Fred Ramen Indian Mythology

8/20/2019 Fred Ramen Indian Mythology

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MYTHOLOGY ROUND THE WORLD

INDIANMYTHOLOGY

F R E D R A M E N

rosencentral

New York


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To helen Betty

P u b l i s h e d in 2 0 0 8 b y T h e R o s e n P u b l i s h i n g G r o u p , I n c .29 East 21s t St ree t , New York, NY 10010

C o p y r ig h t © 2 0 0 8 by T h e R o s e n P u b l i s h i n g G r o u p , I n c .

Fi rs t Edi t ion

All r ights rese rve d. No pa r t of th is book m ay be rep ro du ce d in any form withou tpermiss ion in wri t ing by the publ isher, except by a reviewer.

L i b r a r y o f C o n g r e s s Cata loging in Publ ica t ion D a t a

R a m e n , F r e d .Ind ian mytho logy /Fred Ramen.—1st ed.

p . cm.—(Mytho logy a round the wor ld )

Inc ludes b ib l iograph ica l r e fe rences and index .I S B N - 1 3 : 9 7 8 - 1 - 4 0 4 2 - 0 7 3 5I S B N - 1 0 : 1-4042-0735-X1. Hinduism—Juvenile l i te ra ture . 2 . Mythology, India—Juvenile l i t e ra tu re .I . Ti t le . I I . Ser ies .B L 1 2 0 3 . R 6 8 2 0 0 6294.5 13 —dc22

2 5 3 126

Ma nufacturededin the United States of Ame ricaa

O n t h e c o v e r : A H indu k ing (left) w o r s h i p s t h e b l u e - s k i n n e d g o d , K r i s h n a ,who was bel ieved to bes tow pol i t ica l author i ty on the nat ion 's ru lers .


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CONTENTS

I n t r o d u c t i o n 4

1 T h e H i s t o r y o f I n d i a 72 T h e W o rld o f I n d i a n M y t h o l o g y 173 S t o r i e s o f t h e G o d s a n d G o d d e s s e s 2 74 T h e Ramayana,a , o r J o u r n e y o f R a m a365 The Mahabharatata

G l o s s a r y 56

F o r M o r e I n f o r m a t i o n 5 8F o r F u r t h e r R e a d i n g 60B i b l i o g r a p h y 61I n d e x 62

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

.he Indian subcontinent has been a center of civi l izat ion and cul ture

since the dawn of recorded history. Presently home to nearly 1 bill ion

people, India is emerging as a powerful player on the world 's s tage.

I t has the potent ial to be an economic giant with i ts own advanced

technology.

But to many people in the Western wor ld (Europe and the

Americas) , Indian cul ture remains a mystery. They rare ly hear any

of the more than 200 languages of India , and the re l ig ion and

cul ture of the peoples of India seem al ien and bewi lder ing to them.

But th is does not have to be . There are more s imi lar i t ies be tween

Indian and Western cul tures than people are aware of . For ins tance ,

ma ny of the langua ges of India , the Middle Ea s t , and Eu rop e

dev elop ed from a com mo n lang uag e fami ly ca l led Ind o-E uro pe an .

Also , the heroes and p lo ts descr ibed in some s tor ies and legends of

Ind ia r e semble those o f European l egends .

However, Indian mythology and legends have their own peculiar

and fasc ina t ing charac ter, and they r ichly reward the non-Indian

read er who seek s them ou t . Myth and l ege nd a re ve ry im por ta n tto Indian cul ture . Hinduism, the re l ig ion of near ly a b i l l ion people

worldwide (and the vast majority of the people of India), has preserved

these s tor ies in i t s sacred scr ip tures . Thus the epic ta les of Rama

or the Pandavas in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are m ore

than jus t grea t legends l ike the Greek The Iliad a n d The Odyssey;

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kn India n wom an shows off the meh end i decorat ions painted o n he r hand s.The designs are made with henna dye. She is celebrat ing the Teej fest ival ,which marks India ' s ra iny season.

they are central to the bel iefs of people from Mumbai to Bali , f rom

Sri Lanka to New York City.

In Indian households to th is day, chi ldren and parents ga ther

to hear the s tories of the heroes and gods. Often these are s toriesabout the great hero Rama, who is held up as an example of the

ideal man, warrior, and king. Other t imes, the s tories may be from

th e Mahabharata,a vas t t reasure t rove of myths , legends , andand

stories that is considered India's national epic. Or they may be funny

and scary ta les of Kr ishna , the b lue god, who took on human form

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I N D I A N M Y T H O L O G Y

to ki l l demons and f ight alongside the heroes of theMahabharata.ta.

But the purpose of al l these s tories is greater than just enter tainment:

they are also examples of how to live (or not l ive) a good life. Today,through these myths , legends , and s tor ies , young Hindus learn about

deep spir i tual t ruths. For the people of India, they form the basis of

both cul tura l and re l ig ious educat ion .

The stories and myths of India are a r ich and varied tapestry

unl ike any o ther in the wor ld . S tep ins ide th is wor ld and be amazed,

thri l led, and terr i f ied, just as mil l ions of others around the worldhave been for thousands of years .

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THE HISTOR Y OF I N D I A

round 5 000 yea r s ago an advanced soc ie ty a rose in the Indus

River val ley. Today, this area makes up nor thwest India and

P a k i s t a n . We ca l l the c ivi l izat ion that arose there the Indus

Valley or H ara pp an c iv i l iza t ion , a fter one of the major ci t ies of

the region.M a n y of the re l ig ious t radi t io ns tha t would la ter be cen t ra l

to Hinduism come from the Indu s Valley civi l izat ion. For exam ple ,

H i n d u s p l a c e a high value on c l ean l iness and ba th ing , and at the

cen te r of man y Indu s towns there were la rge com mu ni ty b a ths .

The bu l l was an i m p o r t a n t a n i m a l to the In du s V alley

cul ture , jus t as cat t le are s ac red to p resen t -dayH i n d u s . A ho rned god

a p p e a r s in much re l i -

gious artwork from

this time and modern

scholars believe he is

related to the Hindugod Shiva.

The people of

the Indus Valley

civilization may

have been literate.

Indians view cows as sacred, as ev idenced byth is seventh-century sculpture of a cow wear inga wreath of flowers.

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Some of the most common objects discovered in the ruins of their

c i t ies are ceremonia l sea ls used to s tamp objec ts , probably t rade

i tems. These seals are made of clay and usual ly have three or foursymbols engraved on them. Whether or not these symbols were par t

of a t rue wri t ten language is s t i l l debated, however.

Although li t t le is known about the religious practices of the Indus

Val ley people , some scholars th ink the Indus peoples worshipped a

mother goddess associa ted wi th the ear th . Archaeologis ts have

found rough terra-cotta figurines that depict a woman, often pregnant,in nearly every home in the Indus Valley ci t ies they have studied.

Their society was apparent ly very s table and orderly, and there is

li t t le evidence of war or fighting.

T h e C o l l a p s e o f t h e I n d u sVa l l ey C iv i l i z a t i onA r o u n d 1 9 0 0 BC, the In du s Val ley c iv i l iza t ion w ent in to rap id

de c l i ne . W i th in a cen tu ry, mos t of the c i t i e s had be en ab an do ne d .

I t i s no t known exac t ly why th i s happened . Mos t r e sea rchers

today be l i eve the re were mul t ip le causes fo r the co l l apse . I t

see m s tha t the c l im a te be ca m e dr ie r, m ak in g it ha rde r to f a rm inthe reg ion . Also , a r ive r tha t was impor tan t to ag r i cu l tu re may

have d r i ed up comple te ly.

Soon after the decl ine of the Indus Valley civi l izat ion, a new

people , the Aryans , a r r ived in the region. In Sanskr i t , the word

A r y a n m e a n s n o b l e o r h o n o r a b l e . In t h e 1 9 3 0 s , G e r m a n

Nazis use d the word to refer to a No rdic , Ca uca s ian m aste r rac e .

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The History of India

A m a p o f t h e I n d i a n s u b c o n t i n e n t , i n c l u d i n g o t h e r p a r t s o f S o u t h A s i a

s u c h a s S r i L a n k a , P a k i s t a n , N e p a l , B a n g l a d e s h , a n d p a r t o f C h i n a .


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INDIAN MYTHOLOGY

After that t im e, the word A ry an took on m any nega tive con nota tions.

