Beyond Myth Discovering the Religious History of India 1

We often use the term MYTHOLOGY very casually but do you know what does it mean .Well mythology comes from the word MYTH which means in a way a theory widely held but false or unproven. I strongly disagree with this terminology .i believe that completely accusing certain theories to be false without any strong evidences is illogical .So lets call these stories Religious history of India. Now what i intend to do by writing this article?
turns out i am just an 18 yr old student from the Gen Z era who focuses on more practical and evidence based theories ,but still there was something in these so called mytho tales that somehow enchanted me in the most unexpected way and made me fall in love them . in fact they found me .Maybe it was the green gold animated cartoons or the superstitious sayings around me …but i realized my interest in this genre during lockdown. i remember casually watching the doordarshan channel when i came across the BR Chopra s Mahabharat promo starring Nitish Bharadwaj as LORD KRISHNA riding his chariot and i was so charmed by how divine and realistic he looked while portraying the role . so just for fun i decided to give the show a try and now i can say that maybe it was the lord himself who helped me fi nd my most cherished hobby .After that i read multiple books on this topic as much i could while managing my studies .That is what i intend to do with this series of articles ,to become that DD promo for the young readers.Though i am nothing compared to the visionaries of this fi eld like Devdutt Pattnaik , Amish tripathi, Chitra Banerjee, Eknath Easwaran ,Akshat Gupta etc.,but these articles are my innocent attempt to introduce you all to the enchanting universe of Hindu folklore.and i hope you will fi nd them as fascinating as i did .
Today lets introduce ourselves with the basic characters and parts of this universe.The Hindu folklore consists of the four Vedas : The four Vedas are collectively known as “Chathurveda,” of which the fi rst three Vedas , Rig Veda, Sama Veda and Yajur Veda agree in form, language and content. “Veda” means wisdom, knowledge or vision, and it manifests the language of the gods in human speech.The last of the Vedas, this is completely different from the other three Vedas and is next in importance to Rig-Veda with regard to history and sociology. A different spirit pervades this Veda. Its hymns are of a more diverse character than the Rig Veda and are also simpler in language. In fact, many scholars do not consider it part of the Vedas at all. The Atharva Veda consists of spells and charms prevalent at its time, and portrays a clearer picture of the Vedic society.,then comes 18 Puranas , The Upanishads and the two biggest epics THE RAMAYANA AND MAHABHARAT, Dharmashastras and Agamas which all form the core of the Hindu scriptures.then comes the divine TRINITY: BRAHMA[creator], VISHNU[the preserver or protector],and SHIVA[the destroyer of evil..and there consorts SARASWATI[goddess of knowledge],LAKSHMI[goddess of wealth],and PARVATI /SHAKTI[the goddess of power] respectively and their avatars or incarnations …who form the whole and
soul of universe.the main deities include INDRA[king and god of weather],SURYA[sungod],AGNI[god of fi re],VAYU[god of wind],VARUN[god of water],CHANDRA[moongod],KUBERA[god of wealth],GANESH[god of prosperity and knowledge],the rivers goddesses GANGA and YAMUNA… and countless more.I emphasize on the word MAIN as hindu legends have descriptions of 33 koti god and goddesses often misunderstood to denote the number but actually denote the categories of deities as mentioned in Samhitas which include 33 deities classifi ed as Devas, either 11 each for the three worlds, or as 12 Adityas, 11 Rudras, eight Vasus and two Ashvins in the Brahmanas….multiples Sages ,holy creatures and the divine weapons .ISNT it like the cabinet system of India..each character fulfi lling a particular duty.
Have you noticed a similarity in the trinity s role and their consorts .They are linked …BRAHMA : to create the world and its beings you need knowledge .provided by his consort Devi Saraswati ,VISHNU:to run the world you need riches thats what devi LAKSHMI is for and SHIVA: to destroy the evil you need immense power and energy completed by devi SHAKTI .How fascinating.In fact the vedic humans were very intelligent and wise with respect to religious aspect.They used to worship the forces of nature in the form of devtas …which in fact are requirement for life and humanity to prevail on earth.how thoughful.
after all this words …did i become the promo for you ?if so i know you will give this show a try.
so. that’s it for today. we’ll meet again with my next article on the origin of these cosmic characters.i hope you all will show up too.
THANKYOU.