HinduMythos Overview: Hinduism is a conglomeration of distinct intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid common set of beliefs.

As a result, the Hindu texts do not provide a single canonical account of the creation; they mention a range of theories of the creation of the world, some of which are contradictory. Many Hindus regard these scriptural legends as allegories or metaphors than as literal truth. Hinduism is considered the oldest religion in the world and it is the major religion of India. It is practiced by more than 80% of Indias's population. As opposed to other religions it has no founder. There is no single belief or doctrine that is common to all Hindus. There is complete freedom of belief, and one can be a monotheist, a polytheist, or an atheist. According to Hindu creationism all species on earth including humans have "devolved" or come down from a high state of pure consciousness. Hindu creationists claim that species of plants and animals are material forms adopted by pure consciousness which live an endless cycle of births and rebirths. Ronald Numbers says that: "Hindu Creationists have insisted on the antiquity of humans, who they believe appeared fully formed as long, perhaps, as trillions of years ago." Hindu creationism is a form of old earth creationism, according to Hindu creationists the universe may even be older than billions of years. These views are based on the Vedas which depict an extreme antiquity of the universe and history of the earth. British geneticist and evolutionary biologist, J B S Haldane, observed that the Dashavataras (ten principal avatars of Lord Vishnu) are a true sequential depiction of the great unfolding of evolution. These avatars of Vishnu show an uncanny similarity to the biological theory of evolution of life on earth: Fish > Reptile > Amphibian > Half Beast > Pygmy > Man Creation Myth: Hirayagarbha is the source of the creation of the Universe or the manifested cosmos in Indian philosophy, it nds mention in one hymn of the suggesting a single creator deity. The Upaiad calls it the Soul of the Universe or Brahman, and elaborates that Hirayagarbha oated around in emptiness and the darkness of the non-existence for about a year, and then broke into two halves which formed the Svarga and the Pthvi. Many of the Hindu philosophies mention that the creation is cyclic. The universe and the Earth, along with humans and other creatures undergo repeated cycles (pralaya) of creation and destruction. A variety of myths exist regarding the specics of the process, but in general the Hindu view of the cosmos is as eternal and cyclic. The later puranic view also asserts that the universe is created, destroyed, and re-created in an eternally repetitive series of cycles. In Hindu cosmology, a universe endures for about 4,320,000,000 years (one day of Brahma, the creator or kalpa) and is then destroyed by re or water elements. At this point, Brahma rests for one night, just as long as the day. This process, named pralaya (Cataclysm), repeats for 100 Brahma years (311 trillion, 40 billion human years) that represents Brahma's lifespan. After Mahprlaya, the great dissolution of the Universe, there was darkness everywhere. Everything was in a state of sleep. There was nothing, either moving or static. Then Svayambhu, Self-manifested Being arose, which is a form beyond senses. It created the primordial waters rst and established the seed of creation into it. The seed turned into a golden womb, Hirayagarbha. Then Svayambhu entered in the egg. The Vednta Stra further states that Brahman is That from Whom this Universe proceeds, in Whom it subsists, and to Whom, in the end, it returns. The Manu Smriti says: In the beginning, all this existence was one undierentiated, unmanifested, indenable, unarguable and unknown in every way. From this condition arose the Universe of Page 1

