1. Hindu Mythology Trivia
2. Hindu Mythology All About Myths Myth
3. Hindu Mythology Pdf

The roots of mythology that evolved from classical Hinduism come from the times of the Vedic civilization, from the ancient Vedic religion. The four Vedas, notably the hymns of the Rigveda, contain. Hindu Mythology. List of festival, famous temple, vrat katha, devotional story. Hanumangadh, hariyana, hindu, history and story of jaharveer googaji, jagran.

THE earliest record of Indian mythology is contained in the Ṛgveda, or 'Hymn Veda,' a series of ten books of hymns celebrating the chief Vedic gods. The exact motives of the collection are uncertain, but it is clear that in large measure the hymns represent those used in the Soma sacrifice, which formed a most important part of the worship of the gods in the ritual of the subsequent period. It is now recognized that the religion and mythology contained in this collection are not primitive in character and that they represent the result of a long period of development of sacred poetry. Thus it is that the gods who form the subject of this poetry often appear obscure in character, though in the great majority of cases it is clear that the myths related of them refer to physical happenings. The date of the Ṛgveda is much disputed and admits of no definite determination; it may be doubted whether the oldest poetry contained in it is much earlier than 1200 B.C., but it is not probable that it was composed later than 800 B.C., even in its most recent portions.

Both in its mythology and in its composition the Ṛgveda is clearly older than the other three Vedas, the Sāmaveda, the Yajurveda, and the Atharvaveda—the 'Chant Veda,' the 'Formula Veda,' and the 'Veda of the Atharvan Priests'—and, in point of date, these three stand much on a level with the Brāhmaṇas, or explanatory prose texts which are attached to or form part of them. In them are to be found many speculations of a more advanced kind than those of the Ṛgveda, yet at the same time the Atharvaveda contains a mass of popular religion which has been taken up and worked over by the same priestly classes to whose activity the other texts are due. It ​must, therefore, be recognized that the Ṛgveda gives only an imperfect impression of Indian mythology and that, in a sense, it is the work of an aristocracy; but at the same time it is impossible to regard the Atharvaveda as a direct complement of the Ṛgveda and as giving the popular side of the Ṛgvedic religion. The Atharvaveda was probably not reduced to its present form much, if at all, earlier than 500 B.C., and the popular worship included in it is one which is at once separated by a considerable period in time from that of the Ṛgveda and is presented to us, not in its primitive form, but as it was taken up by the priests. The other Vedas and the Brāhmaṇas may be referred roughly to a period which runs from 800 to 600 B.C. To the Brāhmaṇas are attached, more or less closely, treatises called Āraṇyakas ('Silvan'), which were to be studied by oral tradition in the solitude of the forests, and Upaniṣads, treatises of definitely philosophical content, whose name is derived from the 'session' of the pupils around their teacher. The oldest of these works probably date from before 500 B.C. On the other hand, the Sūtras, or rules regarding the sacrifice both in its more elaborate and in its more domestic forms, and regulations concerning custom and law give incidental information as to the more popular side of religion.

The Sūtras, at any rate, and possibly even the Brāhmaṇas, in their later portions, are contemporaneous with the beginnings of the two great epics of India, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. The first composition of these works as real epics, made up from ballads and other material, may be assigned to the fourth century B.C., and it is probable that the Rāmāyaṇa was practically complete before the Christian era. In the case of the Mahābhārata, however, there is no doubt that the original heroic epic has been overwhelmed by a vast mass of religious, philosophical, and didactic matter, and that it was not practically complete before the sixth century A.D., though most of it probably may be dated in the period from 200 B.C. to 200 A.D. These works reveal, to an extent which cannot be ​paralleled in the texts of the preceding periods, the religion of the warrior class and of the people generally. It cannot be assumed that the religion thus described is a later development, in point of time, than the Vedic religion, so far as the chief features of this religion are concerned; but much of the mythology is clearly a working over of the tales reported in the period of the Brāhmaṇas, of which, in so far, the epic period is a legitimate successor.

The epic period is followed by that of the Purāṇas, which show undoubted signs of the development of the religion and mythology of the epics. No doubt the material in these texts is often old, and here and there narratives are preserved in a form anterior to that now seen in the Mahābhārata. Yet, on the whole, it is probable that no Purāṇa antedates 600 A.D., and there is little doubt that portions of some of them are much later, falling within the last few centuries. Nor, indeed, is there any definite check to the continuance of this literature: at least two of the Purāṇas have no definite texts, and any author, without fear of positive contradiction, is at liberty to compose a poem in honour of a place of worship or of pilgrimage, and to call it a portion of either of these Purāṇas. This is the literature which, to the present day, contains the authoritative sacred texts of Hindu myth and worship. Yet it is essentially priestly and learned, and the popular religion which it embodies has been elaborated and confused, so that it is necessary, for a clear view of modern Hindu mythology, to supplement the account of the Purāṇas with records taken from the actual observation of the practices of modern India.

Besides the main stream of Hindu mythology there are important currents in the traditions of the Buddhists and the Jains. Buddhism has left but faint traces of its former glories in India itself; undoubtedly from about 500 B.C. to 700 A.D. it must be ranked among the greatest of Indian religions, and in the school of the Mahāyāna, or 'Great Vehicle,' it developed an elaborate mythology which displays marked ​original features. In comparison with Buddhism Jainism has added little to the mythology of India, but in its own way it has developed many themes of Indian mythology, with the main doctrines of which it remains in much closer contact than does Buddhism.

