Hindu Mythology

Hindu Mythology is based myths, stories and legends found in many Hindu narratives.

A single myth can have a number of different versions. While some may have some historical meaning, others are symbolic or have a deeper meaning and can be interpreted in various ways.

Myths and legends

Origin

First of all, Hindu mythology is believed to have come from the ancient Vedic religion originally. The Vedic myths and Hindu beliefs are indelibly linked.

The Vedas are:

  • Samaveda,
  • Atharvaveda,
  • Rigveda
  • Yajurveda.

Many of the myths are found in the Sanskrit epics as well as the Puranas.

These myths and legends tell the stories of the various Hindu gods. the origin of the world, the adventures of various heroes, heroines, gods and goddesses as well as some mythological beasts.

The Creation

There are more than one myths detailing the creation.
  • One being the tale of earth as a cosmic egg in the Rigveda.
  • The other tells of earth and everything else made from the mangled limbs of Purusha. Who had been sacrificed by the gods as was a non-natural man.
  • In a third story, the god Vishnu jumps in to the cosmic waters in the shape of a boar and brings forth the earth. In the Shatapatha Brahmana, Prajapati, the first father was all alone. He split himself in to 2 persons, a male and a female.
 
The wife runs away and hides herself as various animals, he follows, becoming the male of each type of animal and in this way, all animals were created. In the Puranas, Vishnu was the first being and he thought about creation and Brahma came from a lotus out of Vishnu’s navel.
 
The universe was then said to be created by Brahma. Vishnu keeps it preserved and Shiva (Maheshvara) destroys it again, beginning the cycle anew.

Worlds

In Hinduism there are 14 worlds:

  • There are 7 heavens (upper worlds). Earth forms the lowest level of the 7 heavens.
  • And 7 underworlds.

The 7 higher worlds are:

  • Bhuloka (Earth),
  • Bhuvarloka,
  • Svarloka,
  • Maharloka,
  • Janarloka,
  • Tapoloka
  • and Satyaloka

While the seven underworlds are known as:

  • Atala,
  • Vitala,
  • Sutala,
  • Talatala,
  • Mahatala,
  • Rasatala and
  • Patala.

When you die, you are judged by Lord Yama or yamaduts. Then you go to one of the worlds in an appropriate body. The soul returns to earth and is reborn once it’s time. It is done in that specific world to repeat the cycle until you have reached a state of supreme salvation and can enter in to swarga (uppermost heaven).

The main gods

Vishnu was a solar deity in the Rigveda but becomes the creator in the Hindu Triad which consists of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. In myths he is the giver of grace and restores righteousness.
 
He is also the protector of life and appears as various avatars on earth:
  • Matsya (the fish),
  • Kurma (the tortoise),
  • Varaha (the boar),
  • Vamana (the dwarf),
  • Narasimha (half man half lion),
  • Kalki (on a horse, ends time),
  • Rama (lovely moon),
  • Krishna (god of compassion and love),
  • Balarama (god related to farming),
  • Parashurama (god of retribution and equilibrium).
Shiva is a supreme deity and is the god of destruction. It is also known as Rudra (the wild god). The myths tell of sacrifices, love and retribution as well as erotic love and the opposite side of the coin, restraint. Devi is the wife of Shiva, also known as Parvati and embodies power and strength for her partner. She is also known as the mother goddess or Mahadevi and is equal to Shiva.
 
In some myths she is the buffalo demon Mahisha who destroys evil when she is in her aggressive form known as Durga. She is also portrayed as Chumunda or Kali who prevents the demon Raktabija from creating more demons from drops of blood.

Other gods of importance (Devatas)

Besides the gods Vishnu, Durga (Devi) and Shiva, there were many other gods also worshiped. Brahma was fairly important in the late Vedic periods.

Thirty three other gods (the Tridasha) made up of 12 Adityas, 11 Rudras, 8 Vasus and 2 Ashvins are mentioned in the Rigveda. Some of these devatas were associated with specific functions or elements such as rain, water, death, precious metals, sun, fire, wind and the moon.

Lakshmi is the goddess of blessings and luck and the wife of Vishnu. While Sarasvati is the goddess of music, art and writing and the wife of Brahma.
Ganesh, the elephant god (depicted as a man with the head of an elephant) comes in as the son of the god Shiva and his wife Parvati and he appears in numerous Hindu myths as well as various other religions.

Spirits and demigods

There are main gods and secondary gods that come up in Hindu mythology. But besides these, there are many spirits and demigods that also have their place in the traditional stories.

Some of the ones that come up regularly are:

  • the Nagas (snake spirits who are human but have snake tails),
  • the Gandharvas (Indra’s heavenly musicians),
  • Yakshas (fairy or gnome like spirits),
  • Vidyadharas (magicians),
  • Rishis (seers/composers),
  • Asuras (evil spirits)
  • and the Pisachas who haunt the fields of battle.

Spiritual wars

In the myths there are twelve battles between the Asuras and the gods for control of the three worlds:

  • (Martya or earth,
  • Patala the underworld
  • and Svarga or heaven).

The gods wielded all sorts of weapons such as daggers, swords, spears, bows, clubs and maces. As well as more divine weapons such as thunderbolts, a discus, a trident and magical astras that rain down snakes, set enemies alight, invoke floods and put out flames. Other specialized weaponry includes divine armor, helmets, crowns, jewelry and staffs.

The tale of the flood

A common myth in many religions is the tale of the great flood (deluge) and of a person who is warned that the flood is coming.

In the Hindu myth this is Manu who is protected by Vishnu manifesting as his fish avatar, along with the animals and plants and saves him from drowning in the flood. All humans are said to be descendants of Manu (Manavas).

In Sanskrit Krishna means ‘blue skinned’. He is depicted in most artwork as having a blue tinged skin.  The rivers Ganges, Saraswati and Yamuna are all personified in the Hindu myths as goddesses.

In this section are descriptions of Hindu Mythologies and mythological beings described in the encyclopedia.

The following articles are presented:

Abhijit
Aditi
Aditya
Agni
Aryaman
Astamatara
Balarama
Bali
Bhaga
Bhima
Brahma
Brahman
Buddhi
Camunda
Chaya
Daksa
Danu
Daya
Devaki
Devasena
Devi
Dhanistha
Dhara
Dharani
Dharma
Dhruva
Dhumavati
Diksa
Disa
Diti
Durga
Dyaus Pitar
Ganesa
Ganga
Hansa
Hanuman
Hardual
Hari
Hariti
Hasta
Hayagriva
Himavan

Hindu Gods
Indra
Isa
Kalanemi
Kali
Kali Ma
Karttikeya
Karttiki
Kasyapa
Kaumari
Krishna
Laksmi
Mahadeva
Maha-Ganapati
Maha-Nile-Sarasvati
Mahavidyas
Manu
Mariyamman
Mata
Matara
Matarisvan
Mena
Mitra
Mithra
Naksatras
Nara
Narasinha
Narasinhi
Narayana
Navadurgas
Navashaktis
Nergal
Parvati
Phul Mata
Pitari
Piyusaharana
Prabhasa
Pracanda
Prajapati
Prasuti
Prthivi
Prthu
Pusan
Rohini
Rsabha
Rudra
Rudracantra
Rudracarcika
Rudrani
Sani
Sanjna
Santana
Saptamatara
Sarasvati
Sati
Shiva
Siddhi
Skanda
Soma
Surya
Surya
Tvastar
Ugar
Uma
Vac
Valli
Varuna
Vasudeva
Vasus
Vasyu
Vata
Vaya
Vishnu
Visvakarman
Vrtra
Yama

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