Hindu mythology includes a huge number of stories. Some have proved to be especially enduring and central to an understanding of Hinduism. Among these are the tales told in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana and those described below.
Creation Hindu mythology includes several different accounts of the beginning of things, but in each version, the act of creation is really an act of arranging, producing order from chaos. Vedic texts tell of the sacrifice of a primal being called Purusha (pronounced POOR-uh-shuh), Whose cut-up body becomes all the elements of the universe. Another image of creation, that of fertilization and pregnancy, occurs in myths about Prajapati, the father of all humans and animals. Sometimes heaven and earth are described as parents whose mating produces the gods. Myths of Tvashtar, a minor Vedic god of carpentry or architecture, explain creation as an act of building.
As Hinduism developed and the Trimurti gained importance, a complex vision of the creation, destruction, and recreation of the universe emerged. Brahma brings the universe into being through his thoughts. The world then passes through a Maha Yuga, or great age, that lasts 4,320,000 years. The Maha Yuga contains four yugas, or ages. Each is shorter and more immoral than the one before, from the Krita Yuga— Brahma’s golden age—through two intermediate ages under Vishnu’s protection to the Kali Yuga—Shiva’s dark age.
Each dark age in turn gives way to a new golden age, and the cycle of the Maha Yuga repeats a thousand times. Then Shiva destroys all life with scorching heat and drowning flood, and the earth remains empty while Vishnu sleeps. After a thousand Maha Yugas, a lotus flower emerges from Vishnu’s navel, and it becomes Brahma, ready to perform his creative act anew.
The Forms of Vishnu Many myths deal with Vishnu’s avatars, or the incarnations of the god on earth. The most common list of the ten avatars begins with Matsya (pronounced MAHT-see-yah), the fish that protects Manu from the flood. The second avatar is Kurma (pronounced KOOR-muh), a tortoise that holds Mount Mandara on his back so that the gods can use it as a paddle to churn the ocean and produce a drink of eternal life.
Varaha (pronounced VAH-rah-hah), a boar who appears after a demon giant pulls the earth to the bottom of the ocean, is the third incarnation. Varaha defeats the demon and raises the earth on his tusks. Narasimha (pronounced nah-rah-SIM-hah), the fourth avatar, is half man and half lion. He defeats a demon who cannot be killed by man or beast. The dwarf Vamana (pronounced vuh-MAH-nah), the fifth incarnation, triumphs over Bali, a being who had gained control of the world. When Bali grants Vamana as much land as he can cover in three strides, the dwarf becomes a giant and strides over heaven and earth. The sixth avatar, ax-wielding Parasurama (pronounced pah-ruh-soo-RAH-muh), frees the priests from the domination of the warriors.
The seventh incarnation, Rama (pronounced RAH-muh), is the hero of the Ramayana. The eighth is the god Krishna; and the ninth is Buddha (pronounced BOO-duh). Hindus believe that Buddha came to earth to draw people away from the proper worship of the Vedas so that the world would decline and be destroyed, as the cosmic cycle demands. The tenth avatar, Kalki (pronounced KAHL-kee), will appear at the end of the world to preside over its destruction and the creation of a new, pure world.
The Birth of Ganesha Shiva’s wife, Parvati, produced Ganesha—and did so without any help from Shiva, according to many accounts. Some say that Shiva, being immortal (able to live forever), had no desire for a son, but Parvati wanted a child and produced the boy from her own body. In other versions, Shiva gave Parvati a doll that at her touch magically came to life as a baby.
According to one story, Shiva struck off the boy’s head, either because Ganesha prevented him from approaching Parvati or because Shiva believed that his son was doomed to die. Parvati’s grief, however, moved him to try to replace the head, and he finally succeeded in attaching an elephant’s head to the boy’s body.
Indra and the Serpent Legends of the slaying of a serpent or dragon appear in many cultures. In Hindu mythology, one such story centers on the god Indra and the “footless and handless” demon Vritra (pronounced VRIT-ruh), described as both snake and dragon. The tale is told in the Vedas and dates from the time when Indra was king of the gods.
Using a divine thunderbolt, Indra struck Vritra between the shoulders, slicing open the mountain on which Vritra lay. The blow separated heaven from earth and land from water. The waters that Vritra had contained flowed forth to bring life. Indra’s heroic victory made him the champion of all who struggled to overcome obstacles or resistance.
Shiva and the Sacrifice The Mahabharata tells how Daksha, Shiva’s father-in-law, held a ceremony ofhorse sacrifice for the gods. All the gods except Shiva had been invited. Angry at being excluded, Shiva attacked the ceremony with his servants. They threw blood on the fire and ate the priests. A drop of sweat from Shiva’s brow fell to earth and formed Disease, an ugly figure that terrified the gods. Brahma promised that
Indra, the Hindu god of storms and rain, was one of the most important gods of the Rig-Veda and may have represented the warrior chieftains of the ancestors.
© VICTORIA ALBERTMUSE-UM, LONDON, UK/THE BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY.
Shiva could take part in all future sacrifices, and in return Shiva turned Disease into many small ailments to trouble animals and humans.
World History
