The royal warriors sit astride a majestic sacred elephant which symbolizes royalty, wealth and great wisdom. Both the heroes and their guardians who guide the elephant carry symbols indicative of benevolence and the gods who engage in angry battle against demons. The smaller seated figure is sitting in the Virasana heroic position, with one leg bent up onto the seat while the other hangs straight back against the thigh. This position represents a god who has revealed himself as a hero in the battle against the demons. The Axe (Parashu) held by one of the guardians heralding the elephant is the weapon that conquers darkness and ignorance, and thus liberates man from all ties of worldly matters. It is a definitive characteristic of the war god Skanda. The Spear our primary hero holds raised in his right hand is also the weapon of the war god Skanda, traditionally symbolizing the invincible weapon of the creator of the universe. The bolt of Lightning, which the primary hero holds in his left hand, is the symbol of invulnerability and invincibility. As a weapon, it drives out and eliminates demons.

Skanda is known as the great warrior-general of the Army of Light, leading spiritual aspirants to self-realization and victory over the dark forces, and he is traditionally depicted carrying a spear such as that held aloft by the central figure. Skanda represents man's highest evolutionary attainments and is also referred to as the "way that leads to wisdom". His birth and life are written in an epic poem dating from the 5th century A.D.

Skanda is known to have arrived in Ceylon, when the region belonged to Lemuria, a vast continent that stretched from Madagascar to near Australia and included India and Ceylon. This territory was ruled by a titan who became the terror of the Celestials, and took form to live upon the Earth. In answer to their prayers, the god Skanda was incarnated as son of the supreme god Shiva. He led a mighty host to Ceylon. It is said that the sky and earth were confounded, the earth shaken at its foundation; such was the mighty uproar of this battle among the Gods. Skanda destroyed the titan with his lance, a symbol which typifies Skanda's energy of wisdom and which we see reflected in the hands of both the primary hero and that of the second footman.

Originally the spear was the weapon of Indra, usually depicted as a sort of double edged dagger (which may also be reflected by the weapon held by our secondary hero). As a sword (“Khadga”) this becomes the symbol of wisdom, the battle against ignorance and the force of destruction and it complements the symbolism of the elephant. It is an object of reverence which brings luck.