Bathing the Elephant
February 25, 2012 • Spiritual Adventures
Driving down the road to Thanjavur, we crossed a river where a temple elephant was about to get one of her two daily baths.
We leapt from the bus and hurried down to the river side to watch. Olga led the charge and quickly developed a special affinity with Shamala the elephant.
While elephants are partially self-cleaning, and can shower themselves with great trunkfuls of water…
…nothing beats a good old-fashioned scrubbing. With some small assistance from us, the elephant keepers spent about half an hour, meticulously scrubbing every inch of the elephant to the obvious enjoyment of Shamala. Some of us had recently come from the ayurvedic spa and could appreciate the feeling!
Mark and Charlie view the elephant bathing from the bridge
Debbie loves Shamala
Shamala, the elephant, belongs to the Murugan temple in Swamimalai.
Shamala is a Saivite (one of the sects of Hinduism) and after her bath, the traditional markings of a Saivite are placed on her.
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