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'''Hindu mythology''' are narratives found in ] such as the ] literature,<ref name=macdonell>{{cite book|author=Arthur Anthony Macdonell|title=Vedic Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b7Meabtj8mcC|year=1978|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (Reprint)|isbn=978-81-208-1113-3|pages=1–9}}</ref> ] like ] and ],<ref name=hopkins>{{cite book|author=Edward Washburn Hopkins|title=Epic Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ingAMQAACAAJ|year=1986|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0227-8|pages=1–3}}</ref> the ],<ref name=bonnefoy>{{cite book|author=Yves Bonnefoy|title=Asian Mythologies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r4I-FsZCzJEC |year=1993|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-06456-7|pages=90–101}}</ref> the regional literatures like ]. Hindu mythology is also found in widely translated popular texts such as the '']'' and '']'', as well as Southeast Asian texts.<ref>{{cite book|author=Patrick Olivelle|authorlink=Patrick Olivelle|title=Pañcatantra: The Book of India's Folk Wisdom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-BQj8cz0vvMC|year=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-283988-6|pages=xii–xiii}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Paul Waldau|author2=Kimberley Patton|title=A Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion, Science, and Ethics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5k6rAgAAQBAJ |year= 2009|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-13643-3|pages=186, 680}}</ref> |
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'''Hindu mythology''' are narratives found in ] such as the ] historical accounts,<ref name=macdonell>{{cite book|author=Arthur Anthony Macdonell|title=Vedic Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b7Meabtj8mcC|year=1978|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (Reprint)|isbn=978-81-208-1113-3|pages=1–9}}</ref> ] like ],<ref name=bonnefoy>{{cite book|author=Yves Bonnefoy|title=Asian Mythologies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r4I-FsZCzJEC |year=1993|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-06456-7|pages=90–101}}</ref> the regional literatures like ]. Hindu mythology is also found in widely translated popular historical accounts such as the '']'' and '']'', as well as Southeast Asian texts.<ref>{{cite book|author=Patrick Olivelle|authorlink=Patrick Olivelle|title=Pañcatantra: The Book of India's Folk Wisdom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-BQj8cz0vvMC|year=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-283988-6|pages=xii–xiii}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Paul Waldau|author2=Kimberley Patton|title=A Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion, Science, and Ethics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5k6rAgAAQBAJ |year= 2009|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-13643-3|pages=186, 680}}</ref> |
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Hindu mythology does not often have a consistent, monolithic structure. The same myth typically appears in various versions and can be represented differently across socio-religious traditions. These myths have also been noted to have been modified by various philosophical schools over time and particularly in the Hindu tradition. These myths are taken to have deeper, often symbolic, meaning, and have been given a complex range of interpretations.<ref>], ''Myth and history'', in ''Themes and Issues in Hinduism'', edited by Paul Bowen. Cassell, 1998.</ref> |
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Hindu mythology does not often have a consistent, monolithic structure. The same historical account typically appears in various versions and can be represented differently across socio-religious traditions. These accounts have also been noted to have been modified by various philosophical schools over time and particularly in the Hindu tradition. These accounts are taken to have deeper, often symbolic, meaning, and have been given a complex range of interpretations. |
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==Texts== |
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==Texts== |
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{{Main|Vedas|Sanskrit epics|Puranas|Panchatantra}} |
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{{Main|Vedas|Sanskrit epics|Puranas|Panchatantra}} |
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The Hindu Epic literature is found in genre of ]s such as: |
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The Hindu Epic is found in genre of ]s such as: |
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*Vedic literature (1500-500 BCE)<ref name=macdonell/><ref name= |
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*Vedic historical accounts (1500-500 BCE)<ref name=macdonell/><ref name= |
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*Epics<ref name=hopkins/> |
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*Epics |
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*Puranas<ref name=bonnefoy/> |
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*Puranas |
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Many of these legends evolve across these texts, the character names change or the story is embellished with greater details, yet the central message and moral values remain the same. According to ], |
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Many of these legends evolve across these texts, the character names change or the story is embellished with greater details, yet the central message and moral values remain the same. |
