The ancient myths of India are in no way inferior to the legends of Greece, Egypt and Rome. They were just as carefully accumulated and systematized to save for the next generation. This process did not stop for a very long time, due to which myths were firmly entwined with religion, culture and everyday life of the country.
And only thanks to the thrifty attitude to our history of the Indians today we can enjoy their traditions.
Indian mythology
If we consider the legends of different peoples about gods, natural phenomena and the creation of the world, we can easily draw a parallel between them to understand how similar they are. Replaced only names and minor facts for a more convenient perception.
The mythology of ancient India is closely connected with the Vedic religion and teachings about the civilization on which the philosophy of the inhabitants of this country was cultivated. In ancient times, this information was transmitted only by word of mouth, and it was considered unacceptable to omit any element or redo it in your own way. Everything had to retain its original meaning.
Indian mythology often acts as the basis for spiritual practices and even the ethical side of life. It is rooted in the teachings of Hinduism, which were created based on treatises on the Vedic religion. What is surprising: in some of them mechanisms were given that describe the scientific theories of modernity regarding the origin of human life.
Nevertheless, the ancient myths of India narrate about many different variations of the origin of a particular phenomenon, which will be described below.
Briefly about the creation of the world
According to the most common version, life originated from the Golden Egg. Its halves became heaven and earth, and Brahma, the Progenitor, appeared from the inside. He laid the foundation for the passage of time, created countries and other gods, so as not to experience more loneliness.
Those, in turn, contributed to the creation of the universe: they populated the earth with creatures of various nature, became the progenitors of human sages and even allowed the asuras to be born.
Rudra and Sacrifice of Daksha
Shiva is one of the most ancient creations of Brahma. He carries a flame of anger and cruelty, but helps those who regularly offer prayers to him.
Previously, this god had a different name - Rudra - and stayed in the guise of a hunter, to whom all animals obeyed. He did not circumvent any of the human wars, sending various misfortunes to the human race. His son-in-law passed Dakshi - the lord and parent of all creatures on earth.
However, this union did not bind the gods with friendly ties, so Rudra refused to honor the father of his wife. This led to events that describe the ancient myths of India in different ways.
But the most popular version is this: Daksha, at the behest of the gods, for the first time created a purifying sacrifice, on which he called everyone, the edges of Rudra, melting an insult to him. The wife of an angry Shiva, having learned of such a blatant disrespect for her husband, rushed out of despair into a fire. Rudra was beside himself with rage and came to the place of the ceremony to execute revenge.
The formidable hunter pierced the ritual sacrifice with an arrow, and it soared into the sky, forever imprinted in the constellation in the form of an antelope. Several gods also fell under the hot hand of Rudra and were seriously mutilated. Only after the persuasion of the wise priest, Shiva agreed to let go of his anger and heal the wounded.
However, since then, according to the order of Brahma, all gods and asuras should honor Rudra and offer him sacrifices.
Enemies of the children of Aditi
Initially, the asuras - the elder brothers of the gods - were pure and virtuous. They knew the secrets of the world, were famous for wisdom and power and knew how to change their guises. In those days, the asuras were submissive to the will of Brahma and carefully performed all the rituals, and therefore did not know the troubles and grief.
But powerful creatures became proud and decided to compete with the gods - the sons of Aditi. Because of this, they lost not only a happy life, but also lost their home. Now the word "asura" is something akin to the concept of "demon" and means a bloodthirsty crazy creature that can only kill.
Immortal life
Earlier in the world no one knew that life could end. People were immortal, lived sinlessly, therefore peace and order reigned on earth. But the flow of fertility did not decrease, and the place became less and less.
When people filled every corner of the world, the Earth, as the ancient myths of India say, turned to Brahma with a request that he help her and remove her burden so heavy. But the Great Grandparent did not know how to help. He burned with anger, and feelings escaped from him with a destroying fire, fell upon all living things. There would have been no peace if Rudra had not suggested a solution. But it was like that …
End to immortality
He exhorted Rudra Brahma, asked not to ruin the world, which was created with such difficulty, and not to blame his creatures for how they are arranged. Shiva offered to make people mortal, and the Grandparent obeyed his words. He took the anger back into his heart so that Death could be born from it.
She embodied in the guise of a young girl with black eyes and a wreath of lotuses on her head, dressed in a dark red dress. According to the legend about the origin of Death, this woman was neither cruel nor heartless. She did not take the anger from which she was created, and she did not like such a burden.
Death in tears begged Brahma not to put this burden on her, but he remained adamant. And only as a reward for her experiences he allowed not to kill people with his own hands, but to take the lives of those who were overtaken by an incurable disease, fatal vices and passions that obscure his eyes.
So Death remained beyond the limits of human hatred, which at least slightly brightens up its heavy burden.
The first "harvest"
All people are descendants of Vivasvat. Since he himself was mortal from birth, his older children were born into ordinary people. Two of them are heterosexual twins, they were given almost the same names: Yami and Yama.
They were the first people, so their mission was to settle the earth. However, according to one version, Yama refused a sinful incestuous marriage with his sister. To avoid this fate, the young man went on a journey, where, after some time, Death overtook him.
So he became the first "crop", which was able to collect the product of Brahma. Nevertheless, his story did not end there. Since the father of Yama by that time had become the god of the Sun, his son also got a place in the Indian pantheon.
However, his fate was unenviable - he was destined to become an analogue of the Greek Hades, i.e., to command the world of the dead. Since then, Pit has been considered the god of Death, the one who collects souls and judges by earthly deeds, deciding where a person will go. Later, Yami also joined him - she embodies the dark energy of the world and manages that part of the underworld where women are serving their sentences.