HinduMythos 'name and form', through the medium of the Self-existent Creator, Svayambhu. In some lineages of Hinduism, Purusha is the "Self" which pervades the universe. The Vedic divinities are interpretations of the many facets of Purusha. According to the Rigvedic Purusha sukta, Purusha was dismembered by the devashis mind is the Moon, his eyes are the Sun, and his breath is the wind. In the Rigveda, Purusha is described as a primeval giant that is sacriced by the gods and from whose body the world and the varnas (classes) are built. He is described as having a thousand heads and a thousand feet. He emanated Viraj, the female creative principle, from which he is reborn in turn after the world was made out of his parts. Bhagavata Purana describes that Purusha is the rst form of Supreme Lord Narayana and this Purusha is the source of everything in the universe. The Purusha in the title of Purusha Sukta refers to the Parama Purusha, Purushottama, Vedic Supreme God Narayana, in his form as the Viraat Purusha (Enormously Huge Being). It describes this form of his, as having countless heads, eyes, legs, manifested everywhere, and beyond the scope of any limited method of comprehension. All creation is but a fourth part of him. The rest is unmanifested. He is the source of all creation. Purusha along with Prakrti creates the necessary tattvas for the creation of universe. In Hinduism, Brahman is "the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world", which "cannot be exactly dened"[2], but is Sat-cit-nanda (being-consciousness-bliss) and the highest reality. The sages of the Upanishads teach that Brahman is the ultimate essence of material phenomena (including the original identity of the human self) that cannot be seen or heard but whose nature can be known through the development of self-knowledge (atma jnana). As for the creation of the primordial beings themselves, the Nasadiya Sukta of Rigveda takes a near-agnostic stand: "The Gods are later than this world's production. Who knows then whence it rst came into being?" Direct sanskrit translation is: "Matter (sat) did not exist before, where was the energy (asat) hidden. Oh God, where was you?." Thus, Vedas clearly challenged the God based creation, just like the Sumerians in Mesopotemia. In the classical Puranic texts, the creator god Brahma is described as performing the act of 'creation', or more specically of 'propagating life within the universe'. Some texts consider him equivalent to the Hiranyagarbha or the Purusha, while others state that he arose out of these. Brahma is a part of the trinity of gods that also includes Vishnu and Shiva, who are responsible for 'preservation' and 'destruction' (of the universe) respectively. In some Hindu traditions, Manu is a title accorded to a progenitor of mankind. The current period is ruled by the seventh Manu called the Vaivasvata Manu, the son of Vivasvn and his wife Samjn. Vaivasvata Manu, whose original name was Satyavrata, is the 7th Manu and considered the rst king to rule this earth, who saved mankind from the great ood after being warned of it by the Matsya avatar of Vishnu, who had also advised him to build a giant boat. The story is mentioned in early Hindu scriptures such as the Satapatha Brahmana, and it has often been compared with the popular traditions of a Great Deluge from other cultures around the world, particularly that of Noah's Ark. Because Manu was believed to be absolutely honest, he was initially known as Satyavrata ("One with the oath of truth"). Vaivasvata Manu ruled as King Manu. His wife was Sraddha. The Mahabharata says: "And Manu was endued with great wisdom and devoted to virtue. And he became the progenitor of a line. And in Manu's race have been born all human beings, who have, therefore, been called Manavas. And it is of Manu that all men including Brahmanas, Kshattriyas, and others have been descended, Page 2

HinduMythos and are therefore all called Manavas. Subsequently, O monarch, the Brahmanas became united with the Kshattriyas. And those sons Manu that of were Brahmanas devoted themselves to the study of the Vedas. And Manu begat ten other children named Vena, Dhrishnu, Narishyan, Nabhaga, Ikshakus, Karusha, Saryati, the eighth, a daughter named Ila, Prishadhru the ninth, and Nabhagarishta, the tenth. They all betook themselves to the practices of Kshattriyas. Besides these, Manu had fty other sons on Earth. But we heard that they all perished, quarrelling with one another." According to the Matsya Purana, the Matsya Avatar of Vishnu is believed to have appeared initially as a Shaphari (a small carp), to King Manu (whose original name was Satyavrata), the then King of Kumari Kandam, while he washed his hands in a river. This river was supposed to have been owing down the Malaya Mountains in his land of Dravida. The little Fish asked the king to save Him, and out of compassion, he put it in a water jar. It kept growing bigger and bigger, until King Manu rst put Him in a bigger pitcher, and then deposited Him in a well. When the well also proved insucient for the ever-growing Fish, the King placed Him in a tank (reservoir), that was two yojanas (16 miles) in height above the surface and on land, as much in length, and a yojana (8 miles) in breadth. As it grew further King Manu had to put the sh in a river, and when even the river proved insucient he placed it in the ocean, after which it nearly lled the vast expanse of the great ocean. It was then that He (Lord Matsya), revealing Himself, informed the King of an all-destructive deluge which would be coming very soon. The King built a huge boat which housed his family, 9 types of seeds, and animals to repopulate the earth, after the deluge would end and the oceans and seas would recede. At the time of deluge, Vishnu appeared as a horned sh and Shesha appeared as a rope, with which Vaivasvata Manu fastened the boat to horn of the sh. According to the Matsya Purana, his boat was perched after the deluge on the top of the Malaya Mountains This narrative is to an extent similar to other deluge stories, like those of Utnapishtim from ancient Sumerian Mythology, and the story of Noah's ark from the Bible and the Qur'an. Lifespan "The lifespan of one Manu, is 71 Mahayugas (306,720,000 years), and each Mahayuga is 4,320,000 years." (Bhagavad Gita 8.17) "The duration of one manvantara, the lifespan of one Manu, is seventy-one Mahayugas, and each Mahayuga is 4,320,000 years". The present Manu has already lived for 28 Mahayugas, which is 120,960,000 years." (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.30.49).

