Editing Peafowl (section)

=== Indian peafowl ===
[[File:Murugan by Raja Ravi Varma.jpg|thumb|The Hindu god [[Kartikeya]] with his wives on his peacock mount]]

The peafowl is native to [[India]]<ref name="q163">{{cite web | title=Indian Peafowl | website=San Francisco Zoo & Gardens | date=2021-10-16 | url=https://www.sfzoo.org/indian-peafowl/ | access-date=2024-09-20}}</ref> and significant in its culture.<ref name="s256">{{cite web | title=Why Are There So Many Peacocks in India's Arts, Culture, and Legends? | website=Fodors Travel Guide | date=2021-10-20 | url=https://www.fodors.com/world/asia/india/experiences/news/why-are-there-so-many-peacocks-in-indias-arts-culture-and-legends | access-date=2024-09-20}}</ref> In [[Hinduism]], the Indian peacock is the [[Vahana|mount]] of the [[List of war deities|god of war]], [[Kartikeya]], and the warrior goddess [[Kaumari]], and is also depicted around the goddess [[Santoshi]].<ref>Clothey, Fred W. Many Faces of Murakan: The History and Meaning of a South Indian God. Walter De Gruyter Inc., 1978. {{ISBN|978-9027976321}}.</ref> During a war with [[Asuras]], Kartikeya split the demon king [[Surapadman]] in half. Out of respect for his adversary's prowess in battle, the god converted the two halves into an integral part of himself. One half became a peacock serving as his mount, and the other a rooster adorning his flag. The peacock displays the divine shape of [[Om]]kara when it spreads its magnificent plumes into a full-blown circular form.<ref name=Ayyar>{{cite web|last=Ayyar|first=SRS|title=Muruga – The Ever-Merciful Lord|url=http://murugan.org/ayyar_1.htm|work=Murugan Bhakti: The Skanda Kumāra site|access-date=31 March 2014|archive-date=9 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209025930/http://murugan.org/ayyar_1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[Hindu tantric literature|Tantric]] traditions of Hinduism the goddess [[Tvarita]] is depicted with peacock feathers.<ref>Slouber, Michael. 2017. [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Early_Tantric_Medicine/tGl4DQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tvarit%C4%81&pg=PA99&printsec=frontcover Early Tantric Medicine: Snakebite, Mantras, and Healing in the Garuda Tantras]. Page 99. [[Oxford University Press]].</ref> A peacock feather also adorns the crest of the god [[Krishna]].<ref name="w643">{{cite web | title=Why does Lord Krishna wear a peacock feather on his head? | website=The Times of India | date=2024-03-01 | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/soul-search/why-does-lord-krishna-wear-a-peacock-feather-on-his-head/photostory/108112604.cms?picid=108112627 | access-date=2024-09-20}}</ref>

[[Chandragupta Maurya]], the founder of the [[Mauryan Empire]], was born an orphan and raised by a family farming peacocks. According to the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] tradition{{Which|date=May 2023}}, the ancestors of the Maurya kings had settled in a region where peacocks (''mora'' in [[Pali language|Pali]]) were abundant. Therefore, they came to be known as "Moriyas", literally, "belonging to the place of peacocks". According to another Buddhist account, these ancestors built a city called Moriya-nagara ("Moriya-city"), which was so called, because it was built with the "bricks coloured like peacocks' necks".{{sfn|R. K. Mookerji|1966|p=14}} After conquering the [[Nanda Empire]] and defeating the [[Seleucid Empire]], the Chandragupta dynasty reigned uncontested during its time. Its royal emblem remained the peacock until Emperor Ashoka changed it to a [[Asiatic lion|lion]], as seen in the [[Lion Capital of Ashoka]], as well in his [[Edicts of Ashoka|edicts]]. The peacock continued to represent elegance and royalty in India during medieval times; for instance, the [[Mughal emperors|Mughal]] seat of power was called the [[Peacock Throne]].

The peacock is represented in both the [[Burmese zodiac#Weekdays|Burmese]] and [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] [[zodiacs]]. To the [[Sinhalese people]], the peacock is the third animal of the zodiac of [[Sri Lanka]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BoJEAAAAcAAJ|title=The history and doctrine of Budhism, popularly illustrated|first=Edward|last=Upham|date=20 June 2018|publisher=Ackermann|via=Google Books}}</ref>

Peacocks (often a symbol of pride and vanity) were believed{{By whom|date=May 2023}} to deliberately consume poisonous substances in order to become immune to them, as well as to make the colours of their resplendent plumage all the more vibrant – seeing as so many poisonous flora and fauna are so colourful due to [[aposematism]], this idea appears to have merit. The Buddhist deity [[Mahamayuri]] is depicted seated on a peacock. Peacocks are seen supporting the throne of [[Amitabha]], the ruby red sunset coloured archetypal Buddha of Infinite Light.

India adopted the peacock as its national bird in 1963 and it is one of the [[national symbols of India]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.culturalindia.net/national-symbols/national-bird.html|title=Indian Peacock: A Symbol of Grace, Joy, Beauty and Love|access-date=6 March 2018|archive-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226083809/http://www.culturalindia.net/national-symbols/national-bird.html|url-status=live}}</ref>