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Hindu Mythology
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Introduction
Hindu mythology is a
term used by modern scholarship for a large body of Indian literature that
details the lives and times of legendary personalities, deities and divine
incarnations on earth interspersed with often large sections of philosophical
and ethical discourse. Despite connotations of fiction in common usage, the term
myth, in theological and academic studies, does not necessarily imply that a
narrative is untrue. The use of term mythology is a western construct applied
primarily to non-Judeo-Christian religious literature. It is intellectually
insincere to describe other religious literature as mythology while labeling the
biblical literature as ‘legends’.
It must be noted that many of the topics that fall under the category of Hindu
mythology are cherished beliefs of Hindus. All ancient religions contain stories
that are accepted as literal truth by some, and as philosophical or allegorical
insights by others. Thus, the biblical stories may be similarly construed as
Jewish/ Christian mythology.
The mythological literature is intertwined with the ethos of ancient Vedic
religion and Vedic civilization, and fundamentally constructed with Hindu
systems of philosophy.
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Vedic Mythology
Vedic mythology that occupies a pivotal position in the history of religions, is
a significant aspect of Hindu mythology and has directly contributed to the
evolution and development of Hinduism. Vedic mythology, which finds expression
in a number of Vedic rituals and symbolism, also contains a number of religious
concepts, which are generally indistinguishable from Hindu traditions.
The Vedic mythology is best recorded in the four Vedas, also called the Vedam,
which are part of the Hindu Śruti. In Sanskrit the word means Knowledge or
Truth, and is cognate with the word "wisdom" in English (as well as "vision"
through Latin).
Hindus believe that the Vedas existed since time immemorial as vibrations in
space, some portions of which are believed to have been perceived by seers and
sages, and transmitted accordingly through an oral tradition. Some believe that
the Vedas were transmitted orally for up to 8000 years (see Fisher). Most
Western and a few Indian commentators see this as an exaggeration and date the
earliest part of the Veda, the Rig-Veda Samhita, to around 1800–800 BC.Various
astronomical events, the geography of the Indian Landmass, the reference to the
course of various rivers and the total absence of any reference to the desert in
the Rajasthan area described in the Rig Veda all however point to an antiquity
much older than what the western scholars would care to admit. However, it is
now grudgingly acknowledged by most of them that the Vedas did indeed have a
long oral tradition and were passed from teacher to disciple for at least many
centuries before first being written down.
Dimensions
The Vedic mythology has several dimensions.
The deities
Vedic mythology contain certain elements which are common to other
mythological traditions, like the mythologies of Persia, Greece, and Rome. Indra,
a mythological god of the Vedas, is simultaneously like Dyaus Pitar, the Sky
Father, and like Zeus and Jupiter. The deity Yama, the god who collects the
dead, is Yima of Persian mythology and Yanluo or Emma in the Buddhist traditions
of China and Japan. Vedic mythology contains descriptions and celestial hymns
praising several other natural and super natural phenomenon and lays down an
elaborate groundwork of concepts for 33 major devas, that is, divinities,
consisting of eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Adityas, and Prajapati Brahma.
These divinities are said to belong to three dimensions of the universe, the
earth, the heavens, and the intermediate, that is the space. Some major deities
of the Vedic tradition include Indra, Surya, Agni, Vayu, Varuna, Yama, Kubera,
Soma, Mitra, Kama, Gayatri, Aditi, Ushas, Sarasvati and Rudra.
The rituals
One of the most widely practiced Vedic rituals involved offerings and
sacrifices in fire, which was known as Yagyas. Over a period of time, the vedic
ritual of Yagyas became Yajna.
The Saptapadi, which literally means the seven steps, involves the groom and the
bride taking seven rounds around a sacred fire. This ritual has a Vedic origin,
as after completing the last round, that is the seventh step, the groom
declares: Let us come closer and make a vow together. We shall be of one mind
and heart, and observe our vows together. I shall be the Sama-Veda and you the
Rig-Veda. We shall live united and beget children, and other riches. Come
closer, O my sweet-worded damsel. This ritual of the Vedic mythology still
continues to be a cardinal principle of traditional Hindu marriage ceremony, and
no Hindu marriage is considered complete in the absence of the Saptapadi.
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Epics
The most important of these are a 18 voluminous group of works known as
the Puranas. The two great Hindu Epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, are
other major works of Hindu mythology.