Among the six systems of Hindu philosophy, early Samkhya and Mimamsa do not consider the concept of Ishvara, i.e., a supreme being, while later Samkhya, Yoga, Vaisheshika, Vedanta and Nyaya believe in the existence of an Ishvara. Ishvara is a transcendent and immanent entity best described in the last chapter of the Shukla Yajur Veda Samhita, known as the Ishavasya Upanishad. It states ishavasyam idam sarvam, which means whatever there is in this world is covered and lled with Ishvara. Ishvara not only creates the world, but then also enters into everything there is: He created all this, whatever is here. Having created it, into it, indeed, he entered. Having entered it, he became both the actual and the beyond, the dened and the undened, both the founded and the unfounded, the intelligent and the unintelligent, the true and the untrue. Advaitism holds that when human beings think of Brahman, the Supreme Cosmic Spirit is projected upon the limited, nite human mind and appears as Ishvara. Therefore, the mind projects human attributes, such as personality, motherhood, and fatherhood on the Supreme Being. An interesting metaphor is that when the Page 3

HinduMythos "reection" of the Cosmic Spirit falls upon the mirror of Maya (My; the principle of illusion, which binds the mind), it appears as the Supreme Lord. Brahman is not thought to have such attributes in the true sense. However it may be helpful to project such attributes onto Brahman. In Vishishtadvaita, Ishvara is the supreme cosmic spirit who maintains complete control over the universe and all the sentient beings, which together also form the pan-organistic body of Ishvara. The triad of Ishvara along with the universe and the sentient beings is Brahman, which signies the completeness of existence. Shiv the Destroyer Rudra is a Rigvedic deity, associated with wind or storm, and the hunt. The name has been translated as "the roarer". The theonym Shiva originates as an epithet of Rudra, the adjective shiva ("kind") being used euphemistically of the god who in the Rigveda also carries the epithet ghora ("terrible"). In the Rigveda Rudra's role as a frightening god is apparent in references to him as ghora ("terrible"), or simply as asau devam ("that god"). He is "erce like a formidable wild beast" (RV 2.33.11). Chakravarti sums up the perception of Rudra by saying: "Rudra is thus regarded with a kind of cringing fear, as a deity whose wrath is to be deprecated and whose favor curried." RV 1.114 is an appeal to Rudra for mercy, where he is referred to as "mighty Rudra, the god with braided hair." In RV 7.46, Rudra is described as armed with a bow and fast-ying arrows. As quoted by R. G. Bhandarkar, the hymn says Rudra discharges "brilliant shafts which run about the heaven and the earth" (RV 7.46.3), which may be a reference to the destructive power of lightning. Rudra was believed to cause diseases, and when people recovered from them or were free of them, that too was attributed to the agency of Rudra.He is asked not to aict children with disease (RV 7.46.2) and to keep villages free of illness (RV 1.114.1). He is said to have healing remedies (RV 1.43.4), as the best physician of physicians (RV 2.33.4), and as possessed of a thousand medicines (RV 7.46.3). This is described in Shiva's alternative name Vaidyanatha (Lord of Remedies). >Shiva is usually worshipped in the aniconic form of lingam. He is described as an omniscient yogi, who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash,as well as a householder with a wife Parvati and two sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya. Shiva has many benevolent as well as fearsome forms. He is often depicted as immersed in deep meditation, with his wife and children or as the Cosmic Dancer. In erce aspects, he is often depicted slaying demons. Shiva is believed to be living in Kailasa, a peak in the Great Himalayas. But some legend said that it is Rudra who lives in Kailasa. Rudra is believed to be an Incarnation of Lord Shiva. Shiva's form: Shiva has a Trident in the right lower arm, with a crescent moon on his head. He is said to be fair like camphor or like an ice clad mountain. He has re and Damaru and Mala or a kind of weapon. He wears ve serpents as ornaments. He wears a garland of skulls. He is pressing with his feet the demon Muyalaka, a dwarf holding a cobra. He faces south. Panchakshara itself is his body. (The trident, like almost all other forms in Hinduism, can be understood as the symbolism of the unity of three worlds that a human faces - his inside world, his immediate world, and the broader overall world. At the base of the trident, all three forks unite.) Ashes: (The epithet "Bhasmaanga Raaga") - Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma). Ashes represent the nal reality that a human being will face - the end of all material existence. One epithet for Shiva is "inhabitant of Page 4

