The Makara is a mythical aquatic creature of Hindu myth — a composite sea-monster combining the features of various animals (often the body of a crocodile or fish with an elephant's trunk and other features), the mount of the river-goddess Ganga and the sea-god Varuna, the emblem of the god of love and a guardian-creature of thresholds and waters. The mythic sea-beast, the Makara is the composite aquatic guardian who serves as the mount of the water-gods and adorns the thresholds of temples.
The Composite Sea-Creature
The Makara (Sanskrit Makara) is a mythical aquatic creature — a composite, fantastic beast combining the features of several animals. It is typically depicted with the body and jaws of a crocodile or the body of a fish, often with the trunk of an elephant, and features of other creatures (deer, peacock, lion, etc.) — a strange and powerful hybrid sea-monster of the rivers and oceans. It is one of the most ancient and widespread of the Hindu mythical creatures, appearing throughout Hindu (and Buddhist) art and myth as a guardian, a mount, and a powerful symbol of the waters.
The Mount of the Water-Gods
The Makara is the vahana (mount) of the water-deities — most notably of Ganga (the goddess of the sacred river Ganges), who rides upon the Makara, and of Varuna (the god of the cosmic waters and the oceans), whose mount it also is. As the mount of the water-gods, the Makara is intimately associated with the rivers, the oceans, and the waters in general — the powerful aquatic creature that bears the deities of the waters. It is also the emblem (the makara-dhvaja, the banner) of Kama, the god of love — connecting the Makara to the waters, fertility, and the generative power of desire.
The Guardian of Thresholds and Waters
The Makara is a guardian-creature, especially of thresholds, gateways and waters. Its image is widely used in temple architecture as a guardian and decorative motif — the makara-torana (the makara-arch or gateway) frames temple doorways and shrines, the Makaras at the threshold guarding the sacred space; makara-spouts channel sacred water; and the creature adorns thrones, arches and gateways. As a guardian of the threshold and the waters, and a being of power and auspiciousness, the Makara is a protective and beneficent creature, guarding the sacred and the liminal. It is also the zodiac sign of Capricorn (Makara) in Hindu astrology. Its powerful, fantastic, composite form embodies the strength and mystery of the deep waters.
The Guardian-Beast of the Waters
The Makara endures as a mythical aquatic creature of Hindu myth — the composite sea-monster, the mount of the water-gods Ganga and Varuna, the emblem of the god of love, the guardian of thresholds and waters. It embodies the power and mystery of the deep waters, the guardianship of the sacred threshold, and the auspicious, protective creature of the rivers and oceans; and it stands as the mythic sea-beast — the powerful composite aquatic guardian who bears the water-gods, frames the doorways of temples, and guards the sacred waters and thresholds of the Hindu world.
The composite aquatic sea-monster — part crocodile, fish and elephant — who serves as the mount of the water-gods Ganga and Varuna and guards the thresholds of temples as the powerful, auspicious beast of the deep waters.