Hastin was the term for elephants in Vedic Texts. This is from where this shoe cabinet cum bench with carved elephant motifs gets it's name. The elephant is one of the most celebrated motifs in traditional Indian architecture and design, perhaps owing to the special place that this graceful creature holds in Indian mythology and history. The references of elephants in Indian history make it a royal animal. In the Mauryan times, only kings were allowed to own elephants – a sign of power and wealth, wisdom, fertility, prosperity, strength, royalty and grace.
