm unseated Māra, who fell to the ground. The latter, dejected, saw his armies of demons retreat, and made no further attempt against the Bodhisattva, who, the following morning, attained Enlightenment, becoming the first Buddha.

The defeat – or even death – of Māra does not necessarily unfold in the same way for Buddhist schools that do not name Girimekhala, but we will come back to that in another entry. In any case, nothing is said about the fate of the monstrous elephant, following the fall of his master.