Elephant Goad, Ankus?

[Interested Party]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Well noted on the animal depicted, and it makes sense that there would be a deity type orientation or sacred significance in order to be featured in the motif. There has always been a bit of confusion it seems about the makara and yali as mythical creatures in the Indian pantheon, when and where they were used, and exactly what kind of creatures they were. I believe that they are in effect a combination of forms including crocodile etc.

I had not thought of the pangolin as sacred in a theological sense despite its hide and scales being important in making armor.

Jim this thread talks about Indonesian pangolin beliefs culminating at post #12.http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...light=pangolin
Whether this animal is a makara, a pangolin, or a crocodile is debatable and maybe it was left ambiguous by the artist.