The epics Mahabharata and Ramayana are very much religious scriptures. Their
stories are deeply embedded in Hindu philosophy and serve as parables and
sources of devotion for Hindus.
Hindi Epics
The first epic to appear in Hindi was Tulsidas' (1543-1623) Ramacharitamanasa,
also based on the Ramayana. It is considered a great classic of Hindi epic
poetry and literature, and shows the author Tulsidas in complete command over
all the important styles of composition — narrative, epic, lyrical and
dialectic. He has given a human character to Rama, the Hindu avatar of Vishnu,
portraying him as an ideal son, husband, brother and king.
In modern Hindi literature, Kamayani by Jaishankar Prasad has attained the
status of an epic. The narrative of Kamayani is based on a popular mythological
story, first mentioned in Satapatha Brahmana. It is a story of the great flood
and the central characters of the epic poem are Manu (a male) and Shraddha (a
female). Manu is representative of the human psyche and Shradha represents love.
Another female character is Ida, who represents rationality. Some critics
surmise that the three lead characters of Kamayani symbolize a synthesis of
knowledge, action and desires in human life.
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The Peoples of the Epics
Hindu mythology is not only about Gods and men, but classifies a host of
different kinds of celestial, ethereal and earthly beings.
Sapta Rishis
Lord Brahma, out of his thought, creates seven sages, or Sapta Rishis, to help
him in his act of creation. Sapta Rishis (sapta means seven and rishis means
sages in Sanskrit). They are Bhrigu, Angira, Atri, Gautama, Kashyapa, Vashishta,
and Agastya. The other meaning of Saptarishis is constellation of Great Bear (Ursa
Major).
Pitrs
The Pitrs, or fathers, were the first humans.
Swarga
The concept of Swarga (heaven) is one of the concepts of Hindu mythology.
Hinduism deems swarga a temporary place to enjoy the fruits of ones actions on
earth, while Moksha is the supreme salvation a soul can aspire to. Swarga is
inhabitated by the Devas (Gods), who are believed to be the children of Rishi
Kashyapa and his wife Aditi, masters of the elements. Indra, the God of thunder
and lightning, heads the Swarga and other devas residing there include Varuna
(the God of the oceans), Agni (the God of fire), Kubera (the treasurer of the
Gods), Yamaraja, or Dharma (the lord of righteousness (many a times
misunderstood with the other word meaning "religion") and death), Surya (the sun
God), Soma (the moon God), Bhumi (the Goddess earth), Ganga (the Goddess
Ganges), and Kamadeva (the God of love). A parallel can be found in Slavic
religion, Swarga is Heaven, and interestingly, the God Svarog is believed to
reside there.
Other notable inhabitants of the Swarga include the celestial sages; a number of
semi-Gods; Gandharvas; and apsarases like Urvasi and Menaka.
Naraka
Most of the Hindu traditions believe in the existence of Naraka (It is similar
to the concept of temporary Hell). In Hinduism, there is no eternal damnation.
Heaven and hell are just temporary places to work out the results of ones life
on earth. Lord Yama rules the Naraka with a band of emissaries called the Yama
duta, who bring the souls of dead persons to the Naraka, where they are made to
suffer pains and punishment for the sins committed on the earth. Certain Hindu
texts contain vivid descriptions of such sufferings. Chitragupta functions as
the karmic accountant of all the actions of the human beings on earth, based on
which dead persons are assigned the privilege of living in Swarga or consigned
to Naraka to undergo pain and suffering to atone for their sins on the earth.
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Bharatavarsha
The first king to conquer all of the world was Bharata, son of Dushyanta and
Shakuntala. All of this world, Vishwa, is named Bharatavarsha, or The Land of
Bharata, or The Cherished Land.
King Bharata's conquests are described to have stretched over all of modern
India, and Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, as well as the ancient Gandhara
region of Afghanistan. No account has been known to exceed these geographical
boundaries.
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The Deluge
The story of a great flood is mentioned in ancient Hindu texts,
particularly the Satapatha Brahmana. It is compared to the accounts of the
Deluge found in several religions and cultures. Manu was informed of the
impending flood and was protected by the Matsya Avatara of Lord Vishnu, who had
manifested himself in this form to rid the world of morally depraved human
beings and protect the pious, as also all animals and plants.
After the flood the Lord inspires the Manusmriti, largely based upon the Vedas,
which details the moral code of conduct, of living and the division of society
according to the caste system.
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