HinduMythos the cremation ground" , referring to this connection. Blue throat: The epithet Nlakatha since Shiva drank the Halahala poison churned up from the Samudra Manthan to eliminate its destructive capacity. Shocked by his act, Goddess Parvati strangled his neck and hence managed to stop it in his neck itself and prevent it from spreading all over the universe supposed to be in Shiva's stomach. However the poison was so potent that it changed the color of his neck to blue. Sacred Ganges: Bearer of Ganga. Ganges river ows from the matted hair of Shiva. The Gag (Ganges), one of the major rivers of the country, is said to have made her abode in Shiva's hair. The ow of the Ganges also represents the nectar of immortality. Tiger skin: (The epithet "Krittivasan").He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin, an honour reserved for the most accomplished of Hindu ascetics, the Brahmarishis. Tiger represents lust. His sitting on the tigers skin indicates that He has conquered lust. Serpents: (The epithet "Nagendra Haara"). Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake. His wearing of serpents on the neck denotes wisdom and eternity. Nataraja or Nataraj, The Lord (or King) of Dance; is a depiction of the god Shiva as the cosmic dancer who performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for the god Brahma to start the process of creation.

Yama: Yama is the lord of death in Hinduism, rst recorded in the Vedas. Yama belongs to an early stratum of Indo-Iranian theology. In Vedic tradition Yama was considered to have been the rst mortal who died and espied the way to the celestial abodes, thus in virtue of precedence he became the ruler of the departed. In some passages, however, he is already regarded as the god of death. . "In Hinduism, Yama often is considered as Kala or time, for Yama comes in a particular time and that time is naturally selected; nobody can stop his coming and change the timing. That after birth a living body gradually approaches towards death through decay or disease or because of accident is just a matter of time or duration of time at the end of which there comes Death. The coming of Death may be delayed by treatment of the patient or the sick person or by the pursuit of a better way of life, but the inevitability of death can never be stopped by any means. That is why Yama is called Kala or time, because the coming of Death is just a matter of time in accordance with the law and system of nature." Yama is also the lord of justice and is sometimes referred to as Dharma, in reference to his unswerving dedication to maintaining order and adherence to harmony. He is the son of Surya (Sun) and twin brother of Yami, or Yamuna, traditionally the rst human pair in the Vedas. Interestingly Surya's two sons Shani and Yama judge. Shani gives us the results of one's deeds through one's life through appropriate punishments and rewards; Yama grants the results of one's deeds after death. >He is one of the Guardians of the directions and represents the south. Yama is also the god of justice and is sometimes referred to as Dharma, in reference to his unswerving dedication to maintaining order and adherence to harmony. It is said that he is also one of the wisest of the devas. In art, some Sanskrit sources say that he Page 5

HinduMythos should be of dark color, resembling the rain-cloud, with two arms, re-colored eyes and sharp side-tusks. He is depicted with red clothes (somewhere black cloths), and seated either on a lion throne or a he-bualo. His description is in 2.5.147-149: "There very soon among Death, Time, etc. he sees Yama with red eyes, looking erce and dark..., with erce jaws and frowning ercely, chosen as their lord by many ugly, erce-faced hundreds of diseases, possessing an iron rod in his hand and also a noose. The creature goes either to good or to bad state as directed by him."