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Every Hindu epic is different; all Hindu epics are alike. (...) Each Hindu epic celebrates the belief that the universe is boundlessly various, that everything occurs simultaneously, that all possibilities may exist without excluding the other. (...) There is no single basic version of a Hindu epic; each is told and retold with a number of minor and major variations over the years. (...) Great epics are richly ambiguous and elusive; their truths cannot be filed away into scholar's neat categories. Moreover, epics are living organisms that change constantly. (...) |
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Every Hindu epic is different; all Hindu epics are alike. (...) Each Hindu epic celebrates the belief that the universe is boundlessly various, that everything occurs simultaneously, that all possibilities may exist without excluding the other. (...) There is no single basic version of a Hindu epic; each is told and retold with a number of minor and major variations over the years. (...) Great epics are richly ambiguous and elusive; their truths cannot be filed away into scholar's neat categories. Moreover, epics are living organisms that change constantly. |
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|O'Flaherty<ref>Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty (1975), Hindu epics: A Sourcebook translated from the Sanskrit, Penguin, {{ISBN|978-0140449907}}, pages 11, 21-22</ref>}} |
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Hindu epic shares the creative principles and human values found in epic everywhere. However, the particular details vary and its diversity is immense, according to Doniger.<ref name=doniger11/> The Hindu legends embed the Indian thought about the nature of existence, the human condition and its aspirations through an interwoven contrast of characters, the good against the evil, the honest against the dishonest, the dharma-bound lover against the anti-dharma bully, the gentle and compassionate against the cruel and greedy. In these epics, everything is impermanent including matter, love and peace. Magic and miracles thrive, gods are defeated and fear for their existence, triggering wars or debates. Death threatens and re-threatens life, while life finds a way to creatively re-emerge thus conquering death. Eros persistently prevails over chaos.<ref name=doniger11>Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty (1975), Hindu epics: A Sourcebook translated from the Sanskrit, Penguin, {{ISBN|978-0140449907}}, pages 11-22</ref><ref name="Williams2008p2">{{cite book|author=George M. Williams|title=Handbook of Hindu epic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7LOZfwCDpEC|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-533261-2|pages=2–4, 14–18}}</ref> |
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Hindu epic shares the creative principles and human values found in epic everywhere. However, the particular details vary and its diversity is immense, according to Doniger.<ref name=doniger11/> The Hindu legends embed the Indian thought about the nature of existence, the human condition and its aspirations through an interwoven contrast of characters, the good against the evil, the honest against the dishonest, the dharma-bound lover against the anti-dharma bully, the gentle and compassionate against the cruel and greedy. In these epics, everything is impermanent including matter, love and peace. Death threatens and re-threatens life, while life finds a way to creatively re-emerge thus conquering death. |
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The Hindu epics integrate in a wide range of subjects. They include stories about how and why cosmos originated (], cosmogony), how and why humans or all life forms originated (anthropogony) along with each's strengths and weaknesses, how gods originated along with each's strengths and weaknesses (theogony), the battle between good gods and bad demons (theomachy), human values and how humans can live together, resolve any disagreements (ethics, axiology), healthy goals in stages of life and the different ways in which each individual can live (householder, monk, ]), the meaning of all existence and means of personal liberation (soteriology) as well as legends about what causes suffering, chaos and the end of time with a restart of a new cycle (eschatology).<ref>{{cite book|author=George M. Williams|title=Handbook of Hindu epic|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=N7LOZfwCDpEC|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-533261-2|pages=15–31}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Ronald Inden|editor=David Parkin|title=Hindu Evil as Unconquered Lower Self, in The Anthropology of Evil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UT9-QgAACAAJ|year=1991|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-0-631-15432-7|pages=143–164}};<br />{{cite book|author=W.D. O' Flaherty|title=Hindu Epics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajLoN2yuZbwC|year=1994|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-400011-1|pages=36–37}}</ref><ref name="Sharma2000p61">{{cite book|author=Arvind Sharma|title=Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gDmUToaeMJ0C |year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-564441-8|pages=38–39, 61–64, 73–88}}</ref> |
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The Hindu epics integrate in a wide range of subjects. They include stories about how and why cosmos originated (], cosmogony), how and why humans or all life forms originated (anthropogony) along with each's strengths and weaknesses, how gods originated along with each's strengths and weaknesses (theogony), the battle between good gods and bad demons (theomachy), human values and how humans can live together, resolve any disagreements (ethics, axiology), healthy goals in stages of life and the different ways in which each individual can live (householder, monk, ]), the meaning of all existence and means of personal liberation (soteriology) as well as legends about what causes suffering, chaos and the end of time with a restart of a new cycle (eschatology). |