As a resul t , most his torians today now cal l the people who came to

nor thern India the Indo-Aryans . They se t t led throughout the region,forming a new socie ty tha t became the forerunner of modern Indian

civi l izat ion.

T h e I n d o - A r y a n s

The or ig ina l land of the Indo-Aryans was located nor th of the HinduKush, the h igh mounta in ranges in what i s today nor thern Pakis tan

and A fghanistan. D es ce nd an ts of the Indo -A ryan s st i ll l ive the re and

in present -day I ran , whose fu l l name is I ran Shahr, meaning the

land of the A rya ns . They seem to have been a nom adic peop le

who did not farm much unti l they moved into India.

I t i s unknown whether horses p layed an impor tant ro le in theIndus Valley civi l izat ion, but i t is c lear that the Indo-Aryans used

horses extens ively. Indo-Aryan chariots—two-wheeled war cars

drawn by teams of horses—were central to how they fought bat t les .

Indo-Aryan languages were the source of such classical languages

as Sanskr i t and Pal i , used in India . Languages re la ted to Indo-

Aryan were the source of Greek and Lat in , spoken in Europe . Forth is reason, these languages make up what i s of ten ca l led the Indo-

European language fami ly. Modern languages tha t a re c lass i f ied in

the Indo-European g roup a l so inc lude Hind i , German , Gae l i c ,

Eng l i sh , F rench , Span i sh , I t a l i an , and the o the r Romance l anguages

based on Latin.

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T h e H i s t o r y o f I n d i a

Indo-Aryan R e l i g i o n a n dVe d i c C u l t u r e

Unlike the Indus people , who probably worshipped an ear th goddess ,

the Indo-Aryans be l i eved in f a the r gods assoc ia ted wi th the sky.

Th es e sky gods of the Indo -A rya ns be ca m e im por ta n t figures in

H ind u worsh ip , wh i le the female g od de sse s of the Indu s p eop le

a lso took on major ro les . F i re was an impor tant e lement of Indo-

Aryan worsh ip . One o f the i r mos t impor tan t gods was Agni , the

god of fire. Burning offerings of food remains a part of Hindu ritual

to this day.

After the Indo-Aryans moved in to the region of nor thern India

i n g r e a t e r n u m b e r s , a n e w c u l t u r e e m e rg e d c o n t a i n i n g e l e m e n t s o f

bo th Indus and Indo-Aryan be l i e f s . Th i s cu l tu re i s known as

Vedic cul ture , named af ter the major re l ig ious wr i t ings of the

t i m e , the Vedas .

The Vedas contain the basic myths of the creat ion of the world

and the exploits of the gods. They also describe the rites and religious

prac t ices of Vedic worshippers , especia l ly the pr ies t ly c lass , the

Brahmins . The Vedas are composed in Sanskr i t , the sacred language

of the Indian people. The Vedas were solely the property of the

Brahmins , and regular people were forbidden f rom learning these

texts . For a long t ime, in fact , the Vedas were not wri t ten down and

could be learned only by l i s tening to someone who had memorized

them . By about 1 ,500 y ears ago, however, they had be en com m it ted

to writing.

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Although many modern Hindu r i tua ls and bel iefs were passed

down unchanged f rom the Ved ic pe r iod , the Ved ic r e l ig ion was

di fferent f rom modern Hinduism. The gods Vishnu, Brahma, and

Shiva were al l relat ively minor gods during this period. The celest ial

god Varuna and the sky god Indra were far more important . Then,

between abou t 80 0 and 20 0 BC, the Up anis had s were com posed. Th es e

major rel igious works further redefined the rel igious bel iefs of the

people of India.

T h e Upanishadic EraThe Upanishadic per iod ref lec ted the popular d iscontent wi th the

cent ra l ro le of the pr ies ts and the i r complex r i tua ls . Ins tead , the

U pa nish ad s taught a form of wo rship tha t could be acco m pl ish ed by

anyone wil l ing to fol low i ts pr inciples .

Also dur ing the Upan i shad ic pe r iod , many Ind ians came to

be l i eve tha t the va r ious gods they worsh ipped were more l ike

i n d i v i d u a l a s p e c t s of a u n i v e r s a l g o d , B r a h m a n . B r a h m a n w a s

ident i f ied wi th the wor ld-soul , or a t m a n , that was a part of every

l iv ing th ing in c rea t ion .

Another key be l i e f tha t ga ined widespread accep tance dur ing

this t ime was the idea of samsara , or rebi r th . For those who bel ieve

in samsara , noth ing rea l ly d ies ; a f ter dea th , the soul i s reborn in a

new form. This new form is de termined by whether the person led

a virtuous life. If the person led a bad life, he or she will suffer

grea t ly in the new exis tence or even be born as an animal ins tead

of a human being. On the other hand, an animal that l ived a good


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The Cas te Sys tem

the changes in Indian socie ty af ter the ar r iva l of g iva lofof *yans was the in t roduct ion of the cas te sys tem. teosyks tem

es, or social divisions. There were four castes, ereoeourjkicafies

m a n y s u b c a s t e s , or jads. E a c h ca st e ha d adfhccalsteehasd

~in d u t i e s t o p e r f o r m t o k e e p s o c ie t y f u n c t i o n i n g , a n d and

m e m b e r s of t h a t c a s t e w e r e a l lo w e d to p e r f o r m t h e m . enm e

_rder o f impor tance , the cas tes were : e r : :

i m i n s : B ra hm in s were the pr ies ts , judg es , an d lead ers of rssofj

t h e i r c o m m u n i t i e s . O n l y t h e y c o u l d p e r f o r m s a c ri fi c es

eligious r i tua l s . They wore whi te to symbol ize fo iase

purity.pueityu

la t r iyas : Ksh at r iyas were the w arr io r cas te . Th ey w ere a lso sols

k i n g s a n d r u l e r s o f c o u n t r i e s . K s h a t r i y a s t r a d i t i o n a l l yore red , for the b lood they shed.d .

„ .x ya s: T h e Va i s h y a s w e r e f a r m e r s a n d m e r c h a n t s . nts

T h e y t r a d i t i o n a l ^ w o r e y e l l o w, f o r t h e s p i c e s t h e y

g r e w a n d sold.S h u d r a s : T he S hud ras were the se rv an t c l a s s . Th ey t r ad i

t i o n a l l y w o r e b l u e o r b l a c k t o s y m b o l i z e i m p u r i t y.

B e l ow t h e f ou r r e c o g n i z e d c a s t e s w e r e t h e u n t o u c h a b l e s ,

o r D a l i t s . U n t o u c h a b l e s h a d a l m o s t n o l e g a l r i g h t s . T h e y

were a l lowed to do on ly the lowes t and mos t degrad ing

w o r k , l i k e c l e a n i n g s t a b l e s o r w o r k i n g i n sew^ers. By the

i t i e t h - c e n t u r y, m a n y I n d i a n s o p p o s e d t h e c a s t e s y s t e m a s e m

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Not only d id Mohandas Gandhia t t em pt to end d i sc r imina t ion

against unto uch able s and do awaywith India 's r igid caste system, healso led a successful , nonviolentmovement of res is tance agains tBri t ish colonial rule of his nat ion.

s a y i n g i t was unjus t .M o h a n d a s G a n d h i

( 1 8 6 9 - 1 9 4 8 ) e m b r a c e d t h e

u n t o u c h a b l e s , r e n a m i n g

t h e m Harijans o r pe ople

of God. In 1948, w h e n

I n d i a b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t

f r o m B r i t i s h c o l o n i a l

ru le , it b ec am e i l l ega l to

d i s c r i m i n a t e b a s e d o n

cas te . M ore t h a n fifty

years la ter, however,

India ' s soc ie ty i s s t i l l

g r e a t l y i n f l u e n c e d b y t h ec a s t e s y s t e m , a n d p e o p l e

in the lower cas tes a re

r e g u l a r l y s u b j e c t e d t o

p o o r t r e a t m e n t b y t h o s e

of the upper cas tes .

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l i fe can be reborn as a human, and a v i r tuous human can be reborn

as a god. However, there is no escape from the cycle of bir th, death,

and rebi r th as long as the person i s t ied to the mater ia l wor ld .

Only by re jec t ing mate r i a l i sm, by l iv ing humbly and sac r i f i c ing

mate r i a l comfor t s , can a pe r son a t t a in moksha or re le as e from th e

cycle of samsara .