ani is one of the Navagraha or Jyotia (the nine primary celestial beings in Hindu astrology). Shani is embodied in the planet Saturn and is the Lord of Saturday. The word shani comes from anay Kramati Sa, the one who moves slowly, because Saturn takes about 30 years to revolve around the Sun. Shani is a deva and son of Surya and his wife Chhaya, hence also known as Chayyaputra. He is the elder brother of Yama, the Hindu god of death, who in some scriptures corresponds to the deliverance of justice. It is said that when Shani opened his eyes as a newborn for the rst time, the sun went into an eclipse, which denotes the impact of Shani on astrological charts. He is known as the greatest teacher and well wisher for the righteous as well the greatest punisher for those who follow the path of evil, betrayal, backstabbing and unjust revenge. He is depicted dark in colour, clothed in black; holding a sword, arrows and two daggers and mounted on a crow, which is Shani's vhana. As protector of property, Shani is able to repress the thieving tendencies of birds. Durga; meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible") Durga is the most erce aspect of the Hindu Goddess or Devi, she is seen having ten (up to eighteen arms) holding many weapons. For the Goddess worshipping Shaktas, Durga is sometimes equated with Mahadevi, the Great Goddess. In Devi Mahatmyam, she is seen killing the great demon Mahishasur. Durga's feminine power contains the combined energies of all the gods. Each of her weapons was given to her by a dierent god: Rudra's trishula (trident), Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra (whirling, sharp edged discus), Indra's thunderbolt, Brahma's kamandalu (water pot), Kubera's gad (mace), etc. Mahishasura, upon hearing about her, sent his army to defeat and capture her. Durga kills all of the demons and challenges Mahishasura to a duel. After nine days of erce ghting (Mahishasura gave Durga sti opposition, as legend says of Durga regaining her spent energy by drinking honey), Durga nally manages to kill Mahishasura on the tenth day of the waxing moon. Durga is, therefore, called Mahishasuramardini (literally, slayer of the bualo demon).. The goddess, as Mahishasuramardini, appears quite early in Indian art. The Archaeological Museum in Mathura has several statues on display including a 6-armed Kushana period Mahisasuramardhini that depicts her pressing down the bualo with her lower hands. The spear and trident are her most common weapons. A Mamallapuram relief shows the goddess with eight arms riding her lion subduing a bualo-faced demon (as contrasted with a bualo demon); a variation also seen at Ellora. In later sculptures (post-seventh century), sculptures show the goddess having decapitated the bualo demon.

Kl is the Hindu goddess associated with empowerment, shakti. The name Kali comes from kla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Since Shiva is called Klathe eternal timeKl, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death". Hence, Kli is the Goddess of Time and Change. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a gure of annihilator of evil forces still has some inuence. Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shkta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman. She Page 6

HinduMythos is also revered as Bhavatrini (literally "redeemer of the universe"). Kl is represented as the consort of Lord Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing. Shiva lies in the path of Kali, whose foot on Shiva subdues her anger. She is the erce aspect of the goddess Durga. Kali is portrayed mostly in two forms: the popular four-armed form and the ten-armed Mahakali form. In both of her forms, she is described as being black in color but is most often depicted as blue in popular Indian art. Her eyes are described as red with intoxication, and in absolute rage, her hair is shown disheveled, small fangs sometimes protrude out of her mouth, and her tongue is lolling. She is often shown naked or just wearing a skirt made of human arms and a garland of human heads. She is also accompanied by serpents and a jackal while standing on a seemingly dead Shiva, usually right foot forward to symbolize the more popular Dakshinamarga or right-handed path, as opposed to the more infamous and transgressive Vamamarga or left-handed path. In the ten-armed form of Mahakali she is depicted as shining like a blue stone. She has ten faces and ten feet and three eyes. She has ornaments decked on all her limbs. There is no association with Shiva. According to Ramakrishna, darkness is the Ultimate Mother, or Kali: My Mother is the principle of consciousness. She is Akhanda Satchidananda; indivisible Reality, Awareness, and Bliss. The night sky between the stars is perfectly black. The waters of the ocean depths are the same; The innite is always mysteriously dark. This inebriating darkness is my beloved Kali. In Kli's most famous legend, Durga and her assistants, the Matrikas, wound the demon Raktabija, in various ways and with a variety of weapons in an attempt to destroy him. They soon nd that they have worsened the situation for with every drop of blood that is dripped from Raktabija he reproduces a clone of himself. The battleeld becomes increasingly lled with his duplicates. Durga, in need of help, summons Kli to combat the demons. It is said, in some versions, that Goddess Durga actually assumes the form of Goddess Kli at this time. The Devi Mahatmyam describes: Out of the surface of her (Durga's) forehead, erce with frown, issued suddenly Kali of terrible countenance, armed with a sword and noose. Bearing the strange khatvanga (skull-topped sta ), lling the regions of the sky with her roars, falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the great asuras in that army, she devoured those hordes of the foes of the devas. Kali destroys Raktabija by sucking the blood from his body and putting the many Raktabija duplicates in her gaping mouth. Pleased with her victory, Kali then dances on the eld of battle, stepping on the corpses of the slain. In her most famous pose as Daksinakali, popular legends say that Kali, becoming drunk on the blood of her victims on the battleeld, dances with destructive frenzy. In her fury she fails to see the body of Shiva, who lies among the corpses on the battleeld and steps on his chest.Realizing Shiva to lie beneath her feet, her anger is pacied and she calms her fury. Though not added in any of the puranas, the popular legends tell that Kali was ashamed at the prospect of keeping her husband beneath her feet and thus stuck her tongue out in shame. The 'Devi-purana", which goes into depths about Kali, reveals the symbolism of the tongue. The characteristic icons that depict Kali represent a deep philosophical epithet. The drooping out-stuck tongue represents her blood-thirst. Shiva beneath her feet represents matter, as Kali is the primeval energy. The depiction of Kali on Shiva shows that without energy, matter lies inert. One South Indian tradition tells of a dance contest between Shiva and Kali. After defeating the two demons Sumbha and Nisumbha, Kali takes up residence in the forest of Thiruvalankadu or Thiruvalangadu. She terrorizes the surrounding area with her erce disruptive nature. One of Shiva's devotees becomes distracted while Page 7