The subject, therefore, divides itself, in accordance with the literary sources upon which any treatment must be based, into seven divisions:

Recently I came across a book named Garuda and the Serpents: Stories of Friends and Foes from Hindu Mythology by author Arshia Sattar. The book proves that religion (of the author) has nothing to do with the knowledge (he/she possess). Though, I found many of the elements of various stories are explored quite differently than I know, but at the same time, one needs to understand that all the mythological tales has many versions. In different areas of the state/country/world, different folklore are popular for the same base story. So, we can give the author the benefit of the doubt for some of such elements (but not all).

Let me start with sharing the fact that the book was provided by Juggernaut Books (the publisher of the book) in exchange of honest and unbiased book review, and as always, the review is uninfluenced by all means.

Hindu Mythology Trivia

Let us take a look at the book cover.

Garuda and the Serpents: Stories of Friends and Foes from Hindu Mythology by Arshia Sattar | Book Cover

If I am asked that whether the cover of the book has any influence on any of my reading/purchase decisions ever? Then, my honest answer will be “Yes”. Of course, the influence is then rationalized with many other attributes of the book like some of the reviews for the same, the genre of the book, book blurb, book author,… to name a few. But, the cover page is definitely an influencing factor. At least, for most of the normal readers.

Hindu Mythology All About Myths Myth

And, there is nothing wrong in it. By nature, we love attractive things which are neat and tidy. And, an attractive book cover makes a good impression.

But of course, the book content is the ultimate factor. And, if the book isn’t rich with quality content, then, it will result in negative reviews afterward.

As you can see, the cover page of Garuda and the Serpents is attractive and it reflects the book title quite well. The book title and the cover page illustration reflects one of the interesting stories explored in this book. The illustration quality is really good and so does the finishing of the book cover. The cheerful colors make it more desirable. And at the same time, the presentation (of various elements on the cover page) will give you an impression that the book is primarily written for kids and young adults, so don’t consider it for very serious reading :). The language should be easy and sentences should be smaller. But, let us check, whether the book content actually reflects our assumption or not?!

Normally we separate “the book plot” and “our views and reviews” as two different segments for a book we review. This book, however, is a short story collection and some of the stories are interlinked in a way that 3 or 4 consecutive stories are actually pieces of a bigger story. Or call it the dots of a line, which again is part of even bigger line :).

For a book structured in this way, exploring plot, in short, will not be possible. Actually, we need to talk a little about each and every short story. And, it will ultimately lead to more spoilers. And, spoilers, as you know, definitely affect the reading experience of a curious reader. So let me share the list of stories from the book and present you my views for the same, without talking much about the plot of each story separately.

The book explores 18 short stories.

1. The Churning of the Ocean
2. Garuda and the Serpents
3. Bhagiratha Brings Ganga to the Earth
4. The Magic Cow
5. Takshaka’s Revenge
6. Shukra dn Kacha
7. Jambavan, King of the Bears
8. Vali and Sugriva
9. The Death of Vali
10. Hanuman Leaps for the Sun
11. Hanuman’s Adventures
12. When Bhima Met His Brother
13. Vritra Swallows Indra
14. The Cursed Immortal
15. Trishanku’s Heaven
16. Prahalada and the Magic Cloak
17. The Wondrous Story of King Ila
18. Mahishasura and the Goddess

What I like the most in the book is the way it is printed. The pages are of good quality and the fonts are comparatively a little bigger. The fonts are not that bigger that it will give you an impression of a children’s book, and yet, they are not very small. So, a normal reader can easily enjoy reading the book in that aspects. And the content is infused with some really nice illustration about the incident(s) mentioned in the respective story. These illustrations are done by Ishan Trivedi and he did a fantastic job here.

The way the author describes the things and builds the scene will really amuse you. She is good at description. And, in some of the scenes, it looks like you are reading the English translation of some Sanskrit Shloka. Eg:

Hindu Mythology Pdf

Mohini’s waist was slim and supple, her eyes were like lotus pearls, her skin gleamed like soft moonlight, her lips were the colour of forest berries, and when she smiled, it was as if the three worlds held their breath.

Some of the descriptions are not less than a poetry in its own. The following is rather a sad and emotional scene, but still, you will find it easy to read.

Blood boiled, eyes popped out of heads, feathers were scorched, bodies were roasted, limbs were charred, fat bubbled and bones and muscles snapped in the heat. Never had Agni been so hungry, never had Fire devoured so much with so much pleasure.

The writing style of the author is simple and the target readers will enjoy reading it. At the same time, the adults will find it interesting too. This is a rare achievement to be seen otherwise.

The author got many things wrong considering the most popular versions of the respective stories. The churning of the ocean is associated with both Rahu and Ketu, however, in this book, only Rahu’s reference is there! The cow in the possession of sage Vashishtha was not Kamadhenu, but her daughter Nandini! By the way, when Vishwamitra and Vashishtha had their first face-off, Vishwamitra was King Vishwarath. He became Vishwamitra much later!

Actually, there are many more points to talk about in both aspects, but they will definitely lead to spoilers. So, let us stop here.

we cannot deny the fact that the stories come up nicely and will definitely help the young aspirants to know Hindu mythology. All the stories convey some important message, and it is quite possible that young readers may not get it properly when reading it for the first time. But, eventually, when they grew up, they will surely understand. There are a few punctuation mark errors which could have been avoided with better proofreading. Eg:
(who was to become the gods’healer) – Page: 9.
[Missing space after ‘ ]

In the flood of stories (including fantasy fiction and mythologies too) from the western world, and with increasingly losing the habits of hearing moral and ethics based stories at the bed-time from grandparents; the new generation is less aware with very rich Hindu mythology. This is a genuine attempt and despite its own letdowns, the book is a good choice for reading.

Summary:

The book is written in simple language and quality illustrations make it more interesting. It has its own share of let downs (especially those who are familiar with Hindu mythology), but definitely a recommended read.

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