Al though the god Brahman became very impor tant dur ing the

Upanishadic era, he is s t i l l only one part of a complex system of

thousands of different divine beings. In the next chapter, we wil lm eet som e of th es e different gods and beg in to lea rn abo ut the ir

roles in the huge body of Indian mythology.

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T H E W O R L D O FI N D I A N M Y T H O L O G Y

he world of Indian mythology shows the

many influences of the cultures that preceded

Indian civil ization. These cultures include

those of the Indus people, the Indo-

Aryans, and the Mesopotamians. At theheart of Indian mythology, however,

remains the creator god Brahman, the

soul of the world.

B r a h m a nIn classical Indian mythology, the world

is a dream of Brahman, created and

destroyed by him during every one of

his days. At the end of one hundred

years of Brahman, he too will be

destroyed, and the universe will be

This is an ornate eleventh- ortwelf th-century sculpture ofthe Indian god Vishnu.

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INDIAN MYTHOLOGY

in cha os un t i l a new Brah m an em erge s to r ec rea te i t. B rah m an

ha s no reas on to r ep ea t ed ly c re a te and des t roy the un ive r se , jus t

as the un ive r se has no reason fo r ex i s t ing . The un ive r se jus t i s ,

an d it ha s a lwa ys e xis t ed .

Brahman is of ten inteipreted through his different aspects: the

three great gods Brahma ( the creator) , Vishnu ( the sustainer) , and

Shiva ( the destroyer) . During each cycle, or k lp (which lasts for

one of Brahman's days) , Brahman f irs t creates the universe as

Brahma, sustains i t as Vishnu, and then destroys i t as Shiva.Different sects of H ind uis m reve re only one of the se indiv idua l

aspects as the t rue aspect of Brahman. These sec ts , most ly devoted

to Vishnu and Shiva , exis t throughout India , a l though many Hindus

today do not belong to any sect.

H i n d u G o d d e s s e s :The Wives o f t he GodsEa ch o f the gods B rahm a, Vishn u , and S h iva has a f e m in ine

co un ter pa r t , or wife . Th ese coun terpa r ts a re known as sha kt is an d

are a lso cons idered aspects of Brahman. They are Shr i or Lakshmi ,

wife of V ishn u an d god de ss of for tune an d wea l th ; Parv at i orDevi , wife of Shiva; and Saraswati , daughter and wife of Brahma. In

India n bel ief sys tems, the ident i t ies of the godde sses are m uch less

separa te than those of the gods . Parvat i , in par t icular, i s associa ted

wi th d iv ine female energy as embodied in the supreme goddess ,

Mahadev i Shak t i .

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T h e Wo r l d o f I n d i a n M y t h o l o g y

The goddess Lakshmi appears in this painting on paper. Lakshmi, wife of thegod Vishnu, is s i t t ing on a lotus throne.

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T h e Av a t a r s o f Vi s h n u

of Indian bel ief have the abi l i ty to take on i t tuytoojakeenon- i s , whether animal , human, vegetable , or entk jo t jk l jeokl j

rce o f n a t u r e . B u t o n l y V i s h n u a c t u a l l y d e s c e n d e d i n t o o

world to be born , l ive , suffer, and d ie there . These ese

rna t ions a re ca l l ed ava ta r s , f rom the Sanskr i t word oed

ara m e a n i n g d e s c e n t. Tr a d i t i o n a l l y, t h e r e a r e t e n enm e

a r s o f Vi s h n u . N i n e h a v e a l r e a d y c o m e , a n d t h e t e n t h e n t

s ignal the end of the wor ld . ro ld

) n e of t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t a v a t a r s o f Vi s h n u i ss

. r i shna . In the Bhagavad Gi ta , a Hindu ho ly t ex t , Vishnu ,u

L t h e fo rm of K r i shn a , says : To p ro tec t th e good , d es t royy

Le w icked , e s t ab l i sh Dharma o r r igh t conduc t on ea r th , I I Ilall b e b o r n f rom age to age. eu

T he ava ta r s o f V ish nu in c lu de the fo l lowing :

l Matsya the f i sh who rescued the sage Manu f rom the

f lood tha t covered the wor ld .

2 .Kurma , the to r to i se who dove to the bo t tom of the

o c e a n t o b r i n g t h e g o d s b a c k t h e e l i x i r o f i m m o r t a l i t y.

3 . Va r a h a , t h e b o a r w h o p u l l e d t h e e a r t h b a c k u p f r o m t h e

b o t t o m o f t h e o c e a n , w h e r e a d e m o n h a d t h r o w n i t .4 . N a r a s i m h a , a h a l f - m a n , h a l f -l i o n w h o k i l l e d a d e m o n

w h o c o u l d n o t b e d e s t r o y e d b y m a n o r b e a s t .

5 . Va m a n a , t h e d w a r f w h o c r o s s e d t h e u n i v e r s e i n t h r e e

s t r ides and saved a l l o f c rea t ion f rom the demon Ba l i .

6. P a r a s h u r a m a , a h u m a n w h o p r e v e n t e d t h e K s h a t r i y a s

f ro m b e c o m i n g m o r e p o w e rf u l t h a n th e B r a h m i n s .

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The World of Indian Mythology

ng and he ro o f the Ramayana. ejorooklthejRpweid3uqnmi,

h n a , t h e c h a r i o t e e r w h o sl ew t h e d e m o n K a n s a a n d anenedfough t fo r the Pandavas in the Mahabharata.

T h e B u d d h a , S i d d h a r t h a G a u t a m a .a.

Kalki , a warr ior who wi l l come a t the end of the wor ld orkl

r i d i n g a w h i t e h o r s e a n d h o l d i n g a f l a m i n g s w o r d .

m a n w i t h a b o a r ' s h e a d . T h i s t h i r d a v a ta r, o r i n c a r n a t i o n , o f Vi s h n u i sniiojj Va r a h a . A s h e b a t t l e s a s e a d e m o n , h e h o l d s s y m b o l s a s s o c i a t e d

Vishnu , inc lud ing a conch she l l , a c lub , a lo tus , and a d i scus . idess

man with a boar's head. This third avatar, or incarnation, of Vis


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T h r e e M a jo r G o d s

B r a h m aBrahma is the creator of the universe, but he is not as important to

later mythology as Vishnu and Shiva. There are various s tories

about why th is i s so . According to one , Brahma became obsessed

with Saraswati , his daughter whom he created out of the energy of

his mind. She tr ied to hide from him, but wherever she went ,

Brahma grew a new head in tha t d i rec t ion , eventual ly ending up wi th

five heads. Shiva then cut off the top head to show his displeasure

with Brahma and further chided him because i t was not f i t t ing that

he pursue h is own daughter in th is way. Because of th is , Brahma is

not worshipped on ear th as Shiva and Vishnu are .

Vi s h n uVishnu preserves and sus ta ins the universe . He of ten in tervenes to

aid humans and the other gods in f ight ing the demons and other

forces of evil . Sometimes he does this by being born into the universe

as a human or animal . These incarnat ions , or avatars , a re very

important in Indian mythology. Two of them—Rama a n d K r i s h n a —

are central characters in the great epics of Indian l i terature, theRamayanaand theMahabharata.tatafl

ShivaShiva i s revered as a god of opposi tes , and many Hindus be l ieve

him to be the t rue as pe ct of B rah m an . Shiva has m any di fferent

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The World of Indian Mythology

sides to him. He is usual ly

depic ted as a monk who has

given up earthly, material

desires. But he is also a god of

fertility and the lord of wild

dancing. He has a wife and

chi ldren he i s devoted to , pro

viding Hindus with the ideal

example of proper family l i fe ,

yet he is also the destroyer who

can wipe out the universe with a

g lance . He combines e lements o f

the mascu l ine and the femin ine .

For example , in h is guise as

Nataraja , the lord of the dance, he

wears one male ear r ing and one

female ear r ing .

T h e D e v a sThe other gods of Indian

mythology are not thought of as

aspec t s o f Brahman . They a re

c a l l e d devas ( sh in ing one s )

and inc lude many gods tha t were more impor tant dur ing the Vedic

per iod . Varuna i s a ce les t ia l god who guarantees the order of the

Surrounded by a circle of flame, thedestroyer god Shiva dances on the

back of a dwarf named Apasmara.Apasmara represents ignorance , andShiva crushes him to death duringhis dance.


