Hindu Mythology - A Brief Survey

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Every Hindu myth is different; all Hindu myths are alike. Each Hindu myth celebrates the belif that the universe is boundlessly various, that everything occurs simultaneously, that all possiblities may exist without, excluding the other. There is no single basic version of a Hindu myth; each is told and retold with a number of minor and major variations over the years. Great myths are richly ambigious and elusive; their truths cannot be filed away into scholar's neat categories. Moreover, myths [In Hinduism] are living organisms that change constantly.

Introduction to Hindu Mythology Narshima, Varmana Parasdhuram Avatar in Hindu Mythology Rama –The Avatar in Hindu Mythology Krishna –The Avatar in Hindu Mythology Gautama Buddha in Hinduism Kalki –The Avatar of Vishnu, Indra –The Vedic Deity in Hinduism,Soma –A Deity of Hindus. Ashwani Kumar in Hindu Mythology. Hindu Revivalism and Vedic Literature.Deva in Hinduism. Shiva- The God of Destroyer of Evil. Trimurti Concept of Hinduism.

A.K. Dubey, M.A., M. Phil. From Allahbad University is an eniment Lecturer of Philosphy. His main area of interest is to study and preach the different religions and their philosphy. He has lectured on various issues of philosphy for more than a decade. He has worked on all aspects of Indian Philosphy. He has devoted himself for the welfare of society and associated with many institutions. Presently he is involved with many projects of religion and philosphy. During his services he has given contribution to the journals and magazines of repute.

Hinduism does not have a "united sytem of belif encoded in declaration of faith or a cred", but si rather an umbrella term comprising the plurality of religious phenomena originating and based on the Vedic traditions. The term Hindu in origin is a Persian word in use form the time of the Delhi Sultane, referring to any tradition that is native to India as opposed to Islam. Hindu is used in the sense of " Indian Pagan" in English from the 17th century, but notion of Hinduism as and identifiable religious traditions qualifying as one of the world religious emerged only during the 19th century.

The characterstic of comprehensive tolerence to differences in belif, and Hinduism's dogmatic Openess, makes it difficult to define as a religion according to traditional Western conceptions. Although Hinduism is a clear practical concept to the marjority of its adherents, many expres a problem arriving at a definition of the term, mainly because of the wide range of traditions and ideas incorporated within it or covered by it. While sometimes refered to as a religion, Hinduism is more often defined as a religious tradition. It is therefore described as both the oldest of the world's religions, and the most diverse. Most Hindu traditions revere a body of religious or sacred literature, the Vedas, although there are exceptions. Some hindu religious tradition regard particular rituals as essentials for salvation, but a variety of view on this co exists some hindu philosophies postulate a theistic ontology of creation, of sustenance, and of destruction of the universe, yet some Hindus are athestic. Hinduism is sometimes characterized by the belief in reincarnation (samsara), determined by the law of karma, and the idea that salvation is freedom from this cycle of repeated birth and death. However, other religions of the region, such as Buddhism and Jainism, also believe in karma, outside the scope of Hinduism. Hinduism is therefore viewed as the most complex of all of the living, historical world religions. Despite its complexity, Hinduism is not only one of the numerically largest faiths, but also the oldest living major tradition on earth, with roots reachings back into prehistory.

The major topics dealt in this book are: Introduction to Hindu Mythology Narshima, Varmana Parasdhuram Avatar in Hindu Mythology Rama –The Avatar in Hindu Mythology Krishna –The Avatar in Hindu Mythology Gautama Buddha in Hinduism Kalki –The Avatar of Vishnu, Indra –The Vedic Deity in Hinduism,Soma –A Deity of Hindus. Ashwani Kumar in Hindu Mythology. Hindu Revivalism and Vedic Literature.Deva in Hinduism. Shiva- The God of Destroyer of Evil. Trimurti Concept of Hinduism etc.

No doubt, these will serve the purpose of trainess and trains, professionals and policy planners, in the field. Since the sources of information are all secondary, we express our gratitude to the scholars whose works are citied or substainlly made use of. We are thankful to all those who rendered ready help and cooperation while working on this project.

We express our gratitude to various scholars, teachers and freinds for their assistance and guidence. Finally, we thank our publisher for bringing out this book in very limited time.