[5][6][3][4] The Matanga Lila associates the Ashtadiggajas as vehicles (vahana) of the Ashtadikpala, eight divine guardians of the directions.
[9] Wilhelm von Humboldt claimed that the idea of a world-elephant may be due to a confusion, caused by the Sanskrit noun Nāga having the dual meaning of "serpent" and "elephant" (named for its serpent-like trunk), thus representing a corrupted account of the world-serpent.
There sat supreme With those compassionate and lethal eyes, Who many names, who many natures holds; Yama, the strong pure Hades sad and subtle, Dharma, who keeps the laws of old untouched.
[14] The spelling Mahapudma originates as a misprint of Mahapadma in Sri Aurobindo's 1921 retelling of a story of the Mahabharata.
In Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, the Disc sits atop the shoulders of four elephants that stand on top of a giant turtle.