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universe . Indra , the k ing of heaven and ru ler of the devas , i s a sky

god and warr ior who s t r ikes down his enemies wi th h is thunderbol t .

Yama, the god of the dead, ru les he l l , where the souls of the

wicked must wai t for the i r s ins to be burned away so they can be

reb orn . Agni is the god of f i re . Agni i s a spe cia l dev a be ca us e h is

s m o k e c a r r i e s w o r s h i p p e r s ' sacrifices—usually food o r incense—

to the other gods.

Another impor tan t deva i s Sh iva ' s son Ganesha . Ganesha has

the body o f a chubby man and the head o f an e lephan t . He i s the

god of suc ce ss and new un de r tak ing s and i s e sp ec ia l ly imp or tan t

t o m e r c h a n t s .

There a re many d i ffe ren t s to r i e s abou t how Ganesha go t h i s

e l e p h a n t ' s h e a d . A c c o r d i n g t o o n e , h i s m o t h e r, P a r v a t i , a s k e d t h e

p lane t Sa tu rn to babys i t Ganesha . Bu t the gaze o f the goddess o f

Saturn was so powerful that when she looked at the baby, his head

burst into f lames. Shiva was sent out with orders to cut the head off

of the f i r s t l iv ing th ing tha t he met and use i t to replace Ganesha ' s

h e a d . H e c a m e b a c k w i t h a n e l e p h a n t ' s h e a d , w h i c h p l e a s e d

Parva t i , and s ince then Ganesha has had h i s p resen t fo rm.

The wor ld tha t these gods inhab i t i s d iv ided in to th ree

reg ions , usua l ly ca l l ed the Three Wor lds triloka). Th es e a re thep h y s i c a l w o r l d bhur); the as t ra l wor ld , or the regio n of the s tar s

bhuvar); a n d h e a v e n swarga). Th e un de rw or l d , or he l l , i s pa r t of

the phys ica l wor ld . The un ive r se i s suppor ted by e igh t e l ephan t s

tha t s tand on the back of a grea t tur t le . This a l l impor tant , universe-

bea r ing tu r t l e i s an inca rna t ion o f Vishnu .

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T h e Wo r l d o f I n d i a n M y t h o l o g y

T h i s e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y m a n u s c r i p t i l l u s t ra t i o n d e p i c ts I n d i a nwomen praying to Ganesha , the e lephant-headed god of successa n d n e w u n d e r t a k i n g s .

Other De i t i e s andS u p e r n a t u r a l B e i n g s

The three major g o d s — B r a h m a , Vishnu , and Shiva—and the devas

are not the only supernatural beings in the world. Other gods,

known as the asuras, are evi l beings who oppose the devas and are

constant ly a t war wi th them. The asuras are ass is ted by demons

known as the rakshasas, who prey on hu m an be ings .

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Humans, too, can at tain supernatural power by fast ing, praying,

and medi ta t ing . Those who had done so to the point where they

perceived the ul t imate real i ty ( the oneness of al l things in Brahman)

were cal led rishis or sages. The rishis were the authors of the

Upanishads , which were composed over severa l centur ies , and they

had many powers. They could move freely among the Three Worlds,

of ten appear ing in a p lace as soon as someone summoned them wi th

a thought . They could make the gods themselves appear before them

and make them do the i r b idding. Rishis could a lso summon magica l

weapons of great power.

While the asuras were the enemies of the gods, they fol lowed the

same r i tua ls as the devas ; even evi l demons chanted the Vedas and

derived their power from them. The r ishis could use the power they

attained for both good and evil , and many of the gods feared the

r ish is because the r i sh is had become even more powerful than thegods themse lves .

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1T B ork tieWESOFLFOTHEEGO EKDISS

N D G O D D E S S E S

M st of the Indian myths you will read about in this book arederived from Hindu scripture. Specifically, they come from the

Puranas (a collection of hymns and stories), the Vedas, and the vast

collection of stories, poems, myths, and legends that make up the

world's longest epic, theMahabharata. These stories

continue to be told to this day

as part of Hindu rituals.

The following story from the

Puranas is one of the most famous

Indian myths. It contains some of themost important themes of Indian

mythology: Vishnu as the preserver of

the universe, Shiva's blue throat, the

war between the devas and the asuras,

and the idea that the devas' power is

fragile and that they require outsideassistance.

A sect ion of the Sr i BhagavataP ur an a , a Vedic t ex t , is r eco rded ont h i s n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y s c r o l l . I t i sw r i t t e n i n S a n s k r i t a n d i n c l u d e s

i l l u s t r a t i o n s o f H i n d u m y t h s .

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The Churn ing o f t he Ocean

Long ago, when the world was s t i l l new, the god Indra, the ruler of

heaven, insul ted a grea t sage , Durvasa . In turn , Durvasa cursed

Indra to weaken him. So holy was the great man that his curse

immedia te ly weakened a l l the gods , and the i r cont ro l over the wor ld

faded. Then the gods ' enemies , the asuras , ba t t led wi th them for

control of the universe.

Final ly, Indra and the o ther gods went to Vishnu, the grea tsustaining force of the universe. Vishnu real ized that he had to act

to res tore ba lance to the universe .

Tak e the se he rbs to the Milky Se a , sa id Vishn u, an d then

take the sacred mounta in Mandara and use i t to churn the ocean. I f

you do these things, you wil l create nectar, the water of l i fe , which

will restore your power. You will need the help of the asuras. Promisethem a taste of the nectar—I wi l l make sure they get none .

So the gods made an a l l iance wi th the i r enemies . They took the

grea t m oun ta in M and ara and wrap ped Vasuki , k ing of the serp en ts ,

around i t . Then, with the demons on one side and the gods on the

other, they churned the Milky Sea.

Many magica l th ings came out of the ocean, inc luding a poisondeadly enough to destroy the world. Shiva snatched i t up and drank

it , which is why his throat is blue to this day. Final ly, Dhanwantari

rose from the sea, holding in his hands a cup of the water of l ife and

the godde ss Laks hm i , be love d of Vishn u. Vishnu la ter m ad e

Lakshmi his wife.

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Stories of th e ods an d oddess t

Under the d i rec t ion of Vishnu, gods and demons churn the Milky Seaby wrapping Vasuki , k ing of the serpents , a round the wor ld ' s axis in th isn i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y p a i n t i n g .

The demons were fu r ious tha t Lakshmi was favor ing the gods ,so they stole the nectar. But Vishnu took on the form of a beautiful

woman and d i s t r ac ted the asuras long enough fo r h im to s t ea l

back the water of l i fe . When they drank i t , the gods fe l t the i r

power res tored , and they f reed the three wor lds f rom the ru le of

the d e m o n s .

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This first stoiy in this chapter is about Vishnu. The next s tory

is abo ut V ishn u in th e form of the b lu e god K ris hn a.

The Story of Kr ishnaKrishna ' s Bi r th and EscapeO nc e , long ago , the re was a wic ked k ing na m ed K an sa . H e h ad

s to len th e thr on e of h is k ing do m from his fa ther, who m he loc ke d

in a da rk p r i so n . Kan sa had a s i s t e r, D ev ak i , and he a r ra ng ed am ar r i ag e fo r he r wi th a ma n na m ed Va sudev a . Bu t jus t be fo re the

w ed ding , K an sa hea r d a t e r r ib le p ro ph ecy : the ch i ld of Devak i

and Vasudeva would k i l l h im.

Kansa was fur ious . But ra ther than k i l l h is s i s ter, he decided

to k i l l a l l he r ch i ld ren . He locked Vasudeva and Devak i in a ce l l

toge the r, and whenever they had a ch i ld , he would p ick up thebaby and throw i t on the ground. Each t ime he d id th is , the infant

wo uld va nis h in a f lash of l igh ten ing .

T h e e i g h t h c h i l d w a s n a m e d K r i s h n a , w h i c h m e a n s d a r k

o n e . When Kr i shna was born , Vasudeva hea rd a vo ice t e l l ing

him to car ry the chi ld to Gokul , across the Yamuna River. He

found the door to h is ce l l unlocked and h is guards as leep , so hewas able to escape f rom pr ison. As he waded across the r iver, i t

began to r i se up—the r ive r god recogn ized tha t Kr i shna was the

ava ta r of Vishn u an d wan te d to touch h im . K r i sh na s tuc k down

his l i t t le foot and the r iver immedia te ly par ted , a l lowing h is

fa ther to walk across to the o ther s ide .