HinduMythos performing austerities, and asks Shiva to rid the forest of the destructive goddess. When Shiva arrives, Kali threatens him, claiming the territory as her own. Shiva challenges Kali to a dance contest; both of them dance and Kali matches Shiva in every step that he takes until Shiva takes the "Urdhalinga" step in which the genitals are exposed. Kali refuses to perform this step and reduces her disruptive acts in the forest. Interestingly enough, this legend in reality doesn't match with the contemporary image of Kali, who dances naked on her husband's chest. Brahm is the Hindu god (deva) of creation and one of the Trimrti, the others being Viu and iva. According to the Brahm Pura, he is the father of Manu, and from Manu all human beings are descended. In the Rmyaa and the Mahbhrata, he is often referred to as the progenitor or great grandsire of all human beings. He is not to be confused with the Supreme Cosmic Spirit in Hindu Vednta philosophy known as Brahman, which is genderless. Brahm's wife is Saraswati. Being the husband of Saraswati or Vaac Devi (the Goddess of Speech), Brahma is also known as "Vaagish," meaning "Lord of Speech and Sound." He is clad in red clothes. Brahm is traditionally depicted with four heads, four faces, and four arms. With each head, He continually recites one of the four Vedas. He is often depicted with a white beard (especially in North India), indicating the nearly eternal nature of his existence. Unlike most other Hindu gods, Brahm holds no weapons. One of his hands holds a scepter. Another of his hands holds a book. Brahm also holds a string of prayer beads called the 'akaml' (literally "garland of eyes"), which He uses to keep track of the Universe's time. He is also shown holding the Vedas. Satyaloka is by 120,000,000 yojanas above Tapoloka. Thus the distance from the Sun to Satyaloka is 233,800,000 yojanas, or 1,870,400,000 miles. The Vaikuha planets begin 26,200,000 yojanas (209,600,000 miles) above Satyaloka.

Bhairava ("Terrible" or "Frightful",), is the erce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation. The origin of Bhairava can be traced to the conversation between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu recounted in "Shiv Maha-Puran" where Vishnu asks Brahma who the supreme creator of the Universe is. Arrogantly, Brahma tells Vishnu to worship him because he (Brahma) is the supreme creator. This angered Shiva who then incarnated in the form of Bhairava to punish Brahma. Bhairava beheaded one of Brahma's ve heads and since then Brahma has only four heads. When depicted as Kala Bhairava, Bhairava is shown carrying the decapitated head of Brahma. Cutting o Brahma's fth head made him guilty of the crime of killing a Brahmin, and as a result, he had to carry around the decapitated skull for twelve years and roam as Bhikshatana, a mendicant, until he had been absolved of the sin. He is depicted ornamented with a range of twisted serpents, which serve as earrings, bracelets, anklets, and sacred thread (yajnopavita). He wears a tiger skin and a ritual apron composed of human bones. Bhairava has a dog (Shvan) as his divine vahana (vehicle). Bhairavi is a erce and terrifying aspect of the Devi who is virtually indistinguishable from Kali, with the exception of her particular identication as the consort of Bhairava. Murugun Given that legends related to Murugan are recounted separately in several Hindu epics, some dierences between the various versions are observed. Some Sanskrit epics and puranas indicate that he was the elder son of Shiva. This is suggested by the legend connected to his birth; the wedding of Shiva and Parvati being Page 8