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== Dashavatara == |
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== Dashavatara == |
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A significant collection of ] traditional reincarnations includes those related to the avatars of ]. The ten most common of these include: |
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A significant collection of ] traditional reincarnations includes those related to the avatars of ]. The ten most common of these include: |
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#]: It narrates a ], similar to one found in many ancient cultures. The savior here is the Matsya (fish). The earliest accounts of Matsya mythology are found in the Vedic literature, which equate the fish saviour to the deity ]. The fish-savior later merges with the identity of ] in post-Vedic era, and still later as an avatar of ].{{sfn|Krishna|2009|p=33}}<ref name="Rao124">Rao pp. 124-125</ref><ref name=britmatsya>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Matsya | encyclopedia=] | publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc | url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/369611/Matsya | accessdate=May 20, 2012 | year=2012}}</ref> The legends associated with Matsya expand, evolve and vary in Hindu texts. These legends have embedded symbolism, where a small fish with Manu's protection grows to become a big fish, and the fish ultimately saves earthly existence.{{sfn|Bonnefoy|1993|pp= 79-80}}{{sfn|George M. Williams|2008|pp=212-213}} <ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of Hinduism: T-Z, Volume 5|author=Sunil Sehgal|publisher=Sarup & Sons|year=1999|isbn=81-7625-064-3 |page=401 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zWG64bgtf3sC&pg=PA401}}</ref> |
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#]: It narrates a ], similar to one found in many ancient cultures. The savior here is the Matsya (fish). The earliest accounts of Matsya mythology are found in the Vedic historical accounts, which equate the fish saviour to the deity ]. The fish-savior later merges with the identity of ] in post-Vedic era, and still later as an avatar of ].{{sfn|Krishna|2009|p=33}}<ref name="Rao124">Rao pp. 124-125</ref><ref name=britmatsya>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Matsya | encyclopedia=] | publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc | url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/369611/Matsya | accessdate=May 20, 2012 | year=2012}}</ref> The legends associated with Matsya expand, evolve and vary in Hindu texts. These legends have embedded symbolism, where a small fish with Manu's protection grows to become a big fish, and the fish ultimately saves earthly existence.{{sfn|Bonnefoy|1993|pp= 79-80}}{{sfn|George M. Williams|2008|pp=212-213}} <ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of Hinduism: T-Z, Volume 5|author=Sunil Sehgal|publisher=Sarup & Sons|year=1999|isbn=81-7625-064-3 |page=401 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zWG64bgtf3sC&pg=PA401}}</ref> |
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#]: The earliest account of Kurma is found in the ''Shatapatha Brahmana'' (]), where he is a form of Prajapati-] and helps with the ] (churning of cosmic ocean).{{sfn|Roshen Dalal| 2010| p=217}} In the Epics and the ], the legend expands and evolves into many versions, with Kurma becoming an avatar of Vishnu. He appears in the form of a tortoise or turtle to support the foundation for the cosmos and the cosmic churning stick (Mount Mandara).<ref name="Lochtefeld2002p705">{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z|url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3180-4|pages=–706}}</ref><ref name="JonesRyan2006p253">{{cite book|author1=Constance Jones|author2=James D. Ryan|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&pg=PA253 |year=2006|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-7564-5|page=253}}</ref><ref name="Dimmitt2012p72">{{cite book|author1=Cornelia Dimmitt|author2=JAB van Buitenen|title=Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=re7CR2jKn3QC|year=2012|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=978-1-4399-0464-0|pages=74–75}}</ref> |
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#]: The earliest account of Kurma is found in the ''Shatapatha Brahmana'' (]), where he is a form of Prajapati-] and helps with the ] (churning of cosmic ocean).{{sfn|Roshen Dalal| 2010| p=217}} In the Epics and the ], the legend expands and evolves into many versions, with Kurma becoming an avatar of Vishnu. He appears in the form of a tortoise or turtle to support the foundation for the cosmos and the cosmic churning stick (Mount Mandara).<ref name="Lochtefeld2002p705">{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z|url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3180-4|pages=–706}}</ref><ref name="JonesRyan2006p253">{{cite book|author1=Constance Jones|author2=James D. Ryan|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&pg=PA253 |year=2006|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-7564-5|page=253}}</ref><ref name="Dimmitt2012p72">{{cite book|author1=Cornelia Dimmitt|author2=JAB van Buitenen|title=Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=re7CR2jKn3QC|year=2012|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=978-1-4399-0464-0|pages=74–75}}</ref> |
