Man today has innumerable means of transport across land, air, water and space. And who knows we might be able to transverse across time as well, may be in a matter of centuries. Travelling across time is an amazing concept as it opens a hosts of unforeseen possibilities.
The Hindu religion with it’s continuous cycle of rebirth talks about time travel, aplenty. It also talks about various mythical creatures called Vahanas used by the Gods to travel about. While there is much talk about the Pushpak Viman of Lord Ram, we decided to delve further and explore the God’s favorite choices for zooming about. Have a look…
1. Lord Ganesha rides the mushak or the mouse which is easily the cutest of the lot and defies gravity with aplomb
2. Goddess Durga rides the majestic lion (sometime depicted as a tiger). She is hence also referred to as Sherawali
3. Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge sit atop the white swan and is a figure of calm and infinite wisdom
4. Kartikeya’s vahan is the immensely beautiful peacock, which also happens to be the national bird of India.
5. Shiva is easily the most hipster of all Gods as he lives in the mountains, wears a snake for a necklace, smokes up all the time and what not. So it is but natural for him to outdo the other and literally ride the raging bull, Nandi.
6. Laxmi, the goddess of wealth has the owl by her side. We guess even the Goddess of Wealth needs some financial wisdom
7. Lord Vishnu, the overseer of the all the three worlds travels astride the gigantic Garuda who can see across space and time
8. Yama, the Lord of Death, chooses the buffalo which quite goes well with his macabre image.
9. Indra, the king of all the Gods zooms around on his trusted elephant, Airavat. Indra is controls the weather according to the Indian Mythology, with rainwater attributed to be falling out of Airavat’s trunk.
10. Kamadev, the God of love and desires, has the ubiquitous parrot by his side.
11. Kuber, the Lord of wealth, rides Nara or the man which is a deep and meaningful symbolism, to say the least!
Disclaimer: This is an amusing take on how Hindu Gods traveled and is not meant to offend or hurt anyone’s religious sentiments. Have a happy and prosperous Diwali