Note 111 — Chapter IV · ANIMAL-WORSHIP.
Reading edition
The elephant constantly occurs in folk-lore. In the projection of its forehead it possesses a pearl, known as the Kunjara Mani, or Gaja Mukta, which is invested with magical qualities. In the folk-tales the wooden horse of Troy is represented by an artificial elephant filled with soldiers; other elephants have the power of flying through the air; in other stories, as in one of La Fontaine’s fables, an elephant selects a king by raising him up with his trunk; the elephant Kuvalyapîda is the guardian of a kingdom, and touching an elephant is one of the tests of a woman’s chastity. We have also numerous instances of the metamorphosis of human beings into elephants.111