Lord Indra

Bernhard Johann Rudolf Wyss has written:

'Airavata'

The white elephant, Airavata, carries the Hindu god, Indra. Because of this, white elephants are a major symbol of divine royal power in Thailand. The number of white elephants a king possesses symbolizes how much power that king has.

Thailand is the only Southeast Asian nation that has never been colonized by Europeans, making them culturally strong. Their government remains purely Thai. The white elephants help to symbolize this.