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S t o r i e s o f t h e G o d s a n d G o d d e s s e s

K r i s h n a , a S p e c i a l C h i l d

Vasudeva lef t Krishna with Yashoda, the wife of a cowherd. Sheraised the chi ld as her own son. She knew nothing about his divini ty

or pa ren tage . The young Kr i shna was ve ry misch ievous . He used to

dance wi th the gopis, or m i lk m aid s , and he use d to s tea l bu t ter

from them and eat i t . But he also showed that he was a special l i t t le

boy. For example , the young Krishna to ld the people of h is v i l lage

that they should worship a mounta in , not Indra , in order to rece ivegood w eath er. Th is infuriated the king of he av en , so he sent rain s

for a full year to the village. But Krishna foiled Indra's plans, picking

up the mountain and holding i t over the town for the whole year to

shield it from the rain.

When he was e leven , Kr i shna and h i s b ro the r Ba la rama

returned to Mathura , Kansa ' s k ingdom. The evi l k ing had la id at rap for the young boys , chal lenging them to a wres t l ing compet i t ion

wi th h is two huge ch am pion s , Cha nu r and M us t ik . Whe n the boys

arr ived, however, a grea t e lephant charged them. (Kansa had no

intent io n of le t t ing them l ive .) Kr ish na lea pt up on the e le ph an t ' s

bac k and s t rangled i t. Th en C ha nu r and M ust ik a t ta ck ed the boy s ,

bu t Kr i shna k i l l ed Chanur, and Ba la rama k i l l ed Mus t ik . Kr i shnathe n grabb ed Ka nsa and threw him agains t a wa l l , k i l l ing h im .

Kr i shna l a t e r became the new k ing .

Kr i shna l a t e r mar r i ed 16 ,000 gop i s and severa l o the r women—

the num be r of m ar r i ages pe rha ps re f lec t ing the inc re d ib le boun ty

and good fortune tha t K r ishn a b r ing s . H e be ca m e the k ing of

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INDIAN MYTHOLOGY

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Dwarka , a mag ica l k ingdom tha t f loa ted on the

ocean. Later, he was also a very important figure

in the even t s desc r ibed in theMahabharata.ATR

Shiva ' s EyesSh iva ' s T h i r d E yeLike Vishnu, Shiva and his wife Parvati—also

cal led Devi—have their own sects of worshipperswho cons ider them to be the supreme dei ty.

Shiva is of ten depicted with a third eye in the

center of h is forehead. He got th is eye thanks

to his wife, in h er form of th e bea utifu l go dd es s

Um a, dau gh te r of the Him alaya M ounta ins . One

day whi le Shiva was deep in medi ta t ion , Umaplayful ly came up behind h im and p laced her

hands over h is eyes . Immedia te ly, the universe

was p lunged in to da rkness . Then , sudden ly,

there was a l ight . A third eye opened in the

m idd le of Shiv a 's foreh ead , an d f ire bu rst out

of i t , burning the Himalaya Mounta ins anddes t roying a l l the l iv ing th ings there . Uma

Krishna, the eight avatar of Vishnu, is viewed inIndian mythology as the supreme person and thehighes t god. He appears in th is e ighteenth-centuryi l lus tra ted m anu scr ip t surro und ed by wo me n and

strolling in a garden.

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removed her hands in shock, and Shiva c losed h is th i rd eye and

restored everything as i t was, for he was all-forgiving.

This popular myth shows Shiva in al l his aspects . He is the

divine ascet ic (hermit) , meditat ing alone without any thought of

wor ld ly p leasures . He i s a lso the devoted husband wi th a beaut i fu l

wife. At the same t ime, he is the terr i fying destroyer of the universe

as well as the gentle and good restorer of that universe. Shiva 's third

eye is a spir i tual eye, able to see through the i l lusion of the world

Shiva right) sits beside his loverUmasahitamurti in this twelfth- tofour teenth-century bronzx; sculpturefrom southern India.

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into the t rue real i ty. As an aspect of Brahman, Shiva is that world,

which i s why the un iv e r s e i s p lu ng ed in to da rkn es s when U ma

covers his eyes.

D e v o t i o n t o S h i v aShiva is said to be easy to please. Many of the other gods can only

be worshipped by the h igher cas tes , but anyone can worship Shiva

and touch h is images a t the temple . He rewards devot ion but has

been known to test i t severely. For example, there once was a low-cas te hun te r named Kannappa who was devo ted to Sh iva even

though he d id not know the proper r i tua ls . Kannappa regular ly

brought offer ings to an image of Shiva, so one day Shiva caused

blood to f low from one of the eyes in his image. Kannappa tr ied

everything to s top the bleeding but to no avai l . Final ly, he plucked

out one of his own eyes and put i t into the eye on the image, stopping

the blood immediately. Soon after this , Shiva made the image's other

eye b leed . Kannappa was about to gouge out h is o ther eye when

Shiva appeared to him, blessed him, and took him up to heaven.

These s tories have concentrated on the act ivi t ies of the gods. In

the next two chapters , we wi l l see how humans moved through the

Three Worlds in two of the greatest epics in world literature—the

Ramayana and theMahabharata ATA

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A T H ERAMAYANA,O R J O U R N E Y O F R A M A

h e Ramayanais a great epic of India. The form of the s toryOR

we know today emerged be tween 2 ,200 and 2 ,400 yea r s ago .

However, based on the as t ronomica l r e fe rences in the ep ic ,

some his tor ians be l ieve tha t the events in the s tory may have

taken place as many as 5 000 years ago. The Ramayana consistsof 24 ,000 l ines of poet ry in seven

books , o r kandas, an d is s t i l l re ad

and rec i ted today. Throughout the

grea t work , Rama represents

the idea l he ro , husband ,

and k ing. He i s s t i l lhe ld up as an example

of how to live a good

life as well as how to

follow the rules of

d h a r m a , the divine law

of the universe .

Ravana, the ten-headed king ofLanka, is the principal antagonistof the epic Ramayana.

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The Ramayana, or Jou rne y of Rama

Long ago, says the sage Valmiki at the s tar t of theRamayana,NA.

in the nor th of Ind ia th er e was a grea t k ing dom ca l led K os ha la .

The capi ta l c i ty of the k ingdom was Ayodhya, and i t was the

grea tes t c i ty in the wor ld . I t s k ing , Dasara tha , was the wises t

ru ler and s t ronges t warr ior in the wor ld . He had been k ing for a

long t ime and had made h i s peop le ve ry happy, bu t one th ing

troubled him: he had no son to be his heir. He began a great r i tual

ca l led the horse sacr i f ice in the hope tha t the gods would hear h is

prayer for a son.At tha t very moment , the gods themselves were t roubled and

were meet ing in Indra ' s heaven. A ter r ib le demon named Ravana

was oppressing the earth. From his great ci ty of Lanka, Ravana and

his demon army had spread out across the world, ki l l ing and eat ing

innocent people . Yet the gods could do nothing to s top h im because ,

in a mom ent of we akn ess , Brahm a had m ade R avan a imm une fromthe a t tack of both gods and demons .

Vish nu, he arin g of the confusion an d an gu ish of the go ds,

app eare d before them , saying tha t he knew how to des t roy Ra van a:

What the gods cannot do , a human may cer ta in ly do .

B ut , they sa id , wh a t hu m an can hop e to de fea t suc h a

powerful demon as Ravana? He has ten heads and twenty arms andknows many powerful spe l l s .

I myself wil l be co m e that h um an , said V ishnu. In a f lash he

vanished and appeared to Dasara tha in the mids t of a grea t bonf i re .

Tak e th is , 0 k ing , he sa id , offer ing some r ice pu dd ing . Giv e it

to you r w ives , an d your wish will be fulfil led.

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The Ramayana, or Jou rney of Rama

The B i r t h o f Rama

D as ara tha had th ree wive s. To his favo ri te ,Kaushalya , he gave hal f the pudding, and she

gave bir th to a son named Rama. A third of the

pudding went to Kaikeyi , Dasara tha ' s younges t

wife, who gave bir th to a son named Bharata.

The rest of the pudding went to Sumitra , who

bore twins , Lakshmana and Sa t rughana . Thesesons al l shared some of Vishnu's divine power,

but only Rama was Vishnu's t rue avatar.