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#]: The earliest versions of the Varaha or boar legend are found in the '']'' and the '']'', both Vedic texts.{{sfn|Nanditha Krishna|2010|pp=54-55}} They narrate that the universe was primordial waters. The earth was the size of a hand and was trapped in it. The god ] (]) in the form of a boar (''varaha'') plunges into the waters and brings the earth out.{{sfn|Nanditha Krishna|2010|pp=54-55}}{{sfn|J. L. Brockington|1998|pp=281-282}} In post-Vedic literature, particularly the Puranas, the boar mythology is reformulated through an avatar of god Vishnu and an evil demon named Hiranyaksha who persecutes people and kidnaps goddess earth.{{sfn|Roshen Dalal| 2010| p=45}}{{sfn|J. L. Brockington|1998|pp=281-282}} Varaha-Vishnu fights the injustice, kills the demon and rescues earth.{{sfn|Nanditha Krishna|2010|pp=54-55}} |
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#]: The earliest versions of the Varaha are found in the '']'' and the '']'', both Vedic texts.{{sfn|Nanditha Krishna|2010|pp=54-55}} They narrate that the universe was primordial waters. The earth was the size of a hand and was trapped in it. The god ] (]) in the form of a boar (''varaha'') plunges into the waters and brings the earth out.{{sfn|Nanditha Krishna|2010|pp=54-55}}{{sfn|J. L. Brockington|1998|pp=281-282}} In post-Vedic literature, particularly the Puranas, the boar mythology is reformulated through an avatar of god Vishnu and an evil demon named Hiranyaksha who persecutes people and kidnaps goddess earth.{{sfn|Roshen Dalal| 2010| p=45}}{{sfn|J. L. Brockington|1998|pp=281-282}} Varaha-Vishnu fights the injustice, kills the demon and rescues earth.{{sfn|Nanditha Krishna|2010|pp=54-55}} |
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#]: The Narasimha mythology is about the man-lion avatar of Vishnu. He destroys an evil king (Hiranyakashyapu), ends religious persecution and calamity on Earth, saves his devotee (Prahlad) from the suffering caused by torments and punishments for pursuing his religious beliefs, and thereby Vishnu restores the ].<ref>{{cite book|author=Gavin D. Flood|title=An Introduction to Hinduism|url= https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo|url-access=registration|year= 1996|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn= 978-0-521-43878-0|page = }}</ref>{{sfn|George M. Williams|2008|p=223}} |
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#]: The Narasimha mythology is about the man-lion avatar of Vishnu. He destroys an evil king (Hiranyakashyapu), ends religious persecution and calamity on Earth, saves his devotee (Prahlad) from the suffering caused by torments and punishments for pursuing his religious beliefs, and thereby Vishnu restores the ]. |
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* {{cite book|ref=harv|author=Roshen Dalal|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6}} |
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* {{cite book|ref=harv|author=Roshen Dalal|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6}} |
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* {{cite book| author=Dallapiccola, Anna L.|title=]|isbn=0-500-51088-1| year = 2002}} |
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* {{cite book| author=Dallapiccola, Anna L.|title=]|isbn=0-500-51088-1| year = 2002}} |
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* ] (2003). ''''. Inner Traditions / Bear & Company. {{ISBN|0-89281-870-0}}. |
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* {{cite book| last=Walker| first=Benjamin | authorlink=Benjamin Walker (author)| title =Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism| publisher=Allen & Unwin| location = London |year = 1968}} |
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* {{cite book| last=Walker| first=Benjamin | authorlink=Benjamin Walker (author)| title =Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism| publisher=Allen & Unwin| location = London |year = 1968}} |
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* {{cite book|author = Wilkins, W.J. | title = Hindu mythology, Vedic and Purānic| publisher = Thacker, Spink & co.| year = 1882| url = https://archive.org/details/hindumythologyv00wilkgoog}} |
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* {{cite book|author = Wilkins, W.J. | title = Hindu mythology, Vedic and Purānic| publisher = Thacker, Spink & co.| year = 1882| url = https://archive.org/details/hindumythologyv00wilkgoog}} |
Hindu mythology does not often have a consistent, monolithic structure. The same historical account typically appears in various versions and can be represented differently across socio-religious traditions. These accounts have also been noted to have been modified by various philosophical schools over time and particularly in the Hindu tradition. These accounts are taken to have deeper, often symbolic, meaning, and have been given a complex range of interpretations.
The Hindu epics integrate in a wide range of subjects. They include stories about how and why cosmos originated (Hindu cosmology, cosmogony), how and why humans or all life forms originated (anthropogony) along with each's strengths and weaknesses, how gods originated along with each's strengths and weaknesses (theogony), the battle between good gods and bad demons (theomachy), human values and how humans can live together, resolve any disagreements (ethics, axiology), healthy goals in stages of life and the different ways in which each individual can live (householder, monk, purusartha), the meaning of all existence and means of personal liberation (soteriology) as well as legends about what causes suffering, chaos and the end of time with a restart of a new cycle (eschatology).
Hinduism 
Outline