HinduMythos necessary for the birth of a child who would vanquish the asura named Taraka. Also, Kartikeya is seen helping Shiva ght the newborn Ganesha, Shiva's other son, in the Shiva Purana. In the Ganapati Khandam of the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, he is seen as the elder son of Shiva and Ganesha as the younger. In South India, it is believed that he is the younger of the two. A Puranic story has Ganesha obtain a divine fruit of knowledge from Narada winning a contest with Murugan. While Murugan speeds around the world thrice to win the contest for the fruit, Ganesha circumambulates Shiva and Parvati thrice as an equivalent and is given the fruit. After winning it, he oers to give the fruit to his upset brother. After this event, Ganesha was considered the elder brother owing as a tribute to his wisdom.This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. He is married to two wives, Valli and Devasena. This lead to a very interesting name : Devasenapati viz. Pati (husband) of Devsena and/or Senapati (commander in chief) of Dev (gods). In Hindu legend, both Sati and Parvati successively play the role of bringing Shiva away from ascetic isolation into creative participation in the world. The act of Sati, in which a Hindu widow immolates herself on her husband's funeral pyre as a nal and consummate act of loyalty and devotion, is patterned after the deed committed by this goddess to uphold the honour of her husband. In bidding the Goddess to take human birth, Brahma's design was that she should please Shiva with humble devotions and wed him. It was natural that Sati, even as a child, adored the tales and legends associated with Shiva and grew up an ardent devotee. As Gauri grew to womanhood, the idea of marrying anyone else, as intended by her father, became anathema to her. To win the regard of the ascetic Shiva, the daughter of king Daksha forsook the luxuries of her father's palace and retired to a forest, there to devote herself to austerities and the worship of Shiva. So rigorous were her penances that she gradually renounced food itself, at one stage subsisting on one bilva leaf a day, and then giving up even that nourishment; this particular abstinence earned her the sobriquet Aparna. Her prayers nally bore fruit when, after testing her resolve, Shiva nally acceded to her wishes and consented to make her his bride. Daksha organized a grand yajna to which all the gods were invited, with the exception of Sati and Shiva. Wanting to visit her parents, relatives and childhood friends, Sati sought to rationalize this omission. She reasoned within herself that she needed no invitation to visit her own mother and would go anyway. Shiva sought to dissuade her, but she was resolved upon going; he then provided her with an escort of his ganas and bid her provoke no incident. Sati was received coldly by her father. They were soon in the midst of a heated argument about the virtues of Shiva. It became clear to Sati that this abuse was being heaped on Shiva only because he had wed her; she was the cause of this dishonour to her husband. Calling up a prayer that she may, in a future birth, be born the daughter of a father whom she could respect, Sati invoked her yogic powers or yogic Agni and immolated herself. Shiva sensed this catastrophe, and in his rage created Virabhadra and Bhadrakali, or collectively Manbhadra, two ferocious creatures who wreaked havoc and mayhem on the scene of the incident. All all those present were indiscriminately felled overnight. According to some traditions, it is believed that an angry Shiva performed the Tandava dance with Sati's charred body on his shoulders. During this dance, Sati's body came apart and the pieces fell at dierent places on earth. According to another version, Shiva placed Sati's body on his shoulder and ran about the world, crazed with grief. The Gods called upon the god Vishnu to restore Shiva to normalcy and calm. Vishnu used his Sudarshana Chakra to dismember Sati's lifeless body, following which Shiva regained his equanimity. Both versions state that Sati's body was thus dismembered into 51 pieces which fell on earth at various places. Several dierent Page 9

