Sages & Others
Supratika
सुप्रतीक
The Elephant of Mountainous Bulk
Who was Supratika?
Supratika (सुप्रतीक): The Elephant of Mountainous Bulk, one of the sages and supporting figures in the Mahabharata. The name the epic gives to two great elephants.
Quick Facts
| Sanskrit name | सुप्रतीक |
|---|---|
| Title / Epithet | The Elephant of Mountainous Bulk |
| Faction | Sages & Others |
| Key traits | Vast, Quarrelsome, Implacable, Mountainous |
| Notable relationships | Brother: Vibhavasu, Devourer: Garuda, Rider: Bhagadatta |
| Featured in | 3 stories |
About Supratika
The name the epic gives to two great elephants. The first was a rishi, younger brother of Vibhavasu, who quarrelled so long over dividing the family wealth that his brother cursed him into an elephant and he cursed his brother into a tortoise; Kashyapa pointed the starving Garuda to the lake where the two still fight, and the bird ate them both. The second is Bhagadatta's war elephant, one of the great elephants of the quarters, who carried the Pragjyotisha king through the Kurukshetra lines and bore the charge of rival tuskers like a continent taking the sea.
In Their Words
Divide it, brother, or I will drag you out of the water and settle it here.
Supratika
Traits
- Vast
- Quarrelsome
- Implacable
- Mountainous
Story Appearances
Stories Featuring Supratika
2 further tales on this site name Supratika, in canonical reading order.
Character Arc
- The PartitionTwo brothers curse each other over the same inheritance
- The LakeSix yojanas of elephant hauling a tortoise out of the water
- The WarCarries the king of Pragjyotisha into the Pandava ranks
Key Relationships
- BrotherVibhavasu
- DevourerGaruda
- RiderBhagadatta
Places in Supratika's Story
Drawn from the stories Supratika appears in.
Related Characters
Others counted among the Sages & Others.