Of a l l the sons , Rama and Lakshmana were

were practicall inseparable . YINGEPARAKE

When they were s ix teen , a g rea t sage came

and took them in to the fores t , where he taughtthem how to k i l l demons and use magica l

weapons made by the gods . On the i r way

home, they s topped in the c i ty ru led by King

Janaka . The k ing ' s daughter, S i ta , was about to

choose a hu sb an d from the su i to r s ga th e red

around the pa lace . The man she chose had tobelonged to Shiva. BOWTHATONGEKDTOSHIV

As i t happened, no man was able to l i f t the bow,

Rama, su r rounded by k ings and ho ly men , p reparesto str ing the bow in order to win Sita 's hand inmar r i age in th i s manusc r ip t i l lu s t r a t ion o f a scenefrom the Ramayana.

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D h a r m a a n d K a r m a

D h a r m a a n d k a r m a a r e t w o c e n t r a l c o n c e p t s o fH i n d u i s m . D h a r m a i s m o r a l l a w o r d u t y. O n e w a y o f

u n d e r s t a n d i n g d h a r m a i s t o s e e i t a s a c o d e of p r o p e r

b e h a v i o r. B u t d h a r m a i s m o r e t h a n j u s t a s e t o f r u l e s t o

b e a g o o d p e r s o n ; it i s t h e f u n d a m e n t a l l a w t h a t b i n d s

t h e u n i v e r s e t o g e th e r. To g o a g a i n s t d h a r m a i s t o d e fy t h e

u n i v e r s e . To f o l lo w i t i s t o b e i n h a r m o n y w i t h a l l t h i n g s .

K a r m a , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , i s t h e s u m o f a l l a p e r s o n ' s

>. I n I n d i a n belief ka rm a ex te nds in to a pe r so n ' s pa s tPAST

is. Th e good fo r t un e a pe r so n has in th e p r es en t l if e DE

resu l t s f rom good ac t s in a p rev ious l i f e t ime . L ikewise , the

suffe r ing in th i s l if e i s cau sed by mi sd ee ds in an ea r l i e r

ex i s t en ce . T he way to ge t good ka rm a i s to fo llow d h a rm a .

The u l t imate goal of fo l lowing dharma is to f ree one ' s se l ff rom sam sara , th e co n t i nu ou s cycle o f b i r th , dea th , a nd

reb i r th . By e ras in g the deb t s o f ka rm a , a pe r so n ca n ach ieve

m ok sha , o r sa lva t ion , f r eedom f rom sam sara .

This sculpture depic tsone of the incidents oft empta t ion exper ienced

by Buddha, a lso knownas Sidd hartha Gau tama ,the ninth avatar ofVishnu. Buddha wastempted by Maara , apersonif icat ion of evi land death , akin toChrist iani ty 's Satan.

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The Ramayana or Journey of Rama

le t a lone str ing i t . But then Rama had his turn. He easi ly picked i t

u p , bending i t so far that i t snapped in half. S i ta then marr ied the

handsome pr ince , and they were very much in love .

Rama's Ex i l eRather than wa i t un t i l h i s own dea th , King Dasa ra tha dec ided to

s tep down and hand over the k ingdom to Rama, whom the peop le

loved . Bu t a ma id overheard these p lans and to ld Queen Ka ikey i .Th i s made the queen a f ra id tha t he r own son , Bhara ta , would be

lef t wi th out a p l ac e in the k in gd om . In te ar s , K aike yi ran to

Dasara tha , who p romised to g ive he r any th ing i f she would

s top cry ing.

"Then you must c rown Bhara ta k ing , and exi le Rama," she sa id .

Da sa ra tha was c ru she d ; he cou ld no t go bac k on h i s word—but how could he banish h is be loved son? Dasara tha lay in

an gu ish a l l n igh t , but in the end , he ba ni sh ed R am a to the fores t

for four teen years . Rama, who a lways d id anything h is fa ther

ask ed , de c id ed to l eave imm edia te ly. He p lann ed to l eave a lo ne ,

but S i ta would not be separa ted f rom him. Lakshmana, too , begged

to acc om pan y h i s b ro the r.King Dasa ra tha was so d i s t r e ssed by wha t had happened tha t

he d ied the n ight Rama went in to the fores t . When Bhara ta , who

had b een h un t ing in the mo un ta in s , re tu rne d to f ind out what h ad

ha pp en ed , he curse d h i s m other and re fused to be k ing . H e the n

put one of Rama's sandals on the throne and ret i red to a l i t t le hut

to await his brother 's return.

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Ravana S t ea l s S i t a

Si ta , Rama, and Lakshmana l ived together in the fores t and were

happy. Before long, though, the demon Ravana heard of Si ta 's

beauty and hatched a p lan . He had one of h is demons take on the

form of a golden deer and appear to the three . When Rama and

Lakshmana went off to chase i t , Ravana h imsel f came to Si ta ' s hut

in the form of a hermit . Before she real ized who he was, Ravana

snatched her up and f lew through the air back to his ci ty of Lanka.Rama and Lakshmana took off in pursui t , but they had no trai l

to follow. In the m ou nta ins the y met a great mo nke y na m ed Sug riva.

He offered to help Rama search for Si ta i f Rama would help Sugriva

regain h is monkey kingdom. Rama agreed, and together they

re turned Sugr iva to the throne .

The Sea rch fo r S i t aSince Rama had helped Sugr iva , an a l l iance of monkeys and bears

gathered and searched everywhere for Si ta . One par t icular ly c lever

m onke y was H an um an , the son of the wind god. He lea rne d tha t

Lanka was located far away, across the ocean (on the is land we cal lSr i Lanka today) . Summoning a l l h is s t rength , he leapt across the

ocean and l anded in Lanka . Hanuman found S i t a in a g rove ,

s u r r o u n d e d b y m a n y f i e r c e r a k s h a s a s . H e t o l d h e r R a m a w a s

coming, and she gave h im a pear l to br ing back so tha t Rama could

be sure that it wa s his wife that H a nu m an had m et .

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An e igh te en th -cen tu ry pa in t ing d i sp lays the jo in in g of Rama and S itafo l lowing his successful comple t ion of the bow-s t r inging chal lenge . Manymyths and folktales involve a set of tasks and challenges that must beperformed before a marr iage can be a l lowed to go forward .

Hanuman then to re down the g rove . Demons came , and he l e t

h imsel f be captured in order to meet Ravana and te l l h im to surrender. Ravana pun i shed the monkey by se t t ing h i s t a i l on f i r e .

But Agni , the f i re god, kept Hanuman f rom being hur t by the

f lam es . H an um an ju m p ed from rooftop to roof top unt i l a l l of Lan ka

was on f i re . Then he leapt back over the ocean to te l l Rama where

to find Sit a.

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INDIAN MYTHOLOGY

• ;>

Rama bat t les the ten-headed king of Lanka, Ravana, in th is n ineteenth-century pain t ing on paper. Ravana had abducted Rama's wife , S i ta . Inretal iat ion, Rama kil led al l of Ravana's sons and soldiers , and eventual ly

Ravana h imsel f wi th an ar row through the hear t .

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T h e W ar w i t h R a v a n a

The army of bea rs and mo nkeys followed H an um an and R am a to theseashore . With the he lp of the ocean god, they bui l t a br idge

to Lanka .

For days , Rama and h is monkeys and bears fought agains t the

demons . Rama ki l led a l l of Ravana ' s sons and most of h is brothers .

However, many in Rama's army died as well . So Hanuman f lew off

to the H im alay a M oun ta ins to f ind a m agica l herb tha t could br ingthem back to l i fe . Unable to f ind the plant in the darkness, he

pulled off the whole top of the mountain where the plant grew. Then

he f lew back to heal al l the fal len monkeys and bears .

Final ly, Ravana himself came out . He and Rama fought , each

one sending showers of arrows at the other unt i l , f inal ly, Rama shot

the demon in the hear t .Although Rama knew Sita has been fai thful to him, he rejected

he r be ca us e he could not have he r as h is que en if pe ople though t

she had g iven in to Ra van a ' s de s i re s . To prove tha t she had be en

t rue , S i ta ju m pe d in to a bonf i re . W he n she em erged un hu r t , R am a

embraced her and the two re turned to Ayodhya in t r iumph. Rama

reigned for 11,000 years . He la ter waded in to the holy r iver Gangesand returned to heaven as Vishnu, the Lord of the World.

