A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
A female elephant prefers a younger male to another suitor and devises an escape. She challenges the unwanted elephant to remain underwater longer than she can, then surfaces and leaves with her chosen companion. Seeing no sign of her, the first elephant repeatedly submerges and even props himself on his tusks at the bottom. After discovering the deception he tramples about the pool, injuring fishes, frogs, tortoises and other creatures. A deity condemns the harm done to innocent animals. No supernatural underwater endurance, marriage or bodily change is specified.
Origins & earliest records
Indian Buddhist narrative preserved in Tibetan translation
Records & interpretation
Whole chapter and its footnotes directly read in the digitized1906 edition.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources
XXVIII, The Tricked Elephant, p. 313; note cites Kah-gyur iv. f. 256
- 02
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources — XXVIII The Tricked Elephant
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906, title-page transcription independently checked. Tibetan Kah-gyur to German by F. Anton von Schiefner, then German to English by W.R.S.Ralston. Complete selected chaptersXX288–290 andXXII–XXVIII296–313 with all notes independently read; source-language originals not collated.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Schiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources (London, 1906)
XXVIII, The Tricked Elephant. XXVIII, The Tricked Elephant, p. 313; note cites Kah-gyur iv. f. 256
Complete chapter and footnotes read. Kah-gyur locator is the historical edition’s own, not an independently read Tibetan manuscript. Speaking animal acts separated from rhetorical accusations, moral commentary and inferred anatomy.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906, title-page transcription independently checked. Tibetan Kah-gyur to German by F. Anton von Schiefner, then German to English by W.R.S.Ralston. Complete selected chaptersXX288–290 andXXII–XXVIII296–313 with all notes independently read; source-language originals not collated.
- A female elephant who prefers a younger male persuades another suitor to compete at staying underwater. She immediately leaves with her preferred partner while the deceived male repeatedly submerges, assuming her unseen absence means she is outperforming him. On discovering the departure he tramples the pool and harms innocent aquatic creatures. A deity criticizes this misdirected anger.
XXVIII The Tricked Elephant, complete313; note Kah-gyuriv.f256
German-mediated historical English translation, not direct Tibetan manuscript inspection. Whole book not claimed read. Page labels are hosted transcription markers, not separate facsimile collation. No ritual, spell formula, verse, medical procedure or modern adaptation copied.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical translation of Buddhist narrativeSchiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales (1906), XXVIII, The Tricked Elephant, p. 313; note cites Kah-gyur iv. f. 256Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.