HinduMythos listings of these 51 holy places, known as Shakti Peethas, are available; some of these places have become major centers of pilgrimage as they are held by the Goddess-oriented Shakta sect to be particularly holy.Besides 51 main Shakti pethas, some small peethas like Bindudham have also in existence which are due to Sati's fallen blood drops. Tava ( ) or Tava ntya ( ) is a divine dance performed by the Hindu god Shiva. Shiva's Tandava is described as a vigorous dance that is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution. While the Rudra Tandava depicts his violent nature, rst as the creator and later as the destroyer of the universe, even of death itself; the Ananda Tandava depicts him as enjoying. Shiva as Nataraja (lit. "Lord of dance") is considered the supreme lord of dance. >The Tandava takes its name from Tandu ( tau), the attendant of Shiva, who instructed Bharata (author of the Natya Shastra) in the use of Angaharas and Karanas, modes of the Tandava at Shiva's order. Some scholars consider that Tandu himself must have been the author of an earlier work on the dramatic arts, which was incorporated into the Natya Shastra. Indeed, the classical arts of dance, music and song may derive from the mudras and rituals of Shaiva tradition. Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and eect (i.e., the cycle called sasra) originating in ancient India and treated in the Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, and Sikh religions. Karma is not punishment or retribution but simply an extended expression or consequence of natural acts. Karma means "deed" or "act" and more broadly names the universal principle of cause and eect, action and reaction, that governs all life. The eects experienced are also able to be mitigated by actions and are not necessarily fated. That is to say, a particular action now is not binding to some particular, pre-determined future experience or reaction; it is not a simple, one-to-one correspondence of reward or punishment. Karma is not fate, for humans act with free will creating their own destiny. According to the Vedas, if one sows goodness, one will reap goodness; if one sows evil, one will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determines our future. The conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate response. One of the rst and most dramatic illustrations of Karma can be found in the Bhagavad Gita. In this poem, Arjuna the protagonist is preparing for battle when he realizes that the enemy consists of members of his own family and decides not to ght. His charioteer, Krishna (an avatar of god), explains to Arjuna the concept of dharma (duty) among other things and makes him see that it is his duty to ght. The original Hindu concept of karma was later enhanced by several other movements within the religion, most notably Vedanta, and Tantra. Kali Yuga ("age of [the demon] Kali", or "age of vice") is the last of the four stages the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Indian scriptures. The other ages are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga. Kali Yuga is associated with the apocalyptic demon Kali, not to be confused with the goddess Kl. The "Kali" of Kali Yuga means "strife", "discord", "quarrel" or "contention". Most interpreters of Hindu scriptures believe that Earth is currently in Kali Yuga >Prophesied events during a Kali Yuga >A discourse by Markandeya in the Mahabharata identies some of the attributes of Kali Yuga. In relation to rulers, it lists: >Rulers will become unreasonable: they will levy taxes unfairly. Page 10

HinduMythos >Rulers will no longer see it as their duty to promote spirituality, or to protect their subjects: they will become a danger to the world. >People will start migrating, seeking countries where wheat and barley form the staple food source. >"At the end of Kali-yuga, when there exist no topics on the subject of God, even at the residences of so-called saints and respectable gentlemen of the three higher varnas [guna or temperament] and when nothing is known of the techniques of sacrice, even by word, at that time the Lord will appear as the supreme chastiser." (Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.7) >With regard to human relationships, Markandeya's discourse says: >Avarice and wrath will be common. Humans will openly display animosity towards each other. Ignorance of dharma will occur. >People will have thoughts of murder with no justication and will see nothing wrong in that. >Lust will be viewed as socially acceptable and sexual intercourse will be seen as the central requirement of life. >Sin will increase exponentially, whilst virtue will fade and cease to ourish. >People will take vows and break them soon after. >People will become addicted to intoxicating drinks and drugs. >Teachers will no longer be respected and their students will attempt to injure them. >Their teachings will be insulted, and followers of Kama will wrest control of the mind from all human beings. > Brahmins will not be learned or honored, Kshatriyas will not be brave, Vaishyas will not be just in their dealings.

>Chiranjivi are living beings in Hinduism who are to remain alive through this Kali Yuga until the next Satya Yuga. >Markandeya, an ancient sage from the Hindu tradition, born in the clan of Brigu Rishi. >Ashwatthama, the son of Drona, a great warrior. He acted out of cowardice to avenge the killing of his father, resulting in a curse of immortality. >Bali Chakravarthi, granted a boon by Vishnu that he would be the next Indra, before merging with Vishnu. He expounds virtues of valour and charity. >Hanuman, who served Rama. He stands for selessness, courage, devotion, strength, and righteous conduct. >Kripa, military guru of the princes in the Mahabharata. >Parashurama, master of all divine weapons. The Kalki Purana writes that he will reemerge at end time to the martial guru of Kalki. He will then instruct the nal avatar to undertake penance to receive celestial weaponry, required to save mankind >Vibhishana, brother of Ravana. He stands for righteousness. Vibhishana is not a true Chiranjeevi, as his boon of longevity is to remain on the earth only until the end of Treta Yuga. >Vyasa, a sage who narrated the Mahabharata. He represents erudition and wisdom.

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