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T H E M H B H R T

h e Mahabharata which can be t rans la ted as "grea t stoiy ofotf

India," is the nat ional epic. I t is a t t r ibuted to the sage Vyasa,

who is also a major character in the poem. T he Mahabharata is

1 0 0 , 0 0 0 s t a n z a s l o n g , o r e i g h t t i m e s l o n g e r t h a n T h e I l i a d a n d

The Odyssey put together. It contains many different parts

inc luding legends , s tor ies , and myths , some of which you have

al ready read about . I t a l so conta ins

instruct ions for how to worship the gods

and a guidebook for kings to rule their

kingdoms well . But at the heart of the

Mahabharata is the story of the feudbe tween the Pandavas and the Kauravas ,

two branches of the same family. To do

just ice to the s tory one would need a

book much longer than the one you

have in your hands. The fol lowing is

but a brief summary of themain plot of the story.

Vyasa si ts on an antelopeskin whi le speaking toNarada, messenger ofthe gods.


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T h eMahabharataataq

T h e P a n d a v a s a n d t h e Kauravas

A king na m ed P an du was suffering un de r a te r r ib le curse be ca us ehe accidental ly ki l led a great r ishi and his wife. The curse s t ipulated

that Pandu would d ie immedia te ly i f he ever had chi ldren . He was

sad because he would have no hei rs , and for Indians , having a son

is one of the most important things in l i fe . Fortunately, his elder

wife, Kunthi , knew a magic spel l that al lowed her to get pregnant by

the gods . She bore three sons : Yudhis th i ra , the jus t , whose fa therwas Yama, the benevolent god of the dead; Arjuna, the great warr ior,

whose fa ther was Indra , the ru ler of heaven; and Bhima, the

strongest man in the world, fathered by Vayu, the god of wind.

Meanwhi le , Pandu 's b l ind o lder brother, Dhr i ta rasht ra , had 100

magica l sons . The f i r s tborn of these , Duryodhana, was wicked. He

hated his cousins, the f ive sons of Pandu, who were cal led the

Pandavas ( three sons bore by Kunthi , and twins by Pandu 's o ther

wife Madr i ) . Af ter Pandu died , Dhr i ta rasht ra ra ised the Pandavas as

his own sons. But Duiyodhana cont inual ly sch em ed to m ak e h is

branch of the family—known as the sons of Kuru, cal led the

Kauravas—superior to them in every way.

Duryodhana's P lo tThe Kauravas and the Pandavas were t ra ined to be grea t warr iors by

Drona, a master of magic weapons . One day, Drona to ld them that

their t raining was over. To pay his fee, they had to at tack a king

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T h e f iv e b r o t h e r s k n o w n a s t h e P a n d a v a s w a l k w i t h t h e i r w i f e, P r i n c e s sD r a u p a d i , to M e r u , t h e h o m e o f t h e H i n d u g o d s .

named Drupada. King Drupada and Drona had grown up together.

However, a f te r becoming king, Drupada spurned Drona as infer ior.

Bo th the Kauravas and the Pandavas a t t acked Drupada , wi th thePandavas succeed ing when the Kauravas fa i l ed . Drona became k ing

of ha l f the k ingdom, and Drupada swore revenge.

Humil ia ted by h is enemy's v ic tory in ba t t le , Duryodhana

decided to get r id of the Pandavas once and for al l . He had his

father send them to the ci ty of Varanavata to rule over i t . Then he

plot ted to ki l l them and their mother, Kunthi . Fortunately for them,

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T h eMahabharataata

the i r uncle Vidura warned them of the p lo t , and they escaped and

went in to h id ing as beggar ly Brahmins .

One day, they heard tha t pr incess Draupadi , daughter of KingD rupa da, was to choo se her fu ture hu sb an d. Th e Pa nd av as ente red

the conte st , with Arjun a w innin g the ha nd of the beautiful gir l .

Around this t ime, Krishna, the king of Dwarka and avatar of Vishnu,

be ca m e a fast friend of Arju na .

T h e G a m b l i n g M a t c hDhritarashtra heard that the Pandavas were in hiding, so he invi ted

them back to his kingdom. He then gave them their own lands to

rule, making sure this realm was an inhospitable desert . Despite this ,

the Pandavas ' c i ty, Indrapras tha , became the envy of a l l the c i t ies

of the world. So Duryodhana again schemed to bring them down.Yud histhira was a jus t and wise king , but he had o ne w ea kn ess : he

loved to gamble, even though he was not good at i t . Duryodhana

chal lenged him to a game, and Duryodhana 's uncle Sakuni , who had a

pair of magic dice, won every game. Yudhisthira lost his entire kingdom

and al l his wealth. He and his brothers even lost their f reedom.

D h r i t a r a s h t r a e v e n t u a l l y g r a n t e d D r a u p a d i ' s w i s h t o r e s t o r ea l l tha t the Pandavas had los t . Duryodhana was no t f in i shed ,

however. H e aga in cha l l en ge d Yu dhis th i ra to a gam bl ing m atc h ,

and Yudhis th i ra cou ld no t r e fuse the reques t . When he los t aga in ,

he and h is fe l low Pandavas went in to exi le for th i r teen years .

Eventual ly, the Kauravas regret ted what they had done, for they knew

the Pandavas would take the i r revenge as soon as the exi le ended.

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•rding t o H i n d u belief the wor ld i s c rea te d an d des t royed yued

.„h day. For tunate ly, the day i s not one of our days , but a a

d a y o f B r a h m a n , t h e c r e a t o r a n d s o u l o f t h e u n i v e r s e .

E a c h d a y o f B r a h m a n l a s t s a n u n b e l i e v a b l y l o n g t i m e :

4 ,320,000,000 ye ars At th e en d of th e day, th e wor ld i s

oyed and l ies in chaos for a n ight tha t las ts as long as ngas

t h e d a y. A t t h e e n d of t h e n i g h t , B r a h m a n t a k e s o n t h eLS o f B r a h m a , V i s h n u , a n d S h i v a a n d r e c r e a t e s t h e a ftee

e. T hi s cycle i s ca l led t h e kalpa a n d is div ide d in to edingto

t h e r p a r t s . T h e r e a r e f o u r t e e n m a n v a n t a r a s d u r i n g e a c h j

:alpa; a t t h e e n d o f t h e m a n v a n t a r a , t h e w o r l d i s d r o w n e d d

i a f lo o d. I n e a c h m a n v a n t a r a , a g r e a t t e a c h e r, t h e M a n u uu

m e rg e s t o s t a r t t h e h u m a n r a c e o v e r a g a i n , t e a c h i n g a n d . d

n l i g h t e n i n g p e o p l e . . . re ka lp a i s a lso d iv ide d in to 1 ,000 y ug a cycles . T h er e e

par ts to each yuga: the Satya yuga, when humans are masdner

j i r m o s t s p i r i t u a l a n d wdiich l a s t s 1 728 000 years; the thehe

Tr e t a y u g a , a n a g e o f m e n t a l a c c o m p l i s h m e n t t h a t l a s t s

1 296 000 years ; th e Dvapa ra yuga , an age of grea t i nv en t io ns

th at las ts 864,000 years ; a n d th e pre se n t yug a , th e Kal i yug a ,

w h e n p e o p l e a r e f o c u s e d o n m e r e s u r v i v a l a n d c a n n o t

pe rce ive the sp i r i tua l wor ld eas i ly. The Ka l i yuga l a s t s

432,000 years ; ours began in 3100 BC.

Trad i t ions say tha t the even t s o f the Ramayanatookloe

p lace in the Tre ta yuga , whi le those o f the Mahabharata

t o o k p l a c e in t h e D v a p a r a y u g a . W h i l e m o d e r n I n d i a n

5

TheeKafllpkljid.


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T h e Mahabharata

tists an d h i s t o r i a ns do no t t ake thes e num be rs l i t e ra l ly ally

even t s o f the Ramayana a re th ou gh t to have t ak en kend

l a c e p e r h a p s a s m a n y a s 5 000 y e a r s a g o ) , t h e k a l p a a n dd

tmga cy c le s r e m a i n i m p o r t a n t p a r t s of I n d i a n a s t r o lo g yy

n d H i n d u belief.g

T h e MahabharataWarwasSo i t was. After hiding for the appointed t ime, the Pandavas

regrouped and summoned up a grea t a rmy. They marched on the

Kauravas , who gathered the i r own army, and the two s ides met on

the f ield of Kurukshetra . On the eve of the bat t le , Arjuna lost heart

because so many men were about to d ie . But Kr ishna , who wasArjuna ' s char io teer, de l ivered a grea t speech, reveal ing h is na ture

as Vishnu and expla in ing how the universe works . (This explanat ion

makes up the text of the classic Bhagavad Gita , one of the great

works of Indian rel igious l i terature.)

