Vahanas: Vehicles of the Hindu Deities Quiz

Answer: Hamsa, the swan

Hamsa (also spelled Hansa), able to separate milk and water, symbolizes intelligence and discrimination.

Answer: Garuda, lord of birds

Garuda is a remover of obstacles and a fanatic enemy of serpents. He once stole and hid the moon, prompting all of the gods to attack him. He overcame them all except Vishnu, and thenceforth served as his mount.

Answer: Nandi, the bull

Long ago, Nandi was an independent deity, the 'Lord of Joy,' but gradually his divine prerogatives were transferred to Shiva. He now symbolizes something roughly like inner strength.

Answer: Airavat, lord of elephants

He was formed out of primordial ocean when churned by the gods, and his name means produced by water. He is sometimes depicted with eight trunks and-or four tusks. His wife is Abharamu.

Answer: Musaka, the mouse

The great paradox of a mouse bearing an elephantine god like Ganesh is, of course, a source of much theological exploration and explanation. On the other hand, it is also a highly comic idea. Ganesh, popular among devotees of Shiva and of Vishnu alike, is one of the few gods friendly and approachable enough to laugh um, with. Respectfully.

Answer: swan

Saraswati, consort of Lord Brahma, is usually associated with the god's vahana. She is also often accompanied by a peacock.

Answer: owl

The owl represents spiritual wisdom, the blindness associated with seeking worldly rather than spiritual wealth. The owl is also a good avian match for Garuda, since Lakshmi is Vishnu's consort.

Answer: lion

Parvati is the consort of Lord Shiva, who rides a bull. It is highly interesting that Parvati rides a lion, almost the only animal that can hunt a bull.

Answer: tiger

It is the fearlessness of the tiger that qualifies it to be the vahana of Durga, the goddess who exists to destroy evil. Though usually depicted as a tiger, the vahana is sometimes drawn as a lion, appearing without stripes.

Answer: tortoise

Yes, tortoise rather than turtle. Kurma is always translated as tortoise.

Answer: Hanuman

This seems attested to only in the Hanuman hymns. Hanuman himself is a major player in the Ramayana, assisting Rama (an avatar of Vishnu) in numerous ways.

Answer: crocodile

The Sanskrit word for the vahana of Varuna is makara, which is usually translated as crocodile, but is sometimes associated with other aquatic or semi-aquatic animals, such as sharks or hippopotami. In iconic representation, however, the animal is roughly like the goat-fish capricorn, so may more properly be described as a 'sea monster.'

Answer: ram

The mere fact that he is a fire god does not entail that he must ride a fire creature.

Answer: gazelle

Presumably because the gazelle, like other kinds of antelope, can run like the wind.

Answer: buffalo

Yama himself also sometimes takes the form of a black buffalo, or of a man with a buffalo's head.