The ensuing bat t le las ted e ighteen days , and many men died on

both s ides . The Pandavas had many obs tac les to overcome. Fi rs t ,the i r grea t -uncle Bhishma fought agains t them. Final ly, the

Pandavas were able to para lyze h im when Arjuna f i l led h im wi th so

many arrows that he lay on them l ike a bed. (In a later sect ion of the

Mahabharata Yudhisthira meets with the dying Bhishma and learns

much about how to be a good king. ) Bhishma was succeeded by

Drona, the i r o ld weaponsmaster, who wanted to s tay neut ra l but


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The Mahabharata

ended up f ight ing for the Kauravas because h is

son, Aswathma, was a f r iend of Duryodhana.

None of the Pan da va s could defea t Drona,ei ther, so they resorted to t r ickery. Yudhisthira

was known to be honest , so he shouted out that

Aswathma, Drona ' s son , had been k i l l ed .

Actually, i t was an elephant of that name that had

d ied , bu t Yu dhis th i ra sa id the word e le ph an t

so soft ly that Drona could not hear i t . Dronalos t hear t and was k i l led by Drupada ' s son ,

D h r i s h t a d y u m n a .

Af te r t he War

In the end, Duryodhana was one of only a fewwarriors lef t on the Kauravas ' s ide. Yudhisthira ,

who cou ld nev er res is t gam bl in g , offered h im

one las t chance: f ight agains t any one of the

Pandavas, and the winner would get the kingdom.

Bhima and Duryodhana fough t , and Bhima won

only by t reacherous ly h i t t ing Duryodhana in theth igh, a ta rget tha t was normal ly cons idered off

Krishna and the reluctant Arjuna head into bat t leagainst the Kauravas, the sons of Dhri tarashtra.Arjuna was a master archer and the third of the f ivePandava brothers who were so hated by the Kauravas.

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l imi t s . Even in dy ing , Duryodhana was de f i an t , u rg ing the few

surv iv in g m em be rs of the Ka ura va s to co n t in ue f igh t ing th e

P a n d a v a s .

Six m il l ion m en died in the ba t t le , an d only a hand ful surviv ed.

Afterward , the Pandavas ru led the k ingdom in peace . Kr ishna d ied

years later in a forest , accidental ly ki l led by a hunter while he sat

medi ta t ing . Af ter Kr ishna ' s dea th , h is k ingdom of Dwarka sank in to

the ocean. After thir ty-six years , the Pandavas and Draupadi set off

for heaven. All of them died on the way except for Yudhisthira , whoarr ived wi th a dog in h is hands . The gatekeeper of heaven to ld h im

to leave the dog behind, but he refused. The dog then turned out to

have been the god Dharma.

As a final test from the gods, who wanted to see if Yudhisthira

was t ruly worthy of enter ing heaven, Yudhisthira was made to see

only the Kauravas when he ar r ived in heaven. His brothers andDraupadi were in he l l , he was to ld . Without hes i ta t ing , Yudhis th i ra

asked to be sent to hel l as well . At that point , he was reunited with

his family in heaven, and there the Mahabharata ends .

In Conc lus ionIndian mythology i s unl ike many other wor ld mythologies because

even now it continues to be seen as a l iving, breathing, sti l l-developing

ent i ty and an eve ryday sou rce of re l ig ious inspi ra t ion . Throu ghout

the Hindu wor ld , people s t i l l learn about Rama and Arjuna .

Chi ldren s t i l l laugh a t the merry ant ics of Hanuman and dream

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The Mahabharata

Hindus ce lebra te the Holi festival, a festival of color. During the festivities,celebrants cover themselves in dyed water and brightly colored powder. Thefest ival , associated with Krishna, celebrates the arr ival of spring.

about K r ishna ' s dan ce s wi th the gopis . They a lso cont inue to t rem ble

at the evi l deeds of Ravana and Kansa .

While the Mahabharata and the Ramayana are still not widely

read outside of India, they are nonetheless recognized as classics of

world li terature, deeply inspirational stories that offer valuable ethical

lessons as well as thr i l l ing s tories of gods, goddesses, and human

heroes and heroines. Entering into the world of Indian mythology is a

richly rewarding experience, one that will provide readers with a rich,

fascinating , my steriou s, m agical store of l i terary and cultura l trea sur es .

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GLOSSARY

a tman Th e soul or bre a th of the univ erse , ident i f ied wi th B rah m an.

a v a t a r From the San skr i t for de sc en t , an ear th ly incarn at ion of a

Hindu god.

B r a h m a H ind u god; the crea tor asp ect of Bra hm an.

B r a h m a n Th e crea tor god, the sou l of the un ive rse who is one with

al l things.

B r a h m i n s M em ber s of the priest ly cast e in India .c a s t e O ne of the clas ses or divis io ns in Ind ian society.

d h a r m a Th e bas ic pr inc ip les of na tu re and d iv ine law in H ind uism .

e p ic A long poem tha t ce leb ra tes he ro ic deed s .

G a n e s h a Th e e le ph an t -he ad ed god of prospe r i ty ; the son of Shiva

and Parvat i .

H i n d i O ne of the major lan gu ag es of m od ern In dia .H i n d u On e who be l iev es in the divin e law of dh arm a; general ly, a

person from India.

H i n d u u s h A region of h igh m oun ta ins be tw een m ode rn-da y

Pakis tan and Afghanis tan .

i n c a r n a t i o n A hu m an or anim al form tak en by a god.

I n d o A r y a n s Pe op le from the region of m od ern -da y Iran whomoved in to nor thwestern India approximate ly 4 ,000 years ago.

k a r m a Th e sum of al l a pe rson 's ac ts in pa st , pre se nt , and future

lives; the effects of these acts and the way they create or determine

pas t , present , and fu ture .

K r i s h n a A key av atar of V ishn u.

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F O R M O R E INFORMATION

Amer ican Hindu Assoc ia t ionP.O. Box 55405

M a d i s o n , WI 5 3 7 0 5

Web s i te : h t tp : / /www.amer icanh indu .ne t

Asia Socie ty and Museum

725 Park AvenueNew York, NY 10021

(212) 288-6400

Web s i te : ht tp: / /www.asiasociety.org

Indian Counci l for Cul tura l Rela t ions

# 26 /3B , Sankey RoadBanga lo re 560 052

K a r n a t a k a

India

Web s i te : h t tp : / /www.educa t ion .vsn l . com/ icc r

Indo American Society5 D. Su kha dw ala M arg

For t Mumbai 400 001

India

E-mai l : indam@vsnl . com

Web s i te : h t tp : / /www.indoamer icansocie ty.org

58

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F o r M o r e I n f o r m a t i o n

South Asia Center

University of Pennsylvania

820 Williams Hall36th and Spruce Streets

Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

(215) 898-7475

Web site: http://www.southasiacenter.upenn.edu/index.htm

Web Si tesDue to the changing nature of Internet links, Rosen Publishing has

developed an online list of Web sites related to the subject of this

book. This site is updated regularly. Please use this link to access

the list:

http://www.rosenlinks.com/maw/indi

59

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F O R F U RT H E R READING

Danie lou , Ala in . The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on

Hindu Polytheism (Pr inceton Bol l ingen Ser ies) . Ro ches ter, VT:

Inner Trad i t ions , 1991 .

Dev i , Vanamal i . The Play of God: Visions of the Life of Krishna.

San Diego, CA: Blue Dove Press , 1995.

Jaffrey, Madhur. Seasons of Splendour: Tales Myths and Legends of

India. New York , NY: A the ne um , 198 5 .Novesky, Amy, and Belgin K. Wedman. Elephan t Prince: The S tory

of Ganesh. San Rafae l , CA: Manda la Pub l i sh ing , 2004 .

Pa t t ana ik , Devdu t t . ndian Mythology: Tales from the Heart of the

Subcontinent.Roches ter, VT: Inner Tradi t ions , 2003.3 . .

Wangu, Madhu Bazaz . Hinduism.New York, NY: Facts on Fi le , 1991. 1

Fred Ramen Indian Mythology

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